Biography
2017 (Senior): Started in 47 of the team’s 48 games … Named to the All-MEAC first team in the outfield … Also became the first Spartan baseball player to ever be voted to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) academic all-district and All-America teams … Was a first-team Academic All-District 3 and second-team Division I Academic All-American … Started 29 games in the outfield, 10 at second base, seven at designated hitter and once at third base … Played every position except shortstop and catcher … Led the team in hits (61), at-bats (184) and stolen bases (18) … One of four Spartans to hit better than .300, amassing a .332 average … Also hit 13 doubles and four triples, drove in 23 runs and scored 31 times … Was hit by a pitch 14 times, breaking his own school single-season record from the year before … Made 11 appearances and five starts on the mound, compiling an 0-4 record with two saves … Among MEAC players, tied for first in times hit-by-pitch, tied for second in steals, tied for third in triples, ranked fifth in doubles and tied for ninth in total bases (82) … Was 35th in the nation in hit-by-pitch per game (0.30) and 50th in the nation in stolen bases per game (0.38) … Had 18 multi-hit games, including seven with three or more … Hit safely in eight of the first nine games of the season, including one two-hit game against Villanova and another against Tennessee … Scored three times and stole two bases in the win at Towson … Batted 3-for-6 with three RBI and the game-winning two-run triple in the top of the 10th inning in the victory at Richmond … Recorded three hits in the first matchup with William & Mary … Also was the starting pitcher in that game, pitching a career-high 6.2 innings and allowed just one earned run (five total) in the loss … Scored a season-high four runs in a 3-for-4 day, doubling twice and knocking in two runs in a win at Coppin State in early April … Picked up the first of his two saves in the series finale against Coppin that same weekend, striking out two in 1.2 scoreless innings … Earned another save in his next appearance on the mound, pitching a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in the second game of the series at Delaware State … Also had six straight games with at least two hits in April, beginning with the finale of that same DSU series … In the middle of that streak, Beard swiped a career-high three bases – part of a school-record 12 for NSU that day – while finishing 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI in a win against William & Mary … Batted 9-for-11 with four runs scored, three RBI, a pair of doubles and a triple in a three-game sweep of MDES that same week, earning him MEAC Player of the Week honors … Matched his career high with four hits in a perfect 4-for-4 day in the middle game of the MDES series … Had two more three-hit games over the final month of the season, in a win over Coppin State and a loss to Longwood … Went 2-for-4 with two doubles in the second MEAC Tournament win over North Carolina A&T … Was the starting pitcher in the tournament championship loss to Bethune-Cookman, pitching four innings … Led off the championship game with a double and later scored NSU’s only run of the game on a sacrifice fly … A member of the NSU AD Honor Roll for both the spring and fall semesters.
2016 (Junior): Played in 46 games and started 44 in the field as a junior … Started 28 times at first base, nine in the outfield, six at third base and one at DH in addition to making two scoreless appearances on the mound as a relief pitcher … Ranked third on NSU with a .299 batting average … Also hit nine doubles and one home run while scoring 38 runs and driving in 27 … Was 19-for-20 in stolen bases … Was third in the MEAC in total stolen bases and 58th nationally in steals per game (0.41) … Had at least two hits in a game on 16 occasions … Was also hit by a pitch 13 times, fourth-most in the MEAC and setting a new NSU single-season record … Reached base at a .395 clip … Went 4-for-5 in a doubleheader with NJIT, including a 2-for-2 game with two doubles and three RBI in the series opener …Also batted 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in the series finale with NJIT … Was 3-for-4 in the first game with NCCU … Hit a solo home run – his first collegiate round-tripper – in a loss to Towson … Enjoyed an 8-for-15 series in a three-game sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore in late March … Had a pair of two-RBI games in that series with the Hawks … In the middle game of the series, Beard had a career-best four hits (4-for-6) with three runs and two RBI … In the first game of that MDES series, Beard also made his pitching debut, retiring the side in order in the final inning of an 11-2 win … Drove in a career-high four runs while going 2-for-5 in the series-opening win at Coppin State in early April … Batted 3-for-4 with two stolen bases in a win at DSU the following weekend …. That was one of four games where Beard had two steals … Pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout in his second relief pitching effort in a loss to Delaware State in early May … Matched his career high with four RBI while going 2-for-5 in another win over Coppin State in the teams’ final regular-season series … Hit the game-winning two-run double in the top of the ninth to help the Spartans rally for the victory … Named to the MEAC All-Tournament Team after recording four hits in NSU’s four tourney games … Was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in the tourney opener against Bethune-Cookman … Named the NSU Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for having the highest GPA in the athletics program for a male athlete … Winner of the Joseph Echols Award, presented to the NSU baseball player for athletic and academic achievement … Also named to the NSU Athletics Director’s Honor Roll for both the fall and spring semester and earned a spot on the MEAC All-Academic Team … Played during the summer with the Martinsville Mustangs of the wooden bat Coastal Plain League … Hit .259 with seven doubles and 16 RBI … Also pitched five scoreless innings in two relief appearances for Martinsville.
2015 (Redshirt): Attended classes at NSU, but sat out the 2015 season as a Division I transfer … Named to the NSU Athletics Director’s Honor Roll for both the fall and spring semesters in 2014-15.
At ODU (Freshman/Sophomore): Played in 63 games over two years at ODU (2013-14) … Scored 14 runs and had 10 RBI in 78 at-bats … Had six hits in 28 at-bats over 31 games with five starts as a sophomore … Played in 32 games with 11 starts as a freshman, with nine runs scored and five stolen bases.
High School: Lettered three years in baseball and four in football at Great Bridge … Was a first-team All-Southeastern District outfielder as a senior in 2012 … Batted .395 that season for the Wildcats … In 2011, Beard was a second-team all-district outfielder who helped the Wildcats win the state Group AAA championship … Was also a standout football player at Great Bridge, earning second-team all-district honors as a quarterback as a senior and as an outside linebacker as a junior.
Personal: Brian Jeffrey Beard was born on Nov. 9, 1993 … Son of Jeff and Kerry Beard … Earned his bachelor’s degree in business management in May 2017.
