One more De La Salle game for elite Oklahoma-bound two-sport standout Alec Blair

Top 50 recruit in basketball and baseball has chance to go out on top Saturday on the diamond when Spartans host Serra in Northern California titanic matchup

Alec Blair after winning De La Salle athlete of the year for his junior season (2023-2024). / De La Salle news

CONCORD, Calif. — Before the first pitch of Thursday's Northern California Division 1 semifinal game betwee host De La Salle and St. Mary's, the energy in the Spartans dugout was palpable.

Not only was starting center fielder Alec Blair leading the chants, he placed a plush Spider-Man pillow in the dugout netting.

"This is our good luck charm, he's our guy." Blair said holding the rally-plush,"This is the reason we get it done. Hopefully he can show up for us one more time Saturday."

Blair has never had to rely on luck.

The 6-foot-7 senior is one of the nation's top two-sport stars, a top 50 recruit both on the basketball court and baseball diamond, a true rarity. So is his ear-to-ear grin and infectious personality.

He's had eight momentous seasons as largely the center point of both teams, which have piled up 198 wins combined, five North Coast Section and two Northern California crowns.

There's been many more momentous victories than defeats, but you don't get to the highest level of competition in California high school sports without some heartache and disappointments. The Spartans have clearly lost some tough title tilts.

But as long as Blair has shared it with his Spartan brethren, all is good. Way better than good, he said.

Blair and the top-seeded Spartans (28-4) have a chance to finish on the highest point in California baseball, a regional championships. De La Salle, one of the premier sports programs in California, if not the nation, plays another highly visible athletic program with loads of history in Serra, for the Division I Northern California title Saturday. The first pitch is 4 p.m.

Besides perhaps football's GOAT, Tom Brady, Serra boasts some other pretty famous athletic alums in Barry Bonds, Lynn Swann, Gregg Jefferies and David Bakhtiari.

De La Salle's Mt. Rushmore plus include Amani Toomer, Aaron Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew, D.J. Williams, Isaiah Foskey, Kristian Ipsen, Chris Wondolowski, along with baseball's Kyle Harrison, Blake Burke and Chris Carter.

Alec Blair always stands above the rest, even in the De La Salle dugout. / Photo coutesy of Joe Porrello/Contra Costa Pulse

"I'm excited to go to war with my brothers one last time," Blair said after the team's 3-0 semifinal win over St. Mary's. "It's gonna be legendary."

Which is a good description of Blair's career at De La Salle, capped off with another monster baseball season.

Despite an ankle injury at the end of the basketball season that kept him out the first three weeks of baseball, Blair leads the team with a .446 average. Of his 33 hits, 14 have gone for extra bases and he's added 15 stolen bases. This career year from De La Salle's cleanup hitter also included taking more walks (21) than strikeouts (13), resulting in a .561 on-base percentage and a 1.304 OPS.

The measured approach taken by Blair clarifies why his numbers are so impressive.

"Swing at strikes, take the balls...I try to keep it as simple as possible," he said. "I come late to baseball after basketball season so I always try and get my timing back, after that just keep my approach simple but when I swing, do damage, just do what I do."

Alec Blair (33) with one of his big high jump shots from the midrange earlier this season against Serra. / Photo: Dennis Lee

The lefty swinging Spartan has had plenty of success on the basketball court as well, where he broke the record for most points scored in a De La Salle career in February. Blair will play both sports when he attends the University of Oklahoma later this year.

Very few have every attempted the basketball-baseball handoff. Less have have been given scholarship money to play both.

Blair's thought process when it comes to high-leverage games is equally as focused as his individual approach at the plate. When asked about his mindset going into the NorCal final against rival Serra, he had the same answer when asked after a NorCal basketball playoff game earlier this year.

"The mindset is just to win the game," Blair said with a smile. "Don't let them score. Hopefully we can get it done."

Jan 3, 2025; Gilbert, AZ, USA; DeLaSalle High School guard Alec Blair (33) against Chaminade College Prep during the Hoophall West High School Invitational at Highland High School. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Even if they do, it will be bittersweet. As of Thursday, it still hadn't sunk in that Saturday would be the last time putting on the green, silver and white.

"Today was a little sad, it's the last time my mom is going to see me play (for De La Salle), so it's just starting to set in," he said. "But I'm sure after Saturday, all the emotion is going to come out."

The sense of brotherhood among the team referenced by Blair is no secret. The Spartan dugout was chanting and cheering in unison throughout the entire game, after every single pitch for all seven innings.

"The energy is literally crazy," Blair said. ".This is really a brotherhood, we know everything about each other, we've been best friends since the day we met each other."

Blair's first words during a postgame interview were about a teammate of his, specifically De La Salle starting pitcher Graham Schlicht, who threw a complete-game shutout in the semifinal. The Stanford-bound junior is 11-0 with a 0.67 ERA.

De La Salle senior center field Alec Blair is the team's leading hitter in 2025; He's going to Oklahoma to play baseball and basketball / Photo courtesy of De La Salle High School

"I'm feeling like the biggest Graham Schlicht fan in the world," Blair said. "It's incredible having him on the mound, I literally got no balls to centerfield so he made my job real easy."

This immediate praise for a teammate shows Alec's love for his team just as much as the constant energy and encouragement from the dugout.

"After the game I'll be a little emotional regardless of the outcome," he said. "I'd be a little happier if we got it done."

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Joey Ace - joeyvd909@gmail.com - @Joeace99 on twitter/X

• Staff writer Mitch Stephens contributed to this report.

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