Staff
Matt Stembridge
Owner
Matt Stembridge comes to Play9 Sports after serving as a tournament director with Prospect Select for 3 years. Matt is also the President of Operations with the Normal Cornbelters. Matt joined the CornBelters full-time in the Fall of 2019 as President of Operations. Prior to joining the team, he was General Manager of the Hannibal Hoots for two seasons and spent the ten years before that coaching at John Wood Community College and Quincy University.
Stembridge played baseball at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio and graduated in 2007. He also has a Masters of Education in Sports and Fitness Administration from William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri.
Matt and his wife Melissa have three children, Maddux, Hudson, and Brielle.
Jimmie Louthan
Owner
Jimmie Louthan comes to Play9 with 8 years of administration experience within the baseball world. Louthan has owned the Quincy Gems for 7 years and serves as the teams General Manager. In addition to the Gems, the Louthan’s own JJ’s Catering and Café J. It was through the catering business that the Louthan’s became a part of Gems baseball, handling the concessions during the 2014 season. They took over ownership of the club in 2015.
Aaron Meyer
Director of Baseball Operations
Aaron Meyer comes to Play9 Sports with experience in collegiate and high school baseball. In 2015, Meyer played with the Quincy Gems in the Prospect League under Jimmie Louthan in his first year as owner. Three years later in 2018, Meyer returned to Quincy to team up with Louthan as a Coach with the Gems. Aaron also served as the Commissioner of the ShowMe Collegiate Summer Baseball League in Ozark, MO prior to moving back to St. Louis in 2020.
Meyer played baseball at Missouri State University from 2014-2017. He began his collegiate coaching and recruiting in 2018 with the Bears and spent three years with MSU on the staff. In 2019 Meyer headed east to the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League as the hitting and infield coach with the Bourne Braves and helped lead them to a playoff run. He earned a Masters Degree of Sports Management from Missouri State University in Springfield, MO in 2019.
Aaron and his wife Chelsey have two children, Maverick and Presley.
Cathy Weatherred
Director of Fast-Pitch Operations
Cathy Weatherred comes to Play9 Sports having owned and operated Gateway Fastpitch Events since 2020. Gateway Fastpitch has grown into one of the largest tournaments providers in Eastern Missouri holding 16 events in 2023.
Cathy coached for three years with the SIUE Cougars Softball team. She joined the SIUE staff after a successful stint as the head coach with the Worth Prospects 95 team out of St. Louis. Her 18u team qualified for ASA USA Nationals their last two seasons, finishing fifth in 2013 with an overall record of 57-16-1 and a team batting average of .328. 13 players from her team received softball scholarships at NCAA Division I or Division II schools.
Cathy played Division I softball at North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) where she received All-Conference honors as a freshman shortstop.
Cathy has been married to Mitch for 34 years, has three grown children and three grandchildren.
Jake Wesley
Tournament Director
Jake comes to Play9 Sports with 7 years of experience a Tournament Director in the STL market as well as as many years served as Club Director with some of the top clubs in the Midwest.
Jake graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in both Marketing Management and Business Management, with an additional minor in Business Law.
Andie Belme
Assistant Director of operations
Andie Belme comes to Play9 Sports with experience on and off the field of collegiate sports. Belme played competitive softball from the ages of 14-21 where she ended her softball career as a starting outfielder at Culver-Stockton College to accept her position as Assistant General Manager of the Quincy Gems during her senior year. Prior to the opportunity, Andie interned for the Gems during the 2022 season with the title of “Lead Intern”, initiating her beginnings in the sports management world.
Belme attended Cardinal Stritch University for two years before completing her degrees at Culver-Stockton College. She was a member of both softball teams, and ultimately earned her degrees in Political Science and Communications with an emphasis on Public Relations in the Spring of 2023.
