Baseball

NJ PREP A CHAMPIONS

2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2025

Blair or nowhere! A Tradition of Excellence. A Culture of Relentless Growth.

Blair Baseball has a proud history of winning at the highest level in New Jersey and preparing student-athletes for success at the collegiate level. Our program is built on one word: Relentless. Players who wear the Blair uniform learn to compete, communicate, collaborate, and commit—on the field, in the classroom and in life.

Blair competes in a challenging 20-game schedule against the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) and top regional programs, including Hun, Pennington, Lawrenceville, Peddie, Mercersburg and Hill, as well as other elite local high schools. Each season culminates in the New Jersey Prep A State Tournament, where Blair student-athletes are tested under pressure and inspired to rise to the occasion.

Our home, Wakefield Diamond, ranks among the top baseball facilities in the MAPL. It features a bluegrass infield with DuraEdge mix, a full outfield with college dimensions, state-of-the-art dugouts, pitching and fungo machines, two indoor and two outdoor batting cages, four outdoor bullpen mounds and three indoor mounds. The campus also includes a winter training bubble and a fully equipped weight room, giving players the resources to train relentlessly year-round.

The Blair baseball philosophy emphasizes fundamentals, a winning team culture and player development. From ninth grade through post-graduate programs, our coaching staff is committed to helping student-athletes refine their skills, embrace leadership and grow into individuals for others—prepared to succeed at the next level on and off the field.

Blair baseball alumni have gone on to compete at prestigious programs across the country, including Vanderbilt, Maryland, UNC-Wilmington, Brown, Virginia, Creighton, UMass, Old Dominion, Rollins, Rider, Babson, Widener, Wofford, Ohio Wesleyan, Ohio University, Lafayette, Trinity, Nicholls State, Union, Middlebury, Dickinson and Lynchburg.

To learn more about Blair Baseball and our relentless approach to developing players, contact Head Coach Matt Smith.

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 Smith

Matt Smith was appointed in 2025 as Blair’s head varsity baseball coach and English teacher. He comes to Blair with a highly successful career coaching high school baseball and high school basketball. Most recently, he led the JV baseball team at Brophy College Prep of Arizona to a No. 1 state ranking and a 17-1 overall record, and helped guide Brophy to it’s first-ever 6A state championship in basketball as an assistant coach. He is also a two-time Arizona Charter School State Coach of the Year. Before Brophy, Mr. Smith coached basketball and baseball as the assistant coach for the Bullis School, helping the team earn a #3 ranking in the Washington Post and a IAC basketball championship. He has coached and developed multiple division I players in baseball and basketball over his career.  

Before coaching, he graduated from Union College in 2007 and was a four-year starting outfield for the varsity baseball team. Additionally, Mr. Smith was a former producer for ESPN’s Baseball Tonight. 

He is joined by his wife, Theresa Lau, an MLB physical therapist/athletic trainer who is currently working with players acrosse the league, including the New York Mets, following nine seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. They reside in Lakeside, where Mr. Smith serves as the dorm head.

Contact Coach Smith at smithma@blair.edu if you have any questions.

Meet Coach O'Neill

Dennis O’Neill is a graduate of Eastern College (Eastern University) with a bachelor's degree in religious studies. A four-year varsity catcher and the team's four-time batting MVP, he was named the offensive MVP in the 1979 Seaboard Athletic Conference championship. He also played in a summer college league and was a member of its All-Star team that played in eastern Maine and New Brunswick, Canada. Coach O'Neill earned his master of divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (Palmer Seminary) and is an ordained clergyperson. He has served as an American Baptist pastor in two churches since 1985. While in seminary, he coached Eastern College's varsity baseball and soccer teams. He has also coached numerous little league and baseball travel teams (11U to 17U) for the South Plainfield Junior Baseball Club and Readington-Tewksbury Junior Baseball League, where he served as the league’s Umpire Chief to help recruit and train new umpires. 

About Coach Prezioso

With a deep commitment to youth athletics and community leadership, David Prezioso brings a wealth of coaching experience to Blair Academy. Having built a long history of coaching both hockey and baseball, he also serves as the president of his local little league, where he works to foster a passion for sportsmanship and team development. In addition to his role with the baseball program, David is also a coach for the boys’ JV soccer and thirds basketball teams.

David earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Delaware. He is a local business owner and lives in Blairstown with his wife, Tara ’96, who works as a school counselor at Blair, their son, Ty ’27, and their two dogs, Roxy and Sal.

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

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View more photos from the most recent season here.

Blair Baseball Alumni Playing in College

• Teddy Cilis '13 - Hofstra University
• Andrew Green '13 - University of Maryland
• Jake Spezial '13 - Brown University
• Jordan Barbarotta '14 - UMass Amherst
• Kyle Jacksic '14 - Lynchburg College
• Sean Lubreski '14 - NJIT
• Liam Sabino '14 - Vanderbilt University
• Eddie Lehr '15 - Babson College
• Brett Lubreski '15 - NJIT
• Shane Hadden '26 - Trinity College

• Brady Hoffman '26 - Ursinus College