Jim Blair was hired as Baylor's third full-time assistant coach on July 1, 2023, after serving as the volunteer assistant during the 2023 campaign. He was introduced as a member of the staff and BU baseball's camp director on July 7, 2022.
A former Baylor baseball player from 1996-98 and 22-year veteran coach at the high school and collegiate levels, Blair returns to Waco for his third season on staff in 2025.
Blair has helped the Bears extend their streak to 52 consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins, including four victories over ranked opponents in his first two seasons on staff. In 2024, Blair assisted in mentoring junior designated hitter Wesley Jordan to All-Big 12 Second Team honors after the slugger hit a team-leading .351 in league action with five home runs and 17 RBIs and finished the year with a .331 batting average, .632 slugging percentage, nine home runs and 32 RBIs. Additionally, fifth-year senior infielder Cole Posey (.315 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBIs in 35 games) was tabbed an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection.
In his role as the third-base coach and primary defensive responsibilities with the team’s outfielders, Blair helped BU swipe 39 bases in 2024 and play strong defense, with junior center fielder Ty Johnson leading the way with a .978 fielding percentage. Alongside Jordan and Johnson, redshirt junior right fielder Enzo Apodaca, who led the Bears in nearly every offensive category, helped form a formidable outfield trio, setting the table with a combined 176 hits, including 33 doubles, seven triples and 17 homers, good for nearly 36% of the team’s total production.
In 2023, Blair assisted in the development of sophomore catcher Cortlan Castle, who earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors after hitting .393 in league play, the fifth-best average in the conference. Blair also helped mentor freshman infielder Kolby Branch, who was unanimously named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team after leading the team in most offensive categories, including batting average (.325), hits (69), home runs (6) and RBI (41). Branch's 17 doubles were one shy of the program's freshman record, set by Matt Williams in 1998.
Blair previously lead newly-founded San Antonio Pieper High School to a 21-5 record as the head coach in 2022, the program’s first year. Before heading up the Warriors program, Blair spent two seasons at New Braunfels Canyon High School, where he was named the 2021 26-5A Coach of the Year after leading the Cougars to a district championship. Blair’s squad finished the ’21 season on a 17-game win streak and ranked No. 10 in the state of Texas at the 5A level. In two years at Canyon, Blair saw nine players move on to play college baseball after compiling a 34-10 record.
Prior to coaching at the high school level, Blair spent 18 years at three different universities in the state of Texas, including two stints at UTSA. In total, he coached 32 hitters that have garnered all-conference honors a combined 38 times, mentored nine All-Americans, participated in six NCAA Regionals, won five conference tournament titles and recruited over 40 players who were drafted or signed professional contracts, including five who have reached the Major Leagues.
Blair spent seven seasons on staff at UTSA as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator from 2013-19. In 2018 and 2019, he served as the team’s pitching coach after directing the Roadrunners’ offense for five years. His staffs produced the two highest single-season strikeout totals in UTSA history and 2018’s squad saw a school-record four players picked in the MLB Draft. Offensively, UTSA finished in the top-four in eight major categories in its first two seasons in Conference USA under Blair’s guidance.
In 2012, Blair was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Dallas Baptist, where he helped the Patriots to a 41-19 record and an appearance in the NCAA Waco Regional. DBU posted a .304 team batting average and finished fifth in the nation in slugging percentage and seventh in home runs, while producing a pair of All-Americans in Joel Hutter and Boomer Collins. In his one year as recruiting coordinator, the Patriots inked five pitchers that would eventually be taken in the top 12 rounds of the 2015 MLB Draft.
Prior to coaching in Dallas, Blair spent five seasons at Sam Houston State from 2007-11 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under legendary coach Mark Johnson. While in Huntsville, Blair helped the Bearkats to three-consecutive NCAA Regional appearances (2007-09) and tutored a pair of All-Americans in Bobby Verbick and Todd Sebek. Blair’s responsibilities included mentoring the offense, which set 19 school records during his tenure. As recruiting coordinator, he signed 22 players to National Letters of Intent that were either drafted or signed with MLB organizations and coached 11 All-Southland Conference honorees.
Blair spent the previous five campaigns as an assistant at UTSA from 2002-06. While in the Alamo City, he served as the hitting coach and helped the Roadrunners earn a berth to the 2005 NCAA Waco Regional. He tutored All-American Mark Schramek, who became the first player in UTSA history to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft as the 40th overall pick by the Cincinnati Reds in 2002.
Before entering the coaching ranks, Blair was a three-year starter for Steve Smith at Baylor. He twice earned All-Big 12 laurels and still holds the program record with a 31-game hitting streak. Blair led the Bears with a .376 batting average in 1997 and signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998.
Blair graduated in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in education with emphasis in health and human performance and received his master’s degree in sport management from Sam Houston State in August 2013.
He and his wife, Pamela, have three sons, Carson, Andrew and Reid.
