Robert H. Stehman
Baseball (1996-1998)
Selected to the 1998 NJCAA National All-Star Team
Two-time All-Skyway First Team and All-Region First Team selection
Skyway Conference Most Valuable Player in 1998
Still holds nine Waubonsee-records for batting
Baseball scholarship to University of Missouri-St. Louis
Long-time Head Baseball Coach Dave Randall often says that “eventually the cream rises to the top.” With that in mind, Randall knew Bob Stehman was a pretty good baseball player when he recruited him out of high school. He just didn’t know he was going to excel to the level in which he did.
Stehman graduated from Sandwich High School in 1995, where he played on the varsity all four years and earned All-Interstate Eight Conference honors. Shortly thereafter, he became one of the Chiefs’ top offensive players of all time. Stehman still holds nine Waubonsee records, and his 1998 season alone was one for the record books. The right-handed batter posted Waubonsee single-season records for batting average (.500), hits (77), runs (62), and triples (9). Stehman reached base a school-record 109 times and his on-base percentage of .582 has never been eclipsed. In addition, he smacked the fourth most home runs with 9, fourth most doubles with 16, and drove in the sixth most runs in Chiefs’ history with 39 that spring. As if that was not enough, he stole 23 bases, drew 25 walks, and had four game-winning hits that season. His career batting average of .478 has never been approached, and he securely holds the career record for hits with 133 and triples with 14 career three-baggers.
Stehman was a First Team All-Skyway selection both years for the Chiefs, earning the league’s Most Valuable Player Award his sophomore year. The Chiefs’ third baseman was also named First Team All-Region both years, and represented Waubonsee at the Region IV All-Star Game. Stehman helped lead the Chiefs to the Skyway Conference Championship and Region IV title that season. The squad set a school-record with a team batting average of .338 en route to being ranked seventh nationally, the second-highest ranking ever attained to that point by a Chiefs’ baseball team. Stehman capped off the year by being selected to the NJCAA National All-Star Team, playing in tournaments that summer in Canada and on the east coast.
Stehman earned his associate degree from Waubonsee and then received a baseball scholarship to the University of Missouri – St. Louis, where he earned All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Second Team honors as a junior. His senior year with the Tritons he was chosen All-MIAA First Team and All-Region. Stehman graduated with a B.S. in Management and Organizational Behavior in 2002. He went on to play two years of semi-professional baseball, traveling throughout Missouri, Illinois and Ohio. These days Stehman hits the water instead of baseballs as a member of the Lake Holiday Fishing Club. He manages properties for U.S. Equities Realty, and lives in St. Charles with his wife Beth and their twin, seven-year-old daughters Grace and Ella.