Owner
A native of Belmont, N.C., Lawing graduated from South Point High School in 2010. He was honored as a 3A All-State Player in 2009 and was a 3-time All-Conference selection.
Lawing then went on to play at Lander University and was part of the Bearcat team that reached the NCAA Division II College World Series in 2014. During his time at Lander, Lawing earned 3 All-Conference Selections in the Peach Belt Conference, was selected to the All-Southeast Region team his Junior year and also holds the Lander school record in career doubles and RBIs.
In the summer of 2013 and 2014 Lawing played for the Gastonia Grizzlies in Gastonia, NC. In 2014 he was selected to the CPL all-star game and was awarded the 2014 CPL Defensive Player of the Year. Lawing holds several Gastonia Grizzlies franchise records as well as the single season batting average record of .375 (2014).
Lawing graduated from Lander University in May of 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science and a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. Upon graduating Lawing joined the Belmont Abbey College coaching staff where he worked with the Crusader hitters and outfielders during the 2015-2016 season.
Weston took over full ownership of 704 Sports Academy in the summer of 2021. He and his wife Bridget reside in Gastonia, NC with their daughter Hattie Sue and chocolate lab Jackson.
Liam Brady graduated from East Gaston High School in 2022, where he was an all-conference honoree his senior year for the baseball team and earned multiple team awards during his career, including Defensive Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year.
A recent graduate of Appalachian State University, Liam earned his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science with a Minor in Sport Science and Coaching and plans to pursue a Master of Science in Exercise Science with a concentration in strength and conditioning. Brady currently works with the Appalachian State University softball team, where he is transitioning from a student manager role to a graduate assistant role. His duties with the softball team include assisting with film, bullpen catching for the pitchers, and statistics.
Evan Wise has spent the past two seasons as the Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at NAIA National Power, Georgia Gwinnett College. Over his two seasons with GGC, the Grizzlies had 9 pitchers sign professional contracts to extend their playing careers.
Preceding his position at GGC, Wise was the Pitching Lab Coordinator for the NCAA Division I program within the Atlantic Coast Conference at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
Before Wake Forest, Wise was the Summer Director of Pitching at 108 Performance Academy in Tustin, California.
In 2018, Wise was an area scouting supervisor for Southern California within the New York Mets organization.
From 2014-2017 Wise was the Pitching Coach/Recruiting Coordinator for Lenoir-Rhyne University. During his time at Lenoir-Rhyne, Wise assisted in the development of six pitchers who signed professional contracts with MLB organizations.
Wise also served as a Pitching Coach at University of South Carolina Sumter for four seasons (2010-14).
In the summers of 2014-17, Wise was head coach of the Gastonia Grizzlies of the Coastal Plain League where he finished his tenure as the Grizzly’s all-time winning Manager in franchise history.
Wise is a 2004 graduate of Lincolnton High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Lenoir-Rhyne in 2009 and currently also serves as Director of Player Development for Belmont Abbey College.
Marrah Troutman Beard was born in Spartanburg, SC before moving to Gastonia, NC in 2014. During her high school career, she earned 3 all-state selections, 3 all-conference selections, and finished with a .449 batting average her senior year. She also competed with several elite travel softball teams, including Team NC, Team SC Elite, Tuscaloosa Spring Training, and Mississippi Motion. After graduating high school, Marrah continued her athletic career at Belmont Abbey College. Through her experience competing at multiple levels and learning from her father, who played professional baseball, Marrah exhibits elite knowledge of the game, immense experience with running camps, and a strong recruitment background with college coaches.
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