Cory Beddick, the 2016 Middle Atlatnic Conference Commonwealth Coach of the Year, has wasted little time turning the Hood College baseball team into a competitive force in the league.
Named head coach in the summer of 2013 to recruit a team for the 2015 season, Beddick brought in 37 players for the inaugural squad. The Blazers won the first game in school history (10-7 over Penn College) on the way to a respectable 14-win season. Four players earned All-Commonwealth Conference honors, including conference rookie of the year Josh Gall. Gall was also named rookie of the year in the ECAC South and was an All-American by both D3baseball.com and was voted all-region by the ABCA.
Hood's second season was even better as the second-year baseball program posted seven conference victories, more than twice as many as the 2015 season. The Blazers picked up their first series sweep of a conference opponent during the year, taking all three contests from Albright. Hood also won the season series with Lebanon Valley 2-1. The team finished third in the MAC Commonwealth in batting average at .304, on-base percentage at .383 and fielding percentage at .951. The pitching staff shaved over a run and a half off its 2015 mark, finishing at 5.17 with a staff comprised fully of freshmen and sophomores. Overall, Hood finished 16-24 on the season.
In addition to his coach of the year award, Beddick won the Dr. Henry P. And Page Laughlin Administrative Achievement Award, conferred for noteworthy service to staff members who have made significant contributions to the College at the Honors Convocation in April 2016. During the summer of 2016, he added the role of assistant director of athletics for compliance to his duties.
Prior to his appointment at Hood, Beddick served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Penn State-Behrend in Erie, Pennsylvania. During his two seasons, he worked with the hitters and infielders while serving as the program's recruiting coordinator and first base coach. During his two seasons, the Lions went 59-27-1. Behrend won the ECAC South Region Championship in 2012 and in 2013 won the program’s fifth Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championship to advance to the NCAA Mideast Regional. Throughout his tenure as an assistant with the Lions, Beddick coached eight All-AMCC hitters, multiple All-Mideast Region players, and one American Baseball Coaches Association Second-Team All-American third baseman. Beddick organized the Lions’ Dugout Club, golf tournament, clinics, and camps.
Beddick coached at his alma mater, Gettysburg College, in 2011 as an assistant coach working with hitters and position players. He joined the coaching staff after graduating from Gettysburg in 2010 with a degree in political science and a minor in history. Beddick was a four year member of the Bullets baseball program as an infielder. Beddick started 40 games at first base, second base, third base, or shortstop to become first Bullet in at least 28 years to start at all four infield positions. Beddick also was the baseball program's representative to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee during his sophomore, junior, and senior years.
In addition to his bachelor’s degree, Beddick earned a master’s of business administration from Penn State Behrend’s Sam and Irene Black School of Business in 2013.
