Queen city aces coaching staff

the people in your corner.

Coach Ratliff is entering his first season as Assistant Coach for the Queen City Aces 16U Scout Team.

Coach Ratliff moved to Charlotte when he was 3 years old and is about as close to a native Charlottean as you can find. He attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte studying business communications. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 17 years and they have two wonderful children. Coach Ratliff has made a career of helping others through his Financial Planning practice with well over a decade of experience coaching people through life's financial journeys and helping them reach financial security.

Coach Ratliff began his coaching career over a decade ago with a local rec league as an assistant coach. As a former player and someone who genuinely loves the game of baseball, his passion for coaching was a seamless transition. He continued to volunteer by coaching numerous Little League and All-Star teams as both an Assistant Coach and as a Head Coach. He has also had the opportunity to help coach his son's middle school program over the past 3 years.

Coach Ratliff joined Stampede as a Head Coach in the Fall of 2023 with the creation of a brand new 13u team. Over the past four seasons, he led his team to numerous bracket championships and runner-up titles along with playing a vital role in growing the team and the roster.

Coach Ratliff's passion and commitment to coaching reinforces the skill sets needed to help these young athletes succeed both on and off the field. Through hard work, discipline, competitiveness, grit and overall love of the game, his goal is to motivate and propel athletes to become the versions of themselves they envision.

HOLLIS FANNING
pitching coordinator
16u queen city aces SCOUT ASSISTANT COACH

steve Bondurant
Co-owner
16u queen city aces showcase HEAD COACH

Steve Bondurant is the Co-Owner of Queen City Aces Baseball Organization and Head Coach for the 16U Queen City Aces Showcase Team. Coach Bondurant has been coaching at Providence Day School the past 12 years, 9 years as Assistant Coach focusing on pitching and the past 3 years as Head Varsity Coach and Program Head. His 2026 Varsity team finished the season 19-6 and were crowned the CISAA Conference Champions. Prior to being named Head Coach, Bondurant was the Assistant Coach, focusing on the pitching staff and led his pitching staff to record numbers in ERA and strikeouts.

Bondurant was the Head Coach for several age groups for the Stampede Baseball Club. He started coaching with the Stampede as the Head Coach for the 16U Stampede before taking over the 14U Stampede Team. Bondurant led that same team through 15U and 16U compiling a record of 40-11-2 over the past two seasons.

As a high school standout at Providence Day, Bondurant made All-Conference all four years and All-State in ’96, ’97, and ’98. He was the back-to-back Charlotte Observer Player of the Year in ’97 and ’98, and was selected as a USA Today All-American his senior year. In 2007, Providence Day inducted Bondurant into the Charger Hall of Fame.

Collegiately, Bondurant earned a scholarship to the University of South Carolina where he became the Friday night starting pitcher. During his career he competed in the College World Series in ’02 and ’03 with his best performance coming in the CWS semifinal game where he pitched a complete game victory against arch rival Clemson leading his team to the National Championship game.

As a professional baseball player, Bondurant was drafted in the 15th round by the Oakland Athletics where he made the Low-A All Star Team and was the Minor League Pitcher of the Month for July 2004. He went on to be promoted to AA Midland where he led the team in innings, wins, and strikeouts. Bondurant was then promoted to AAA Sacramento before retiring due to a shoulder injury.

Bondurant currently works at Providence Day as the Assistant Athletic Director for Finance in addition to his role as Baseball Program Head. He and his wife Vica have a son, Hudson (6), and they live in Charlotte, NC.

Coach Ahlum is the Co-Owner of the Queen City Aces Baseball Organization and he is the Head Coach for the 16U Queen City Aces Scout Team. Coach Ahlum is entering his first season as Head Coach at Myers Park High School. Prior to that, he served nine years as the Top Varsity Assistant at Myers Park High School. During his time at MPHS, he has helped the Mustangs to a remarkable record of 148-35 while reaching the NC State Playoffs in all nine years, two of those rounds being the elite eight and last year making it to the state championship series. During his tenure at MPHS, he has helped oversee twenty student-athletes go on to play collegiate baseball.

Coach Ahlums' playing days started at Myers Park HS where he was a two-time All-Conference player in the SW4A Conference. Following MPHS, he went on to play collegiately at Brevard College. From there he transferred to the University of North Carolina-Charlotte to become a full-time student and pursue his degree.

Coach Ahlum was an integral part of the Stampede Baseball Club for 13 years and is well versed in the travel ball scene. He served as the Field Coordinator of the Stampede Baseball Club, as well as a full-time coach for several age groups. Coach Ahlums' primary focus is on the development of infielders and the structure they need to compete at a high level.

Coach Ahlum is known for his strong leadership skills on and off the field and commitment to furthering player development giving each athlete the best chance for success not only in baseball but in life. His vision is continuing to instill game knowledge, discipline, and a competitive nature that will help each athlete succeed on and off the field.

ryan Ahlum
Co-owner
16u queen city aces scout HEAD COACH

Tim mansfield
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING coach
16u queen city aces showcase ASSISTANT COACH

Hollis Fanning brings an extensive background in collegiate and professional baseball to the Queen City Aces.

He began his Division I career at the University of Tennessee, where he competed in the SEC and made three Men’s College World Series appearances. During his collegiate career with the Volunteers, he recorded a 1.89 ERA and 29 strikeouts over 19 innings pitched. He recorded a career-high seven consecutive strikeouts against Belmont in 2023 and earned SEC Academic Honor Roll recognition multiple times.

Hollis continued his collegiate career at NC State, competing in the ACC during the 2024 season. He appeared in 15 games, posting a 2-1 record with 14 strikeouts in 17 innings. Following college, he continued his playing career professionally, spending two years competing in independent baseball, including the Atlantic League.

Before college, Hollis was a standout at Tullahoma High School in Tennessee. He was ranked No. 53 in Tennessee by Perfect Game and earned 2020 Perfect Game Preseason All-American and All-Southeast Region honors. He helped lead his travel team to the 2020 Perfect Game 18U World Series championship and was named to the tournament’s All-Tournament Team.

Hollis brings his experience competing at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels to the Queen City Aces, with a focus on helping young athletes develop their skills, confidence, and understanding of what it takes to compete at the next level.

BRANDON RATLIFF
16u queen city aces SCOUT ASSISTANT COACH

Coach Mansfield begins his 1st season with the Queen City Aces after serving as Assistant Coach with Coach Bondurant for the Stampede Showcase team the past 4 seasons.

Coach Mansfield currently is the Varsity Baseball Assistant Coach at his alma mater, Providence Day School, where he focuses on hitting and outfielders. In addition to coaching baseball, Tim is also the Strength & Conditioning Coach for numerous sports at Providence Day including the baseball team.

As a player, Coach Mansfield played collegiately at High Point University, where he was a three-year starter and earned all-Big South honors as a senior. He is currently in the top 10 in multiple categories in the HPU baseball record books.

After college, Coach Mansfield played professional baseball overseas in the French League where he was voted to the All-Star game in his lone professional season before retiring due to a desire to begin his coaching and training career.

Professionally, he is the owner of One Way Fitness & Performance in Charlotte. He has worked with many elite athletes in his career, among them Eric Jones of the Savannah Bananas.

In his personal life, Coach Mansfield is a devout Christian and is heavily involved in youth and high school ministry at Elevation Church.