Nike Baseball Camp Montreat College

YEAR-BY-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS

2025

• Erased an eight-run deficit to defeat No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan (W 9-8 on 2/14).
• Captured his 200th win as head coach of the Cavaliers versus St. Francis (Ill.) (W 12-9 on 3/3).
• Racked up 24 hits in a 19-2 win versus Penn State Scranton, the program's most in a single game since 2018.
• Went 21-32 (11-19 AAC) on the year, finishing tied for ninth in the conference standings.
• Clinched the No. 10 seed in the AAC Tournament and went 1-2 in postseason play to finish among the final six teams.
• Athlete achievements: 1 Second Team All-AAC, 1 AAC Gold Glove Team, 1 AAC Co-Player of the Week, 5 CSC Academic All-District® Team honorees, 6 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes, 29 AAC All-Academic Team members.

2024

• Went 29-25-1 (15-14 AAC) on the season, finishing above .500 in conference play for the first time since 2009.
• Captured the No. 6 seed in the AAC Tournament as the Cavs went 3-2 in postseason play to finish among the final four AAC teams.
• Secured his 800th career win as a collegiate head baseball coach (3/1 at KCU).
• Montreat claimed its third consecutive winning season for the first time since 2007-09.
• Saw starting pitcher Daniel Willie set the program's career strikeout record (426 Ks).
• Team recorded 81 home runs, its most in a single season since at least 2004.
• Athlete achievements: 1 First Team All-AAC, 1 Second Team All-AAC, 3 AAC Gold Glove Team, 2 AAC All-Tournament Team, 1 AAC Player of the Week, 2 CSC Academic All-District® Team, 10 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 24 AAC All-Academic Team.

2023

• Went 27-24 (14-14 AAC) in his 25th season as a collegiate head baseball coach.
• Captured the No. 5 seed in the AAC Tournament as the Cavs went 1-2 to finish among the final six AAC teams.
• Montreat claimed back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2008-09.
• 14 AAC wins were the program's most in a single season since 2005.
• Defeated No. 3 Tennessee Wesleyan for the first time since 2012 (9-3 win on 4/20).
• Athlete achievements: 1 no-hitter (Case Jaworski at Warner on 2/10), 1 First Team All-AAC, 1 Second Team All-AAC, 1 AAC All-Tournament Team, 1 AAC Player of the Week, 1 AAC Pitcher of the Week, 1 NAIA Ball Pitcher of the Week, 2 CSC Academic All-District® Team, 8 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 19 AAC All-Academic Team.

2022

• Went 33-26 (13-17 AAC) on the year, racking up Montreat's most overall wins in a single season since 2008.
• Snagged the No. 9 seed in the AAC Tournament and went 2-2 to finish among the final six AAC teams.
• Began the year 7-0, the program's best start to a season since at least 2004.
• Defeated No. 11 Georgia Gwinnett, the NAIA's reigning national champion (4-3 win on 4/15).
• Garnered ABCA Team Academic Excellence recognition.
• Athlete achievements: 1 First Team All-AAC, 2 Second Team All-AAC, 1 All-AAC Gold Glove Team, 2 AAC Pitcher of the Week, 1 AAC Player of the Week, 2 CoSIDA Academic All-District® First Team, 10 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 19 AAC All-Academic Team.

2021

• Went 21-27 (10-17 AAC) during the season.
• Athlete achievements: 1 All-AAC Gold Glove Team, 1 AAC Pitcher of the Week and 14 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

2020

• Went 14-12 (1-5 AAC) during the COVID-19 shortened season.
• Athlete achievements: 2 AAC Pitcher of the Week, 6 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 6 AAC All-Academic Team.

2019

• Went 25-28 (8-19 AAC) on the year.
• Athlete achievements: 1 no-hitter (vs. Cincinnati Christian on 2/9).

2018

• Went 22-31 (9-18 AAC) during the season.
• Clinched program's first AAC Tournament berth since 2013.
• First Montreat baseball played selected in MLB Draft since 2002 (Kevynn Arias-Liriano in 40th Round).
• Athlete achievements: 2 Second Team All-AAC and 5 AAC All-Academic Team.

2017

• Went 19-30 (7-20 AAC) on the year.
• Athlete achievements: 2 Second Team All-AAC and 2 AAC All-Academic Team.

PRIOR TO MONTREAT

Prior to Montreat, Beck led the Southeastern University (Fla.) Fire for 12 seasons. In 2014, Beck led Southeastern to its first Sun Conference Championship in program history. That conference title gave the Fire their first bid to the NAIA National Tournament, where they competed in the Lawrenceville, Ga. Opening Round bracket. The Fire went 2-2, falling twice to the hosts, Georgia Gwinnett, which ended their season at 46-16.

In his first five years at Southeastern, Beck guided the Fire to four NCCAA D-II National Championships. While competing in the NCCAA D-II South Region from 2005-09, Beck went 82–12 with four South Region titles. During that span, Southeastern owned a remarkable 21–2 record in the NCCAA D-II National Tournament.

Prior to coaching at Southeastern, Beck also spent some time at his alma mater, Nyack College, in Nyack, N.Y. As a coach, Beck accumulated a 134–125 record at Nyack, winning the NCAA Division II Conference Championship in 2004. Beck played for Nyack College from 1989 to 1992, where he starred as a pitcher and first baseman and was named team captain his sophomore year.

Additionally, Beck has witnessed 11 of his players going on to sign MLB contracts, most notably Dee Strange-Gordon. In his final season at Southeastern, Beck witnessed Chris Mattison, his NAIA All-America Honorable Mention first baseman, get drafted in the 16th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. More than 20 other players have gone on to sign other free agent or independent league contracts.

Coach Beck and his wife, Debbie, have been married for 25+ years and have two children, Gavin and Kelsey.

PRIOR TO MONTREAT

Primarily working with the Montreat infielders during 2022-23, De Armas also assisted both the varsity and junior varsity teams. With De Armas’ help, the Montreat varsity program went 27-24 (14-14 AAC) and secured its second consecutive winning season for the first time since 2008-09. The junior varsity team also finished above .500 with a 14-11 record.

A native of Miami, De Armas also currently works as Director of Teams for Next Level Baseball North Carolina. As part of his duties, De Armas oversees teams from ages 10 to 18 in high-level competitive travel baseball and develops young players to help them earn playing opportunities at the next level. In addition to his work at NLB North Carolina, De Armas also spent two years coaching baseball in McDowell County.

Prior to his coaching career, De Armas started his collegiate playing career at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla. before transferring to Montreat. In 2014, De Armas hit .392 with the Fire, earning a spot on the All-Conference First Team in the process. Under Beck, De Armas and Southeastern won The Sun Conference title for the first time in school history and fell just short of the NAIA World Series. During his 2016 season at Montreat, De Armas hit .411 with 17 doubles and eight home runs, which earned him a Second Team All-AAC nod. De Armas ended his collegiate playing career with a .335 batting average, 53 doubles and 12 home runs.

De Armas graduated from Montreat in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. Remaining at Montreat, he then went on to earn his master’s degree in management and leadership in 2020.

De Armas currently resides in Black Mountain, N.C. and enjoys spending time with his son, Jax.

PRIOR TO MONTREAT

The Jacksonville, Fla. native came to Montreat following a year as a volunteer assistant with NCAA Division I Ohio University. While with the Bobcats, Lanning primarily oversaw the development of the outfielders. During his stint with the team, he also helped with hitting development, handling technology that tracked players' hitting data.

Before his time at Ohio, Lanning spent a year and a half at Olivet Nazarene University. As an assistant and recruiting coordinator, he worked with outfielders, catchers and hitters. Lanning, who coached first base, saw numerous players achieve significant honors under his care.

With Lanning's assistance, two Tigers earned First Team All-Conference recognition, three collected Second Team All-Conference awarding, one player went on to be named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Player of the Year and a pair of athletes notched All-American honors. Under Lanning, outfielder Terry Daniels won a Gold Glove and signed to play professionally in the Pecos League.

Prior to ONU, Lanning held a similar position at Toccoa Falls College, assisting with the same player groups and coordinating recruiting efforts. The Screaming Eagles made the 2019 NCCAA World Series and registered the most World Series wins in program history with Lanning as an assistant (2). Two TFC players that Lanning coached also went on to sign professional contracts, the first Screaming Eagles to play professionally. He finished his year at Toccoa Falls having coached a trio of All-Americans, four All-Region players and an NCCAA Player of the Year.

Lanning also coached the Southern Ohio Copperheads, who participate in the Great Lakes Collegiate Summer League, in addition to his duties at Montreat.

As a collegiate athlete, Lanning played three years at Trinity Baptist College, where he was a team captain before transferring to TFC. While at Toccoa Falls, he also served as a team captain as he earned his associate degree.

Lanning, who went on to collect his bachelor's degree in communications from Olivet Nazarene in 2020, now resides in Black Mountain, N.C.