It is no secret why Lee University head baseball coach Mark Brew has stepped in and continued to win games year after year after replacing his mentor and former Lee head coach David Altopp 16 years ago. During Altopp’s final five seasons the Flames won over 40 games each year, including a 55-win season in 2005, when Lee earned a berth in the NAIA College World Series for the first time.
Altopp and Brew have a long history together. During his playing days, Brew had a successful four-year career at Trevecca Nazarene University under Coach Altopp. In 1990, Brew was the top hitter for the Trevecca baseball team. He was also the closer for the Trojans for four years.
Brew wasted no time in showing he was ready to step in and fill the big spikes left behind by Altopp. His first team (2007) not only won 51 games but returned to the “Big Show” in Lewiston, Idaho for seven straight years. His teams placed runner up twice and had one fourth-place finish in the World Series.
Quickly on his way to 603 wins over 16 years, Brew’s team posted a school record of 63 wins in 2008 and averaged over 50 victories per season until Lee Athletics made a step forward to NCAA Division II in 2014. The record of 63 wins in a season will likely never be broken. NCAA DII allows only 50 games during the regular season and only 40 during the current Covid-19 spring year.
Prior to joining the NCAA Division II ranks Lee dominated the NAIA landscape. In 2013 the Flames posted another impressive record of 51-12 while having a record five players taken in the Major League Baseball Draft and two others inked free agent contracts.
Brew was named SSAC Conference Coach of the Year twice (2008 and 2010) and has been Region Coach of the Year six times (2008-2013). In 2008 he was named NAIA National Coach of the Year. Over Brew’s tenure as head coach and as an assistant coach the Flames have had 31 players get drafted/sign MLB contracts, including two that have played in the Major Leagues (Lance Zawadzki and Brandon Cunniff). Additionally, 38 players have signed contracts with Independent Professional teams in Brew’s tenure.
In 2016 David Climer a highly respected sportswriter out of the Nashville area, who has covered SEC events and Division I athletic competition for several years, ranked the top coaches on all levels of Tennessee coaching circles. Climer compiled what he termed a "purely subjective" list of the top 25 college coaches in Tennessee for The Ledger.
Coach Brew, who was 19th on the list, was surrounded by outstanding coaches, including Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin, Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes and former Memphis basketball coach Tubby Smith.
Ryan Beamish, who has a team-leading 17 home runs and 50 RBI for the 2021 club that currently holds a 29-4 overall record and is leading the GSC with a 23-3 record, offered these comments about his coach, “Coach Brew has been one of the most influential coaches I've ever had. More than just baseball expertise, he has always kept a high standard for excellence in the baseball program. Whether we are playing very well or very poorly, he always reminds us to keep pursing excellence on the baseball diamond and in our personal lives.
“More than anything, Coach Brew's commitment to faith in Christ is what is most inspiring. He is bold and understanding with his faith, always reminding us that the ultimate goal is to be Christ like in everything we do. There is not much more I could ever ask from a coach, especially one that I have been around for six years. I am proud and honored to call him my coach and I'm excited for this program and its continued success.”
Lee athletic director Larry Carpenter has watched his baseball coach work on the field and in his office to help develop quality players and excellent individuals in the classroom. “Coach Brew has been a fixture on our sidelines for 26 years, 16 of those as head coach. He has averaged 40 wins a year and there are very few coaches in the country that can make that claim. Winning 600 games in that short span is truly amazing. I am proud to have him leading our teams and look forward to many more wins,” noted Carpenter.
The Flames are members of the rugged Gulf South Conference and the highly proclaimed South Region. Brew’s crew is currently ranked No. 6 in the country. The Flames hold a four-game lead over the Argonauts but must travel to Pensacola to close out the regular season next weekend.
They have a “magic number” of three – a need for a combination of three wins over streaking Mississippi College this Sunday and Monday, or two wins and one loss by West Georgia to West Florida to claim their first GSC title.
A 1994 graduate of Trevecca, Brew received a B.S. degree in physical education and was an employee of the Nashville City School system before joining the Lee staff. In 2006, Brew added to his educational portfolio by earning a Master of Sports Science degree in Sports Management from the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, Ala. A native of Smyrna, Tennessee, Brew and his wife Rachel have been married for 26 years. They are blessed with two children, Elise, and Alex.