After a standout collegiate playing career at Point Park, Nick Beardsley returned to his alma mater in 2022 to serve as pitching coach for the Pioneer baseball program.
He stepped away from the program in 2023 to play professionally for the Staten Island Ferry Hawks in the Atlantic League, before returning to the PPU dugout in 2024.
Beardsley has helped the Pioneers to three conference championships (2022, 2024, 2025) and two national tournament appearances as members of the NAIA in 2022 and 2024.
The Pioneers ranked first in the River States Conference in ERA in 2022 and ranked second in the category in 2024. In Point Park's first season competing in NCAA Division II, the Pioneers ranked second in the Mountain East Conference in ERA.
Beardsley has coached seven all-conference pitchers since 2022, including All-Atlantic Region standout Javier Cordoso II in 2025. In last season’s MEC Tournament, the Pioneer pitching staff went 4-0 with a 2.91 ERA.
Beardsley played three seasons professionally, beginning in 2021 for the Houston Apollos of the America Association. During this stop, he made one start while coming out of the bullpen. In 2022 with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League, he split time as both a starter and relief pitcher.
In Staten Island in 2023, he was a primary starter while playing in the Atlantic League.
His highly decorated playing career at Point Park ran from 2016 to 2021.
In 2021, he bounced back from Tommy John surgery to return for his redshirt-senior season. That year, he set program records for strikeouts (272) and innings pitched (247). He still holds the strikeout record and currently ranks second in innings pitched behind Cardoso who set a new mark in 2025.
As a senior, Beardsley went 8-4 with a 3.53 ERA and 108 strikeouts. For his efforts, he was a first team all-conference selection and was named the top senior male student-athlete at PPU, winning the Don Kelly Award.
As a junior in 2018 prior to his injury, Beardsley and the PPU pitching staff ranked Top 10 in the NAIA, as the Pioneers won the River States Conference Championship and earned a national postseason berth for the first time in four seasons. That season, Beardsley went 7-2 with a 2.28 ERA, including a complete game performance against Cumberlands in the NAIA Tournament. He was a second team all-conference pick that season.
In 2017, Beardsley went 5-1 with a 1.93 ERA, earning second team all-conference honors for his efforts. On April 1, 2017, Beardsley threw a no-hitter against Ohio Christian – the last no-hitter thrown by a Pioneer pitcher until Harold Boyce on March 13, 2025. Following the no-hitter, he was named NAIA National Pitcher of the Week.
As a freshman in 2016, Beardsley was primarily used as a reliever.
For his career, Beardsley had a record of 20-8 with a 2.48 career ERA. He had eight complete games during his career and was named River States Conference Pitcher of the Week five times.
Beardsley earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports, Arts and Entertainment from PPU in 2019. He obtained a Master of Business Administration in the spring of 2021.
