Lander University

Nicholas Popp was named the Assistant Head Baseball Coach in the summer of 2023. 

His first season with the Bearcats was a historic one that saw the 2024 squad appear in the National and Regional rankings and crowned the 2024 Peach Belt Regular Season Champions. The 2024 Bearcats finished 4th in the Nation in fielding percentage and offensively they were top 15 in the nation in walks, top 25 in HBP’s and SB’s. Along with those stats the offense also was 6th in the region in runs scored per game. The offense saw improvements in a number of categories as well from 2023 to 2024- OPS, R, H, 2B, HR, Total Bases, SLG, BB, HBP, OBP and SB’s. Coach Popp and Coach Buckley did a great job of building a system that produces great results. Coach Popp has tutored a PBC Player of the Year (Ethan Wilder) and 3 All Conference position players. Popp comes from Belmont Abbey where he's been an assistant since 2014. With Popp on staff, the Crusaders made the 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2023 NCAA Regionals. Popp has played for and coached under a pair of former Bearcats as well. As an undergrad, Popp played for former Lander Head Coach and Hall of Famer Kermit Smith while at Belmont Abbey. Popp recently coached under Chis Anderson, who was an assistant with Smith during his time in Greenwood. Popp helped guide Belmont Abbey to a 277-165-1 record since arriving in 2014. The 2023 season saw the Crusaders win 41 games and advance to the NCAA Southeast Super Regional. At Belmont Abbey, Popp specialized in offensive and defensive player development along with acting as the recruiting coordinator. The 2023 season saw the Crusaders hit .305 as a team with four players hitting above .330. Popp also served as the Head JV Baseball Coach. Along with playing for Belmont Abbey, Popp also played for Campbell University and Catonsville CC along with playing professionally for the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League. 

Popp resides in Greenwood, SC with his wife Kristyn. They have two children: Weston(5) and Kinsey(1)