Eagle Baseball Names Alan Beck as New Hitting Coach
8/6/2015 4:38:00 PM | Baseball
Western Carolina graduate comes to Statesboro from his alma mater
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Baseball Head Coach Rodney Hennon has announced the addition of Alan Beck as the Eagles' new Assistant Head Coach for hitting. Beck is a graduate of Western Carolina and comes to Statesboro after a seven-year stint at his alma mater. He was named SoCon Player of the Year in 2003, leading the league in home runs, RBIs, runs scored and walks.
"I am very excited about the addition of Alan Beck to our coaching staff," said Head Coach Rodney Hennon. "I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Alan as a player, coach, and person. His drive and determination made him an outstanding college player, earning him an opportunity to be drafted and play professional baseball. As a coach, Beck has a proven track record of recruiting and developing hitters at the Division 1 level. His hitters have always been very competitive with a sound approach. I have always admired that his hitters showed improvement from year to year and maximized their potential. He will be a great fit with the rest of our staff as we work together to win future Sun Belt Championships and ultimately reach Omaha. We want to welcome Alan, Kim, and their son Easton to Eagle Nation."
Beck replaces Chris Moore as the Eagles Assistant Head Coach for Hitting. He will work primarily with the outfielders. B.J. Green remains in his current position as Assistant Head Coach for Pitching and assumes the responsibilities of Recruiting Coordinator. Volunteer Assistant Coach Josh McDonald also remains with the Eagles to work with the catchers and assist Coach Beck with the hitters.
Beck returned to Western Carolina in 2008 after having served as the first-ever Director of Baseball Operations under former Catamount skipper, Todd Raleigh, at the University of Tennessee. His primary responsibilities at Tennessee included managing all baseball camps, oversight of student managers, serving as an academic liaison and assistance with on-campus recruiting.
Prior to joining the staff at UT, Beck spent the 2007 season as an assistant coach at Young Harris Junior College in Young Harris, Ga. While coaching hitters and infielders, Beck mentored a club that led all Georgia junior colleges in 10 different offensive statistical categories. The 2007 Mountain Lions won the Region XVII regular season and tournament titles, in addition to claiming the district championship. Beck's lone season at YHC was highlighted by the school's first all-time appearance in the Junior College World Series.
Beck ended his four-year career as one of the most outstanding players in both Western Carolina and Southern Conference history. The three-time All-SoCon selection (including a pair of first-team honors) ranks on both the school and league career top-10 lists in several statistical categories. He currently ranks third in career runs (216), third in career RBI (222), third in career total bases (488), fifth in career hits (285), fifth in career doubles (60), sixth in career walks (132) and seventh in career home runs (45), while posting a career .341 batting average.
Those numbers additionally ranked on the SoCon all-time lists as he ended his career ranked fourth in RBIs, fifth in total bases, fifth in walks, fifth in runs scored, eighth in hits, eighth in doubles, eighth in at bats, ninth in home runs and 11th in games played (220).
En route to winning SoCon Player of the Year honors in 2003, Beck led the SoCon in home runs (18), RBIs (71), runs scored (67) and walks (45), while ranking 30th in the NCAA in homers and tallying seven assists from left field. He was named to the TIAA/CREF Southern Conference All-Academic Team for Spring Sports, was a two-time Southern Conference Player of the Week honoree and was selected second team All-Atlantic Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Beck's collegiate playing career included numerous other impressive achievements as well. As a junior, he ranked among the SoCon's top 10 in nine of 12 offensive statistical categories. From his sophomore to junior seasons, he authored an impressive streak of reaching base safely (hit, walk or hit by pitch) in 65 consecutive games, and he reached base safely in 50 of 54 games played in 2002. He earned first-team All-SoCon acclaim in 2001 after ranking among the NCAA leaders in RBIs (16th with an average of 1.29 per game), walks (22nd with an average of 0.85 per game) and doubles (23rd with an average of 0.42 per game). He also ranked among the SoCon top five in nine offensive categories, leading the league in on-base percentage (.515) and walks.
The Baltimore Orioles selected Beck in the 16th round (464th overall pick) of the 2003 MLB draft, and he played for the Bluefield Orioles and Class A short-season Aberdeen IronBirds in 2003 before attending spring training in 2004. His professional career was cut short, however, after he suffered a severe wrist injury.
It was following his injury that Beck returned to his alma mater in 2005 as a member of the Catamounts coaching staff, working with the outfielders. He helped mentor outfielder Steven Strausbaugh to 2005 SoCon Freshman of the Year honors. The following year, Strausbaugh led the SoCon in home runs and RBIs and was tabbed first-team All-SoCon and was eventually drafted in the 37th round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.
In the summer of 2006, Beck served as manger of the Thomasville Hi-Toms of the Coastal Plains League. Under his direction, the HiToms not only won a then franchise-record 33 regular-season games, but also the club's first-ever league championship. The team finished with an impressive overall record of 37-23, leading the Coastal Plain League in hits, doubles, home runs and total bases.
Beck completed his undergraduate degree in 2004, receiving his B.S. in Sport Management. He later attained his Master's degree during his two-year coaching stint at WCU, earning an M.A. in Education in 2006.
Beck and his wife Kim have a son, Easton, born in 2012.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.
"I am very excited about the addition of Alan Beck to our coaching staff," said Head Coach Rodney Hennon. "I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Alan as a player, coach, and person. His drive and determination made him an outstanding college player, earning him an opportunity to be drafted and play professional baseball. As a coach, Beck has a proven track record of recruiting and developing hitters at the Division 1 level. His hitters have always been very competitive with a sound approach. I have always admired that his hitters showed improvement from year to year and maximized their potential. He will be a great fit with the rest of our staff as we work together to win future Sun Belt Championships and ultimately reach Omaha. We want to welcome Alan, Kim, and their son Easton to Eagle Nation."
Beck replaces Chris Moore as the Eagles Assistant Head Coach for Hitting. He will work primarily with the outfielders. B.J. Green remains in his current position as Assistant Head Coach for Pitching and assumes the responsibilities of Recruiting Coordinator. Volunteer Assistant Coach Josh McDonald also remains with the Eagles to work with the catchers and assist Coach Beck with the hitters.
Beck returned to Western Carolina in 2008 after having served as the first-ever Director of Baseball Operations under former Catamount skipper, Todd Raleigh, at the University of Tennessee. His primary responsibilities at Tennessee included managing all baseball camps, oversight of student managers, serving as an academic liaison and assistance with on-campus recruiting.
Prior to joining the staff at UT, Beck spent the 2007 season as an assistant coach at Young Harris Junior College in Young Harris, Ga. While coaching hitters and infielders, Beck mentored a club that led all Georgia junior colleges in 10 different offensive statistical categories. The 2007 Mountain Lions won the Region XVII regular season and tournament titles, in addition to claiming the district championship. Beck's lone season at YHC was highlighted by the school's first all-time appearance in the Junior College World Series.
Beck ended his four-year career as one of the most outstanding players in both Western Carolina and Southern Conference history. The three-time All-SoCon selection (including a pair of first-team honors) ranks on both the school and league career top-10 lists in several statistical categories. He currently ranks third in career runs (216), third in career RBI (222), third in career total bases (488), fifth in career hits (285), fifth in career doubles (60), sixth in career walks (132) and seventh in career home runs (45), while posting a career .341 batting average.
Those numbers additionally ranked on the SoCon all-time lists as he ended his career ranked fourth in RBIs, fifth in total bases, fifth in walks, fifth in runs scored, eighth in hits, eighth in doubles, eighth in at bats, ninth in home runs and 11th in games played (220).
En route to winning SoCon Player of the Year honors in 2003, Beck led the SoCon in home runs (18), RBIs (71), runs scored (67) and walks (45), while ranking 30th in the NCAA in homers and tallying seven assists from left field. He was named to the TIAA/CREF Southern Conference All-Academic Team for Spring Sports, was a two-time Southern Conference Player of the Week honoree and was selected second team All-Atlantic Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Beck's collegiate playing career included numerous other impressive achievements as well. As a junior, he ranked among the SoCon's top 10 in nine of 12 offensive statistical categories. From his sophomore to junior seasons, he authored an impressive streak of reaching base safely (hit, walk or hit by pitch) in 65 consecutive games, and he reached base safely in 50 of 54 games played in 2002. He earned first-team All-SoCon acclaim in 2001 after ranking among the NCAA leaders in RBIs (16th with an average of 1.29 per game), walks (22nd with an average of 0.85 per game) and doubles (23rd with an average of 0.42 per game). He also ranked among the SoCon top five in nine offensive categories, leading the league in on-base percentage (.515) and walks.
The Baltimore Orioles selected Beck in the 16th round (464th overall pick) of the 2003 MLB draft, and he played for the Bluefield Orioles and Class A short-season Aberdeen IronBirds in 2003 before attending spring training in 2004. His professional career was cut short, however, after he suffered a severe wrist injury.
It was following his injury that Beck returned to his alma mater in 2005 as a member of the Catamounts coaching staff, working with the outfielders. He helped mentor outfielder Steven Strausbaugh to 2005 SoCon Freshman of the Year honors. The following year, Strausbaugh led the SoCon in home runs and RBIs and was tabbed first-team All-SoCon and was eventually drafted in the 37th round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.
In the summer of 2006, Beck served as manger of the Thomasville Hi-Toms of the Coastal Plains League. Under his direction, the HiToms not only won a then franchise-record 33 regular-season games, but also the club's first-ever league championship. The team finished with an impressive overall record of 37-23, leading the Coastal Plain League in hits, doubles, home runs and total bases.
Beck completed his undergraduate degree in 2004, receiving his B.S. in Sport Management. He later attained his Master's degree during his two-year coaching stint at WCU, earning an M.A. in Education in 2006.
Beck and his wife Kim have a son, Easton, born in 2012.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.
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