University of Tennessee Athletics
Beck, Headley Added To Baseball Staff
September 24, 2007 | Baseball
Tennessee head baseball coach Todd Raleigh announced Monday the hiring of Alan Beck as director of baseball operations. Raleigh also announced that Nate Headley has joined the staff as a volunteer assistant coach. These two additions round out the new Tennessee baseball staff, which also includes full-time assistant coaches Bradley LeCroy and Fred Corral.
???Putting together a top-notch staff is a vital aspect of building a top-notch program,??? Raleigh said. ???Our goal is to be a championship program, and I???m confident Alan and Nate are going to help us toward that goal. They both know what it takes to win and do things the right way.???
Beck becomes the first director of baseball operations in program history. The Hudson, N.C., native brings a wealth of experience to the position, having played both college and professional baseball and coached at the collegiate level. His primary responsibilities at Tennessee include managing all baseball camps, oversight of student managers, serving as an academic liaison to the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center and assistance with on-campus recruiting.
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 YHJC was highlighted by the school???s first all-time appearance in the Junior College World Series.
Beck???s baseball savvy, discipline and work ethic were first made apparent to Raleigh in 2000. Beck signed with Western Carolina following an outstanding prep career at South Caldwell High School in North Carolina and played a key role in Western???s resurgence as a perennial contender in the Southern Conference during Raleigh???s early years in Cullowhee, N.C.
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. On the SoCon all-time lists, he ended his career ranked fourth in RBIs (222), fifth in total bases (488), fifth in walks (132), fifth in runs scored (216), eighth in hits (285), eighth in doubles (60), eighth in at bats (835), ninth in home runs (45) and 11th in games played (220). On the WCU all-time charts, he ended his career ranked fourth in hits, fourth in doubles, sixth in home runs, third in RBIs and third in runs scored, while posting a .341 career batting average.
The Baltimore Orioles selected Beck in the 16th round 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.
Beck completed his undergraduate degree in 2004, receiving his B.S. from Western Carolina in Sport management. He later attained his Master???s degree during a two-year coaching stint at WCU, earning an M.A. in Education in 2006. He is engaged to Kim Cherry of Denver, N.C.
Headley???older brother of former Vols third baseman and rising San Diego Padres prospect Chase Headley (2004-05)???will work primarily with Tennessee???s outfielders and assist with hitting instruction.
Immediately prior to joining UT???s staff, Headley spent more than two years working at Knoxville Yard Baseball Academy. He was the head coach of the Yard???s 16-Under team that won the 2007 World Wood Bat National Association national championship in East Cobb, Ga. Four of his players from the Yard were selected in the 2007 MLB draft. A total of 16 players he instructed at the Yard were awarded NCAA Division I scholarships, and 14 other players were awarded Division II or junior college scholarships.
He also was employed for nearly a year as an associate scout with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays prior to joining the Tennessee program.
Headley attended Colby Community College in Colby, Kan., on a baseball scholarship in 1999. He received a Bachelor???s degree in Accounting from Colorado State University in 2003 and also earned his Master???s degree in Sport management from Tennessee in 2005.
