Beck hired to fill ‘destination job’ as Russellville High School varsity baseball coach

There’s not been a time when 35-year-old Blake Beck’s life hasn’t revolved around baseball.

At a special called meeting of the Russellville City School Board of Education Friday, Beck was hired as Russellville High School’s new varsity baseball coach, a position he describes as a ‘destination job.’ High praise from a young man who’s been part of some outstanding programs. 

Beck’s coaching (and teaching) philosophy is that success comes from the whole community working together toward a common goal, something he sees securely in place at Russellville.

“Coming to this school system and this athletic department with the quality of people in place, it makes you realize how special it is,” Beck said. “You have to have support from your leadership to be successful and that’s in place here. The resources and investment that go into this athletic department and this program are obviously impressive, as is the tradition and community support for the baseball program.

“The vision Coach (Darrell) Higgins has laid out here and what he wants this athletic program to be is very familiar to me and I understand and share in that vision. To be successful, everybody needs to be pulling in the same direction,” Beck added.

Russellville City Schools Superintendent of Education Tim Guinn, who’s had a busy spring filling coaching vacancies, said Beck’s experience was an important part of his decision to recommend his hiring.

“He has worked with some of the best coaches in college athletics and his knowledge of the game will be an incredible asset to our players. But more importantly, he comes to us with a well-respected reputation both on and off the field,” Guinn said. “This job drew a great deal of interest from all across the region and we believe we have the right man to help lead it going further.”

As a standoutplayer at Hamilton High School, Beck played his way into a baseball scholarship at Shelton State Community College, where he compiled a career 2.67 ERA as a pitcher for the Buccaneers.

Beck went on to Troy University and served as a student assistant for baseball head coach Bobby Pierce.

While at Mississippi State University, where he earned his degree in 2016, Beck was mentored by the highly-respected pitching coach Butch Thompson. After college, he returned to Troy to join the Trojans’ baseball coaching staff.

After one season at Troy, the same Butch Thompson hired Beck to be part of his staff at Auburn, where Thompson was hired to lead the Tigers’ baseball program prior to the 2016 season.

Beck served as player development director at Auburn and assisted with on campus recruiting, as well as working with the Tigers’ pitching staff, which included former RHS standout Cody Greenhill. RHS grad Judd Ward also played for the Tigers during Beck’s three seasons on the Plains.

Beck joined the Jones College (in Ellisville, Miss.) baseball staff as pitching coach in the summer of 2019, where he remained until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the program.

During that time, former Auburn pitching coach Steve Smith, whom Beck worked with on the Tigers’ coaching staff, hired Beck as Tennessee Tech University’s pitching coach, where he remained until 2022, when he was named Muscle Shoals’ varsity baseball coach.

Beck’s tenure at Muscle Shoals was two seasons before he joined the Eastern Kentucky University baseball staff as pitching coach for the 2025 season.

In July of 2025, Beck returned to his hometown of Hamilton to work for Patrick Industries in a management position. 

Beck’s two years at Muscle Shoals were not without controversy. In May 2023, a social media buzz was created after video surfaced of a heated verbal incident between Beck and the former Muscle Shoals Parks and Recreation Department Director Rusty Wheeles.

Muscle Shoals’ baseball team uses the city’s Gattman Park baseball field as its home stadium, a less than harmonious partnership that remains the subject of controversy.

Wheeles was fired in August 2023, reportedly for insubordination for calling and holding a meeting of the Muscle Shoals Parks and Recreation Board without notifying the city attorney, something he was directed not to do according to former Muscle Shoals Mayor Mike Lockhart.

Beck continued to coach Muscle Shoals through the following season, before resigning after the 2024 school year.

Three years after that incident, Beck shared what he learned from it, as well as his thoughts on Muscle Shoals.

“Muscle Shoals was a good place to work and I enjoyed my time with those kids as much as anywhere I’ve been,” Beck said Friday. “I stay in contact with several of them as they’ve moved on in their lives. I have nothing bad to say about my time at Muscle Shoals.

“The biggest growth I’ve learned from that experience is sometimes you’re met with some resistance or difficulty, and you’ve got to have patience and lean on people with wisdom and experience who’ve worked through similar issues before. Being a coach involves a lot management and that’s something I’ve worked to improve. That’s what I did at Patrick Homes in my time there,” he added.

Russellville’s new 5A Area 13 alignment includes some familiar programs to Beck in Muscle Shoals and Florence, along with Austin High School.

“The new Florence head coach, Hunter Morris, was a player at Auburn when I was an assistant there. And at Muscle Shoals, they still have several assistant coaches I’m connected with who’ve been in the foxhole with me and I’m respectful of each of them,” Beck said.

Blake’s philosophy of success resulting from all forces pulling in the same direction means he realizes and supports that his Golden Tiger players will also be part of other RHS sports programs.

“At Muscle Shoals, half of my team played football and our starting shortstop played on the varsity basketball team. Supporting kids in multiple sports has never been an issue with me,” Beck said.