Baseball

NJ PREP A CHAMPIONS

2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Blair’s baseball program is highly competitive. We play a 24-game schedule against strong Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) opponents (Peddie, Lawrenceville, Hun, Hill and Mercersburg) and top public high schools. The season culminates with the New Jersey prep “A” tournament. Blair's JV team (freshmen and sophomores) plays a 14-15 game schedule.

The School's Wakefield Diamond is one of the finest baseball facilities in the state. It includes a beautiful bluegrass infield with DuraEdge infield mix, an outfield with college dimensions, state-of-the-art dugouts, pitching/fungo machines, two indoor and two outdoor batting cages, four outdoor bullpen mounds and three indoor mounds.

Blair's baseball philosophy is to be as fundamentally sound as possible. The team concentrates on proper mechanics for each phase of the game and then incorporates them into game situations. No detail is too small. Players must be ready to play every pitch for the team to be successful. Blair teams are always well prepared and are in the hunt for the MAPL and New Jersey prep championships every year.

Many Blair baseball players have gone on to play at the collegiate level at schools including Vanderbilt University, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Brown University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, Creighton University, University of Massachusetts, Old Dominion University, Rollins College, Rider University, Babson College, Widener University, Wofford University, Ohio Wesleyan, Ohio University, Lafayette College, Trinity College, Nicholls State, Union College, Middlebury College, Dickinson College and Lynchburg College.

For more information on Blair baseball, email Coach Wagner.

Teddy Cillis ’13
Selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 2018 MLB draft

Blair gave me the tools to not only be successful on the diamond, but also the skills to thrive in the classroom and beyond. I am grateful for the experiences I gained at Blair that allowed me to further my baseball career with the Kansas City Royals organization.

Liam Sabino ’14
Selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2018 MLB draft

Attending Blair started me on the path that has led me to where I am today. The entire experience of living away from home at such a young age, going to school and interacting with people I came to admire became my classroom. There isn’t much I come across in my life now, especially with the life I lead and the journey that brought me here, that I didn’t encounter at Blair first, and that’s the definition of preparation through experience. For a parent, I’d imagine that’s exactly what you’d want for your child: the comfort of knowing that he or she will graduate a prepared, well-rounded individual, associated with influential people in their lives going forward. Being a Blair student from 2011 to 2014 was a pivotal time in my life, filled with incredible lessons and memories, and I would encourage anyone with the opportunity to attend to seriously consider it.

Meet Coach Wagner

Blair's varsity head baseball coach  Joe Wagner teaches honors biology and biomechanics and coaches varsity baseball. He is an alumnus of Hamilton College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 2014. He has worked as a camp counselor and baseball coach at Camp Skylemar in Naples, Maine, in the financial aid office at Hamilton and at the New Jersey Urological Institute, performing data entry work. He was a four-year varsity baseball player at Hamilton and coached a summer baseball team in Long Branch, New Jersey. Joe lives on campus in Freeman Hall, where he serves as co-housemaster.

Contact Coach Wagner at wagnj@blair.edu for any questions.

View directions to athletic events. To read recaps about past events, go to the "Team News" tab above.

Click here to download the Gamechanger App.

View more photos from the 2019 season on Blair's Photoshelter or past years on Blair's Flickr.

Blair Baseball Alumni Playing in College

Blair’s baseball program is highly competitive. We play a 24-game schedule against strong Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) opponents (Peddie, Lawrenceville, Hun, Hill and Mercersburg) and top public high schools.

The season culminates with the New Jersey prep “A” tournament. Blair's JV team (freshmen and sophomores) plays a 14-15 game schedule.

The School's Wakefield Diamond is one of the finest baseball facilities in the state. It includes a beautiful Bermuda grass infield with DuraEdge infield mix, an outfield with college dimensions, state-of-the-art dugouts, two outdoor batting cages and four bullpen mounds.

Blair's baseball philosophy is to be as fundamentally sound as possible. The team concentrates on proper mechanics for each phase of the game and then incorporates them into game situations. No detail is too small. Players must be ready to play every pitch for the team to be successful. Blair teams are always well prepared and are in the hunt for the MAPL and New Jersey prep championships every year.

Many Blair baseball players have gone on to play at the collegiate level at schools including Vanderbilt University, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Brown University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, Creighton University, University of Massachusetts, Old Dominion University, Rollins College, Rider University, Babson College, Widener University, Wofford University, Ohio Wesleyan, Ohio University, Lafayette College, Trinity College, Nichols State University, Union College, Middlebury College, Dickinson College and Lynchburg College.

For more information on Blair baseball, email Coach Delwiche.

Meet Coach Thomas

Matt Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations from the University of Central Florida (2005) and brought more than a decade of government and public policy experience to his role as a Blair history teacher when he joined the faculty in 2017. He began his career as a staff assistant to Senator Bill Nelson before becoming a lobbyist and government-relations specialist in 2007. Matt worked for two major Washington, D.C., law firms over the next 10 years, serving as an advisor to attorneys and clients on a variety of issues before the U.S. Congress and federal agencies; his areas of expertise include energy, the environment, data and cyber security, federal funding and appropriations, and financial regulatory reform. He authored articles for several publications, including Law360, Lexology and Inside Cybersecurity, and co-authored a textbook chapter covering federal policy perspectives on the rise and use of big data. Matt teaches U.S. history and western civilization at Blair and coaches 3rds boys’ basketball and JV baseball. He lives in Hillside House with his wife, Assistant Dean of College Counseling Britt Freitag.

View directions to athletic events.

View more photos from the 2016-2017 season or past years on Blair's Flickr.