Classroom:Blake sports a 3.1 GPA in construction science, and plans to graduate in the Spring of 2009. His career goal, outside of baseball, is to own his own construction company.
Character:Blake is one of just two three-year letterwinners on the 2008 Aggie baseball team, which means he has gone through more adversity than arguably most in A&M baseball history. As a freshman, his 2005 team did not qualify for the Big 12 tournament for the first time in school history, with Blake seeing just six at-bats in five games. Following the last game of the season, the coaching staff that recruited him to play baseball at A&M was fired, and current head coach Rob Childress was selected to lead the program a few months later. His sophomore season saw the team again not qualify for the postseason tournament with just six league wins. All the hard work and adversity paid off last season, however, as Blake and the Aggies completed the biggest turnaround in NCAA baseball in 2007, notching 48 wins and not only qualifying for but winning the Big 12's postseason championship (the first A&M team to accomplish that). In addition, the Aggies won an NCAA Regional title and advanced to the Super Regional round for the first time in three seasons.
Through all, Blake has been a tremendous representative of A&M and the Aggie baseball program and embraces his role as a leader on the team. He not only leads by example and with words both on and off the field, but is always willing to represent the school and the team in media obligations and does so in a very positive light.
Competition:Blake was a consensus All-American in 2007, hitting .398 with 12 home runs and a nation-best 85 RBI while being named a finalist for the CSTV National Player of the Year award and semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy. A first-team All-Big 12 selection, he led the Aggie baseball team in 16 offensive categories, accounted for 143 total runs in '07 (2.13 per game) and delivered countless clutch hits and big plays throughout last year's championship run. He is a consensus preseason All-American in 2008.