Chardon alum Blake Barker transfers from Seton Hill to Virginia
Sep. 4—Blake Barker had a strong sophomore campaign last season at Seton Hill. The Chardon alumnus came out of the bullpen, and in 18 appearances, he composed a 4-1 record with four saves and a 2.00 ERA.
He was the final arm on the mound for the Griffins when they won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title in a shutout of West Chester and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. With the help of Barker, Seton Hill won the Atlantic Regional and set a school record for wins in a year.
Barker's performance earned him third-team All-American honors, but he was ready for a change. He decided to continue his baseball career at Virginia.
In his time in the transfer portal, Barker had interest from several schools. But the more he thought about it, he always circled back to Virginia.
"At the D-II level, there are good skills and good players, but not the day-in, day-out competition that you see at D-I and in the ACC," Barker said. "I wanted that competition factor. I was coming off of a great year. I had a feeling that I would get some opportunities at some schools like Virginia and came to the decision because everything they had was a perfect fit. I had only heard good things about the program and their player development."
The Cavaliers have advanced to the NCAA Tournament 19 times, including the past three seasons. They won the NCAA Championship in 2015 and have been to the College World Series six times, with the most recent being last season.
Barker had several good conversations with head coach Brian O'Connor and pitching coach Drew Dickinson about the program and his role in the bullpen. They also had talks and ideas on how to continue to improve.
He showed up in Charlottesville with a game plan and how to grow his game before the Cavaliers take the field in the upcoming spring.
"My two biggest things are growing my bag of pitches and mobility," Barker said. "My fastball and slider are already good but still room to grow and I'm trying to add a changeup and make that consistent. Adding a third pitch could help a lot. For the mobility, I already have the strength but I lack in the range of movement. Before I've been able to make up for that issue with my strength but to combine them together would allow for me to add more velocity and have better stuff in general."
Not only does Barker see this as a chance for him to improve his game and play against the best competition, he also sees this as a benchmark for his future on the diamond.
With the competition of the ACC, he knows he will need to bring his best stuff every time the coaches call on him. He is excited for the challenge.
"At the end of the day, my goal is to play professional baseball," Barker said. "And playing in one of the best divisions is a great way to prepare for it. If I'm able to have success at this level against this type of competition, who knows where the limit is."
