On Friday nights during baseball season in Lynchburg, Virginia, it’s not unusual to see local fans making their way to Liberty Baseball Stadium for some evening action. As the workweek ends, Flames supporters from the surrounding area drive to the ballpark in their red and navy and file into the bleachers with children and popcorn in tow. The tradition of large crowds at Liberty games is a testament to the longstanding baseball culture in central Virginia.

But something unusual has been happening lately on Friday nights in Lynchburg -- a dazzling display of talent on the mound from Liberty’s ace, a product of nearby Gretna, Virginia. His name is Ben Blair, and he’s one of the hottest pitching prospects in the entire sport. With a fastball that touches 98 mph and a five-pitch repertoire that he commands like none other, Blair has been setting down hitters in dominant fashion this season, earning him a spot on the 2026 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.

Many people are learning of Blair for the first time due to his breakout performance this spring. Through ten starts, he tops all Conference USA pitchers in wins (6), opposing batting average (.194), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.14). He ranks second in ERA (2.54), strikeouts (78), and innings pitched (60.1). But fans in Lynchburg have been aware of the right-handed flamethrower long before he was taking C-USA by storm. Blair has been terrorizing hitters in the area since his time at nearby Liberty Christian Academy and his early days playing baseball in Gretna. The young ace credits his hometown (population 1,500) for putting him on the path to where he is now.

“Gretna is a really small town,” Blair says. “It's got one stoplight. Everybody knows everybody. I live with my parents and my brother out in the middle of nowhere, doing what I like to do, hunting and fishing, playing baseball. It’s the perfect area to grow up.”

Blair’s father had him around the game early, making sure Ben had the best opportunities available when it came to pitching lessons. Through these lessons Blair met Randy Tomlin, a former pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and a Liberty alum. Tomlin, known for attacking the strike zone during his playing days, taught Blair the mechanics and the approach he uses now. When it came time to pick a high school, making the choice to drive 40 minutes north every day to play for Tomlin at Liberty Christian in Lynchburg was a no-brainer. The move would prove pivotal in Blair’s development as a pitcher.

“I was always a really skinny kid,” Blair recounts. “In eighth grade, I was throwing 64 mph. And then in ninth grade, I was throwing 74. Once I got to 10th grade, I actually started putting on a little bit of weight, eating a little bit better, and getting in the weight room. I was more into the 80s by then. That's when I realized I probably had a pretty good chance [to play in college].”

By the time he was an upperclassman, Blair was throwing in the low 90s, leaving high school hitters little chance. He recorded a miniscule 0.90 ERA as a junior en route to winning the Class 3 State Championship and posted an even smaller 0.70 ERA as a senior, when he went 10-0 with 100 strikeouts in 59.1 innings. Blair’s level of polish and high velocity left an impression on the Flames coaching staff and he committed to Liberty.

Blair soon faced adversity, however, in the form of collegiate hitting.

“In high school, if you're throwing pretty hard, that usually is good enough to get the job done,” Blair says. “You don't really want to slow it down for them. But when you get to college, you realize you can't just throw fastballs. They're gonna smack it. I kind of realized that my freshman fall, that you need to have other pitches for strikes.”

Whatever challenges he faced his freshman fall, he quickly learned from them. Blair went to work, perfecting his slider. As a true freshman he led the Flames staff with 42.1 relief innings, recording an impressive 3.51 ERA along the way. The performance earned him a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman Team and a chance to join the rotation as a sophomore. Blair quickly took advantage of that too.

“Just out of wanting to be a starter, I realized you got to keep adding pitches,” he said. “Last year, our pitching coach, Coach [Andrew] See, told me that he wanted me to start throwing a cutter, and I started throwing that. Now that's probably one of my better pitches.”

With the cutter in hand, Blair slotted in as the Saturday night starter as a sophomore and wasted no time proving he belonged. Through his first nine starts, he shut down offenses to the tune of a 2.77 ERA and a 4-1 record. The effort helped the Flames get out to a 16-6 start, with wins against No. 11 Wake Forest, No. 12 NC State, and No. 17 Duke.

A back half collapse soon followed, however, with Liberty going 14-21 over its last 35 games. Blair himself struggled more down the stretch, going 2-3 in his last six starts with a 4.93 ERA. He still finished with impressive numbers -- his 94 strikeouts and 84.1 innings pitched were each second most in C-USA. But the disappointing finish after such a strong start left the right-hander and his team hungry for redemption. Blair elected to spend the offseason training in Lynchburg rather than playing in collegiate summer leagues. It was time to add some more pitches to his arsenal.

“Last year, I did a pretty good job dominating right-handed hitters, just because I've got the cutter,” he said. “And so it was really just about getting lefties out.”

Blair has solved the problem by throwing more sinkers and changeups this season. And with the added strength from his summer training, he appears to be unstoppable now.

Through 60 innings and ten starts, Blair is 6-2 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.14) that ranks first among all starting pitchers in Division I. His WHIP (0.83) ranks fourth nationally as well, while his walks per nine (1.04) comes in at sixth best. Each figure tells the story of a pitcher with complete command of the strike zone, a rare trait for someone who throws so many different pitches and sits in the mid 90s on the radar gun.

“I've been able to land all those pitches for strikes,” he says. “I think that's been a big part of not just walking guys, but getting guys out as well.”

Blair’s performances this season include: six scoreless innings, eight strikeouts, and one hit against The Citadel; seven innings, two runs, and 12 strikeouts against Hofstra, five scoreless innings, zero walks, and 10 strikeouts against Harvard; six innings, one run, and eight strikeouts against CUSA’s highest scoring offense, Missouri State -- and the list goes on and on.

Blair’s consistency has been the driving force behind an incredible season for Liberty as well. At 29-12, the Flames are in third place in the C-USA standings and ranked 25th in the nation according to Baseball America. Liberty has lost just one series in conference play and seems poised to make its first NCAA Regional appearance since 2022.

“The most important thing is that we've been winning,” Blair says. “Last year we were really good against ACC teams, and then we just couldn't get it done on the weekend. I think this year we've done a good job of putting that all together. A lot of guys have talked about how we don't want to be watching the NCAA selection show at our house, just seeing who gets in. We want to be watching it together as a team and seeing where we go.”

While it may be unclear where the Flames will end up on selection day, it’s almost certain their ace will hear his name in the MLB Draft in July. Baseball America currently has the 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-hander ranked No. 45 on its big board. If taken that highly, Blair would become the highest MLB draft pick in Gretna history. Gretna native Tony Womack, who won a World Series ring with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, currently holds the distinction after going in the seventh round in 1991.

Blair’s selection would also mark the first time a Liberty player has gone in the first two rounds since Sid Bream was taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 1981 MLB Draft. Nine Flames have made it to the big leagues, including Tomlin, Blair’s mentor.

“I try not to think too much about [the Draft],” Blair says. “I mean, the closer you get to July, it's tough not to think about it. But I know if I just go out and handle my business every Friday and help the team win, it'll take care of itself when July comes.”

Striking out entire lineups and walking none is business as usual for Blair. But for the fans in Lynchburg who gather on Friday nights, the show they get to see is anything but. Blair will take the bump once again this Friday night against Delaware, looking to secure Liberty’s 30th win. There is sure to be a big crowd of red and navy.