Baseball
- Title:
- Volunteer Assistant Coach
- Email:
- blankmt@wfu.edu
Blankmeyer finished his first season in 2022 as a member of the Wake Forest baseball. Blankmeyer joined the Deacs prior to its lastest season with a wealth of experience as a player and baseball professional, most recently serving as an Area Scout with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2017-21.
Blankmeyer was instrumental in the improvement and success of Wake Forest's base running and fielding. Wake Forest finished sixth in the ACC with a .973 fielding percentage, eight spots higher than the Demon Deacons' finish the year prior.
Additionally, Blankmeyer helped the Demon Deacons post one of its best baseball seasons ever in 2022. The Deacs finished the campaign with 41 victories, the fifth most in program history and increased its win total by 21 games (41 wins to 20 wins), the largest year-to-year turnaround in program history.
Wake Forest was selected to the 2022 NCAA Baseball Tournament, the program's 14th appearance in the national playoffs after posting the program's seventh 40-win season.
Wake Forest ended the regular season with 39 wins, tying the 1999 Demon Deacons for the second-most regular season wins in program history.
The 2022 squad got off to one of the best starts in program history with an 11-0 record, the first time since 1961 Wake Forest has won their first 11 games. At that point of the season, Wake Forest stood as one of five unbeaten teams in Division I. Additionally, Wake Forest reeled in its 30th win in just 43 games, the fourth-fastest in program history and the fastest since 2017.
The 2022 Deacs combined for one of the best offensive seasons in program history and across Division I baseball. Wake Forest broke program records for home runs (122), walks (364), RBIs (535), 20-run games (four), 20-run games in ACC play (two), runs in ACC game (27) and hits in an ACC game (28) while ranking in the top-10 nationally in every offensive category and leading the conference in walks, hits, home runs and runs.
On the mound, Wake Forest gave up just 11 runs through the first four games, the fewest number of runs the Deacs have allowed in the first four games in the lat 13 seasons, and held ACC opponents to three runs or less in 13 games.
Against ACC competition, Wake Forest finished over .500 for the second time in Walter’s tenure as well finishing the regular season with the highest out-of-conference winning percentage (92.3) in the nation, amassing a 24-2 record.
The Deacs capped off the 2022 regular season with a three-game sweep over Big Four rival NC State, the program’s first-ever sweep in Raleigh.
During his time with the Brewers, Blankmeyer was in charge of all scouting responsibilities in the Northeast region of the United States, highlighted by the drafting and signing of Sal Frelick, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Blankmeyer was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2016 MLB draft and tallied a batting average of .280 in the Pioneer League before stepping into a player development role with the franchise at the Arizona Complex League (AZL) under Jose Nieves and Miguel Cairo in the summer of 2017. His job responsibilities included working with the infielders and assisting with day-to-day baseball tasks and operations.
From 2013-16, Blankmeyer was an outstanding middle infielder at St. John’s, appearing in 128 games and being a part of the 2015 Big East Championship team. In the summer before his senior campaign, Blankmeyer took home a Gold Glove in the Northwoods League.
Blankmeyer received a degree in Communications from St. John’s in 2016.
The Morristown, N.J. native grew up in a baseball family. His father, Ed Blankmeyer, is the winningest coach in St. John’s history with 869 wins. His grandfather, Mike Sheppard Sr., coached at Seton Hall for several years and earned 998 victories, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and two College World Series runs.
