Former professional baseball player Blake Nation completed his second year on the Hofstra Baseball staff in 2020 and serves as an assistant coach, working with the Pride pitching staff.
In his first season, Nation guided a relatively untested staff to 18 wins and oversaw the development of freshman Ryan Rue, who was a CAA All-Rookie selection after winning three games and striking out 53 batters on the season. The Pride's 2020 season was cut short but Rue and fellow staret Jack Jett had sub-4.00 ERA's through the early weeks of the season.
Nation spent three years in the Seattle Mariners organization, pitching for the Pulaski Mariners, Clinton Lumberjacks and High Desert Mavericks. Nation also spent three seasons playing professionally, spending one season each with the Rio Grand Valley White Wings (North American Independent League), the Fort Worth Cats (North American Independent League) and the Southern Illinoi Miners (Frontier League). His overall professional record was 29-17 with 11 saves, a 3.21 ERA and 302 strikeouts.
A collegiate pitcher at Georgia Southern, Nation has coached at multiple levels of the collegiate game. He started his coaching career at East Georgia College, where he served as an assistant from 2011 to 2013. From May 2014 to August 2017 he was the head coach of the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dogs of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, winning a pair of championships and earning 2016 PGCBL Coach of the Year accolades. During his tenure he coached one PGCBL Pitcher of the Year, five all-league players and eight all-star game selections.
Nation also served as an assistant coach at the University of Tampa from September 2015 to May 2017, and at Florida Southwestern State College during the 2017-18 academic year. This past summer he was the head coach of the Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
A 2012 graduate of Georgia Southern with a degree in general studies; he also earned his masters in kinesiology and coaching from GSU in 2014. Nation and his wife, Molly, reside on Long Island.
