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

Joe Wagner joined Blair’s science faculty in 2014. He teaches biology honors and AP biology and serves as head coach of varsity baseball and dorm head of Freeman Hall. Joe is a graduate of Hamilton College with a BA in biology and a minor in religious studies. He was a four-year varsity pitcher at Hamilton and served as baseball team co-captain his senior year. He earned an Ed.M. in the mind, brain and education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2020.

Contact Coach Wagner at wagnej@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 Murray

A member of Blair’s math department, Will Murray holds dual bachelor’s degrees from Miami University, one in mathematics and statistics and a second in French. In 2021, he earned his master’s degree in mathematics from Western Washington University, where he gained classroom experience as a graduate teaching assistant, filling the role of primary instructor for courses in Calculus, Precalculus and Algebraic Functions. Will has worked in a variety of other positions that include clinical database programmer for a medical laboratory in Cincinnati, Ohio, and an office manager intern for a cycling and adventure company in Camaret-sur-Aignes, France. At Blair, he will teach mathematics and coach junior varsity girls’ basketball and varsity baseball.

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 past few seasons on Blair's Photoshelter or past years on Blair's Flickr.

Blair Baseball Alumni Playing in College