Mike WilsonKnoxville News Sentinel
Kelli Beam thought her son was in trouble.
“Hey, do you have a second to talk?” the text from Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello read.
It was a month into Drew Beam’s freshman season and Kelli’s mind rocketed to the worst places. Vitello’s was in the best. He wanted to make sure the Beams had everything they needed as the Vols headed to Ole Miss for their first SEC road trip in 2022.
Specifically, Vitello wanted to make sure that Carlee Beam had everything she needed.
“It has been cool to see her be loved on and for people to see her for who she is and not just a chair,” Kelli said.
Carlee, 16, is a wheelchair user due to spinal muscular atrophy or SMA, a genetic disease that affects the central nervous system. That's a part of who she is but she is so much more and that is on display around the Vols.
Carlee is in the fiber of the Tennessee baseball and a light at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. She’s ingrained in the program, the postgame social butterfly, and a heartbeat of what the 16-year-old calls a big orange family — and she might just be the reason her brother is at Tennessee.
How Carlee Beam was in the middle of Drew Beam coming to Tennessee
Carlee has a story to tell.
She is in her usual spot at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, the cranny in the concourse behind home plate where her family has watched Drew dominate for three seasons.
“Did you know I am the reason Drew is at Tennessee?” Carlee says.
Carlee was 7 years old, making rubberband bracelets to pass another summer day away at the baseball field. This got the interest of another fun-seeking sister named Hannah Hibbett, whose brother, Kneeland, played for a different team. A friendship blossomed and the families got to know each other, which opened the opportunity for Drew to join Viper Baseball Academy in Huntsville, Alabama. Tennessee saw Drew while he pitched for Viper.
Drew knows Carlee’s claim that she is to credit for him playing for the No. 1 Vols (50-11), who open the Knoxville Regional against No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky (35-22) on Friday (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network. Kelli concedes Carlee certainly accelerated the path. Everyone is glad it happened.
“That was God’s plan,” Drew said. “That is what we will go with.”
Going with it is what the Beams do. But it’s not passive. They go by faith and determination, refusing to be downtrodden since that day in April 2010.
Months prior, Kelli knew something was amiss when Carlee wasn’t standing and walking. Doctor appointments stacked until Carlee was diagnosed with SMA as a 2-year-old.
“That was a devastating day for us,” Kelli said.
SMA is theleading genetic cause of death for infants and toddlers. It causes muscles to not receive signals and consequently to not develop properly. There is no known cure or fix.
There are four classifications of SMA, the latter two of which don’t have a significant impact on lifestyle and quality of life. Those with Type II like Carlee are unable to walk and can see reduced life expectancy, but are typically expected to live into young adulthood, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Carlee has lived in a wheelchair since she was 3 years old when Kelli could no longer carry her. She got her first electric wheelchair in first grade. The Beams had already launched into finding out what they could do to support Carlee.
They were prepared to go overseas to get her access to Spinraza, a medication developed to treat SMA by improving motor function. She was the first person in Tennessee to receive it following FDA approval in December 2016. She will have her 26th injection into her spine in July. Each treatment containing a vial of five milliliters costs $150,000.
“We say she is the millions dollar baby,” Kelli said.
Carlee simply and even casually calls SMA “my disorder” and that’s it. The disorder has changed her life but she owns it. The fact she is in a wheelchair hardly registers, at times. It's just what life looks like.
“Our lives have been changed totally but it is in a good way,” Carlee said. “Our worlds would be so different without it.”
How Drew Beam's purple glove centered on sibling love
Drew wracked his brain to design a glove before his sophom*ore season. He tinkered with this and that until he messed around with crafting a purple glove.
Hitting coach Josh Elander walked behind Drew and saw the purple, which is the color for SMA awareness. Elander asked Beam if he was going to go with it — and told him he definitely should.
“He said, ‘We are in full support of that,’ ” recalled Drew, who has a 25-7 record with a 3.45 ERA at UT.
Drew was 7 when Carlee was diagnosed with SMA. His life changed, too. He had to mature faster and helped out as much as a kid can. He accepted it without hesitation. He doesn’t feel that his childhood lacked in any facet. It merely came with perspective earlier than most get it.
His primary perspective and posture is adoration for his sister. She is and has been his biggest supporter. His baseball memories and memories with his sister are largely intertwined. Her joy is his.
“God has given him a heart for his littler sister,” Kelli said.
Carlee is the light-hearted to Drew’s serious nature. She picked up on his nerves before a start as a freshman and texted him, “Don’t suck today. I love you.” That started a tradition that lingers. It’s the type of goofy sibling bond rooted in love that defines Drew and Carlee.
Carlee hooked into cheer while watching Drew play football at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro. She is a manager for the high school cheer team and has been involved in the sport for years. She calls cheer her whole life and calls herself a “mini-coach.”
The way Drew pitches stems in part from Carlee. No obstacle a baseball game can bring seems too large. How could they be? Carlee navigates bigger hurdles with unspoken grace and without complaint.
“She always finds a way and that is something I have taken on,” Drew said. “It gives me perspective that I can do anything. It is all going to be alright.”
Carlee is learning to drive and Drew texts her often how proud he is of her, a little reminder of brotherly love. Drew drives a car gently, especially when it comes to braking. That’s the product of a 10-year-old Carlee sliding out of her chair when Drew hit the brakes too hard on one of his first excursions with his learner’s permit.
He’s still a very good brother, Carlee insists, and she is often moved by his acts of support.
The purple glove, which remains in Drew’s locker, faded into a purplish gray by the end of last season. The meaning never will. He won’t ever get rid of it.
Carlee Beam is her brother's biggest fan at Lindsey Nelson Stadium
Carlee has a goal for her junior year: She wants perfect attendance.
That hasn’t happened in a while because of the weekly trips during the spring to see Drew pitch. She settled into her spot at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on May 17 knowing she would have to go to school three days later to take makeup exams for missing too many classes.
“It kind of sucks, but I have the weekend to look forward to with watching baseball and hanging out with everyone,” Carlee said.
This is home away from home. The ushers in the section are family and known by name. The Beams took up the spot in the concourse so they can all watch the games together even though Jason Beam tends to wander the ballpark more than sit still.
The loved one of Drew’s teammates — girlfriends, parents, grandparents — stop by to see Carlee leading up to first pitch. She is a particularly outward-focused teenager, showing genuine interest in others. She fires off Snapchats of Drew on the mound when the game starts.
It was a rocky start initially for Drew, drawing added chatter from Carlee. She has watched Drew pitch so many times that she isn’t bothered. Drew always settles into a start and he is doing it again. His curveball is working well. That is Carlee’s favorite pitch he throws and she can spot the difference between a slider and a curve, the result of so many years observing.
Carlee cheers loudly for all the Vols and has a nickname for each hitter. She prides herself on coming up with nicknames other people don’t use and that are hers alone. Drew’s teammates get bigger cheers than Drew. She is more reserved with Drew on the mound — a reflection of Drew’s demeanor. That broke when Drew got a key strikeout in the sixth of Tennessee’s 8-3 win.
The fact Drew’s career went the way it has is a blessing in itself. He earned a weekend starter spot immediately, which means the Beams could always come to games. That wouldn’t have been the case if he was a midweek starter.
It did mean Carlee racking up absences at school, a small consequence. Carlee took her two finals days later — one in Bible and one in medical. She hopes to go into the medical field and dreams of studying at UT to possibly be an ultrasound technician.
The Bible exam? She aced it much like Drew does on the mound.
How Carlee Beam has felt part of a 'big ole orange family'
Carlee has been to 10 of the 13 away SEC stadiums.
Ole Miss remains her favorite and Vitello played a part in that. Ole Miss knew Carlee and the Beams were coming. A chair was set up and she was in a perfect spot to enjoy the game.
“People have just loved on her,” Kelli said. “It is just continuing to show that no matter where is and whatever she is doing, she can be the light. That is what I tell my kids all the time. I texted them that this morning. People are going to hopefully see the Lord in you but they are also going to see that you have joy in your heart.”
As much as Drew has been a constant in the Tennessee rotation for three seasons, Carlee has been a constant in the aftermath of Tennessee games.
“The family we have created and the new friendships, it is a big ole orange family basically,” Carlee said.
Everyone knows Carlee when families and friends converge by batting cages down the right-field line at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. A broken elevator prevented her from getting down once after a game in 2022, which drew a vigorous vow from Vitello that it would never happen again.
She seamlessly navigates through the clusters and crowds to talk to seemingly everyone. Players know her well. She has pictures with most over the past three years. Cortland Lawson was a favorite Drew’s freshman year. Andrew Lindsey and his family have come to support at SMA walks. Nate Snead is a current favorite.
UPDATE: Will AJ Russell be available for Tennessee baseball in Knoxville NCAA Regional?
They have found what everyone who encounters Carlee finds: She is a really cool kid who just happens to be in a wheelchair.
“It is awesome seeing everyone embrace a family member who has it a little tougher than the rest of us do,” Drew said.
The Beams soaked up that final regular-season game, ending it with family pictures by the batting cages. Drew is guaranteed one more start at Lindsey Nelson Stadium with the possibly of a second. It is the last hoorah as Kelli says.
Carlee will be there no matter what, the brightest light at the ballpark.
“She is leaving her mark over there just as much as anybody,” Kelli said.
That is the most important story Carlee is telling.
Mike Wilsoncovers University of Tennessee athletics.Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.comand follow him on Twitter@ByMikeWilson.If you enjoy Mike’s coverage,consider adigital subscriptionthat will allow you access to all of it.
