The Strength Behind Alabama Softball's Power

"When I walked in that room, one, I was so nervous," Diltz told BamaCentral. "I was ready to go in and talk about Xs and Os of strength and conditioning and everything, and he was just wanting to talk softball, and my softball coach and all those different kinds of things. We talk about it now, and the one question he had was like, what was the difference between a pitcher and an infielder’s workouts? I don’t remember what I rambled off, but I rambled off some stuff. And then he was like, the other candidates didn’t know softball, so she was our pick. It was an amazing opportunity.”

That "amazing opportunity" has turned into a career spanning more than two decades with the program around a sport that she's loved for a long time. Softball has always been a part of her life. Diltz played college softball at Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas.

"Playing Division II softball, we did not have a strength coach," Diltz said. "My softball coach was our strength coach. One of my friends I grew up playing with, played at Baylor, and she kept talking to me about this guy that they had that works them out. And I was always— I don’t want to say nerd on the team— but I was the one on the team that was at every lift, I was in the weight room. I loved the workout part of it. I loved practice. I loved that part of it. I thought I wanted to go into physical therapy, and it was too monotonous for me. It was too slow. I wanted the team."

She went to Texas A&M to get a graduate degree in sports science and got a graduate assistant internship spot with Texas A&M softball. She always wanted to be around a team, and she fell in love with strength and conditioning while at A&M, and it transitioned perfectly into a job with the Crimson Tide starting in 2005.

The work Diltz put in this offseason is helping Alabama put up its best power-hitting numbers since 2019. The current total of 82 home runs is fifth all time in program history behind 89 in 2019, 91 in 2011, 97 in 2012 and 104 in 2010. Alabama is just two years removed from hitting 42 total home runs in 2024, a team that made a run to the Women's College World Series. The Tide hit 60 home runs in 63 total games last season.

"Last year we didn't as much power behind them, but they had a huge mind shift coming in this year, and they've done a great job of really owning themselves and their athleticism so that when we are working on things, we're able to communicate," Diltz said. "And then we're also able to adjust where we need to adjust. Like, if they’re feeling slow, OK, let’s talk about it. Let's look at the numbers, and we can kind of go from there. Or if they’re not feeling powerful enough, we can look at the numbers and we can kind of adjust from there."

Returners like Salen Hawkins, Lauren Johnson, Mari Hubbard and Alexis Pupillo have all increased their home run totals from a year ago with Pupillo making the biggest jump so far from seven to 15. She's also helped freshmen like Ambrey Taylor and Ana Roman make the jump from high school to college softball. Taylor has nine home runs despite not joining the starting lineup until halfway through the season, and Roman is third on the team with 12 home runs.

Pupillo has been vocal about her decision to work on transforming her body heading into her senior season and got to intern with Diltz.

"Our strength coach, Mrs. Michelle, is unbelievable," Pupillo said. "She is a strong woman and has taught us all what it means to be a strong, independent woman. I would say that has definitely contributed to our power in the lineup, on defense, pitching, everything."

Winning a national championship in 2012 is of course one of Diltz's favorite memories, but she said every time she sees an athlete make a transformation that pays off on the field is right up there with winning a championship.

"Seeing Lex strong and powerful last year, but seeing it manifest itself on the field is a huge accomplishment because that’s a lot of work we put in between all of us really trying to get her to that spot," Diltz said.

Pupillo trails Brooke Wells for the team lead in home runs. Wells has 20 on the year, becoming the fourth player in Alabama history to hit that milestone, after transferring in from Houston this offseason.

Diltz said Wells was always challenging herself in the weight room, taking ownership of every rep and never taking any shortcuts. It has more than paid off for Wells and the Crimson Tide with her 20 home runs and 56 RBIs.

"She’s helped me so much," Wells said of Diltz. "I’ve gotten so much stronger being here. She teaches us more than just the weight room, like we know how to eat right, how to fuel our bodies right, when to take rest days. So she kind of teaches it all.”

Alabama added a sports science center in the last few years for the entire strength and conditioning department that allows the staff to collect data on what the athletes are doing in the weight room. Diltz uses that data to show the athletes what they need to work on, and what can be tweaked to reach their maximum level of performance.

She also listens to any concerns the athletes may have, or changes they may want to make.

It isn't just the work in the gym from Diltz that benefits the Crimson Tide. Because of how long she's been with the program, Diltz is able to develop relationships with the athletes that extend beyond the field.

"She has been a constant presence in our program," Murphy said. "Not only is she the strength coach, she’s psychologist, she’s mom, she’s counselor. She’s been everything. We’re very, very lucky to have someone for 21 years. That doesn’t happen. Her daughter has basically grown up around our program now."

While she gets to be team mom to about 20 bonus daughters each season, her own daughter, Brady, has gotten to grow up around the team. Brady has gotten to some, like Kayla Braud, Ryan Iamurri and Jadyn Spencer, cycle through the program as athletes and now back as coaches or staff members.

"It's actually one of probably the greatest benefits I didn't even think about when I was getting into the profession with my daughter," Diltz said. "She's 16, looking at colleges. She's grown up here in the weight room around these amazing athletes... She has great communication skills, because she's always been around college age kids that treat her as one of them. She has great role models."

Alabama is sitting at 44-6 (16-5 SEC) heading into the final week of the regular season with a shot at the SEC regular season title and in prime position for a top-eight seed in the NCAA tournament. The Crimson Tide has been ranked in the top-five of the national polls for a month now.

The power numbers have been a huge part of Alabama's resurgence to becoming a serious national title contender, and the Tide isn't done yet. There are still likely records to be broken, especially if this team is going to accomplish its goals.

Diltz has been around a lot of good Crimson Tide teams that have accomplished great things, including the 2012 national championship team and multiple SEC title teams. She shared what makes Team 30 so special.

"They've brought joy," she said. "So they're having fun, and they're enjoying the process. They’re enjoying the games, and they're enjoying the weight room. And that’s across the board. You’ll have moments of it, but I feel like it’s a daily thing like they really feel privileged. It’s an honor to be here, and they’re really just taking advantage of it.”