Liberty right-handed pitcher Ben Blair was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays with the 49th overall pick in the second round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Saturday, becoming the second-highest draft pick in program history.
Only former Liberty standout Sid Bream was selected higher, going 48th overall to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 1981 draft.
Recommended Videos
Blair’s selection marks the 80th MLB draft pick in Liberty’s 53-year program history. The Flames have produced at least one draft selection every year since 2000, excluding the shortened 2020 draft.
A Gretna, Virginia, native and Liberty Christian Academy graduate, Blair capped his junior season among the nation’s leaders in several pitching categories. He ranked 22nd in strikeouts, eighth in strikeout-to-walk ratio, 18th in WHIP and 23rd in walks allowed per nine innings.
Blair earned ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I Atlantic All-Region second-team honors and was named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week three times during the season. He also earned first-team All-Conference USA honors for the second consecutive year.
He led Conference USA in innings pitched and strikeouts while finishing fifth in wins, fourth in ERA, fifth in opponents’ batting average and fourth in fewest walks allowed.
Blair recorded 113 strikeouts during the season, the second-highest single-season total in Liberty history. He finished his collegiate career third on the program’s all-time strikeout list with 249.
Over three seasons, Blair compiled a 17-13 record with a 3.58 ERA and three saves in 54 appearances, including 33 starts. He pitched 226 1/3 innings, striking out 249 batters while issuing 70 walks.