Submitted Photo
Gowanda senior Blake Herman is joined by his parents Nikki and Joe as he signs his commitment to play NCAA Division I baseball at Canisius University.
Early on, it was clear Blake Herman wanted to play baseball at the highest level.
In elementary school, he would follow his brother, Cole, throughout the spring and summer, trying to gather any experience he could from his baseball teams.
Blake started playing varsity baseball in eighth grade and along the way has played on many travel teams — the Zoar Valley Eagles, WNY Muckdogs, New York Stingers and Motor City Hit Dogs — as well as representing the area on the Babe Ruth World Series host team twice.
Last week, he added another high-level program to his repertoire, fulfilling a lifelong dream by signing with NCAA Division I Canisius University.
“I wanted to play locally. I feel like it’s the best fit for me. I talked to my mom and dad a lot about it. It’s the best for me,” Herman said last Wednesday. “I love Coach (Matt Mazurek). He was great when I first saw him. It felt like I was home when I first stepped foot on campus.”
OBSERVER File Photo
Herman hits a home run during the 2023 15-year-old Babe Ruth World Series.
Blake, a senior at Gowanda Central School, was the OBSERVER/Post-Journal Player of the Year as a sophomore, guiding a Panthers pitching staff that led the program to its fifth Section VI championship.
That spring, Blake hit .438 with six doubles, three triples and two home runs. He drove in 19 runs and scored a team-high 44.
But more importantly, behind the plate, Blake guided a staff that pitched to a 2.98 earned run average with five complete games, including two shutouts and a no-hitter. Gowanda went 19-1 before losing to Batavia Notre Dame 6-5 in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C Far West Regional at Frontier High School.
“When you have such a good defensive catcher back there, that’s a huge part. You can really win with that position,” Gowanda head coach Tim Smith said Sunday evening. “Blake is a kid who will tell a kid to throw a curveball in the dirt. I’ll block it. The whole purpose is for the kid to go fishing for something. You have to have the confidence as a catcher, if you put it there, he’s going to strike out, I’ll throw him out at first and that’ll be the end of it.”
So far in his four-year high school career, Blake is hitting .411 with 17 doubles, five triples and three home runs. He has driven in 56 runs and scored 96.
OBSERVER File Photo
Gowanda’s Blake Herman was the OBSERVER/Post-Journal Player of the Year in his sophomore year. Herman will play NCAA Division I baseball next year with Canisius University.
“He knows the game. I’ve come across a lot of kids who are very good players and have great talent, sometimes you question the baseball IQ,” Smith said. “He obviously thinks a couple of plays ahead, that’s one of the keys with any player. You try to really tell kids to think a couple of steps ahead. Sometimes kids do it and sometimes they don’t. That’s always been one of the best attributes with Blake, it didn’t matter the age, he knew the game and knew what was going to happen. He had a keen awareness of what was going to take place, where to back up, telling kids where to go; there was a full trust.”
With one season to go at Gowanda, it’s clear what Blake’s goals are.
“The goal this year is to finish my academics strong, get a great GPA and get more money scholarship-wise,” Herman said. “Baseball-wise, do whatever I can to contribute to the team, hitting, pitching, catching, fielding, stealing bases; whatever coaches Smith and Brian (Denea) need me to do.
“The goal is to win a state championship. It’s going to take a lot of hard work and dedication with the guys,” Herman added. “This group formed together late in the season last year. If we all want it, I feel like we have a really good chance to go out and take it.”
After this spring, Blake will join head coach Matt Mazurek’s program in downtown Buffalo.
A 2018 inductee into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame and four-year starter with the Golden Griffins, Mazurek will lead Canisius for his eighth season this spring.
Canisius won its fourth Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in 2022 and, more importantly for individual growth, the Golden Griffins have produced 13 Major League Baseball draft picks since 2009.
“I’m trying to be the kid who can go out there and play any position on the field. I know a spot isn’t given. I want to play and be close to family because I want them to be able to watch me play,” Herman said. “I didn’t want to go to a big school and have 50 guys in front of me as seniors. … I wanted to have that opportunity to play.”
“I think it’s a great fit for Blake. He’s going to catch. That’s his spot,” Smith said of Canisius. “I think you could probably put him anywhere and he’d do an adequate job, but where I think he thrives is behind the plate.”
While Herman talked to several programs such as Rutgers, William & Mary, Louisville and Oakland, and visited St. Bonaventure and Niagara, his final decision led him to Canisius, where he’ll major in business management.
When his collegiate career gets underway at Canisius, there is one more thing that will be a plus of playing in the MAAC. Herman’s former teammate, John Ondus, is rehabbing an elbow injury at Niagara University and should be back on the mound this spring.
“It’d be really, really cool. Seeing John … he’s a great player who I caught for three years,” Herman said. “It’d be cool to finally get in the box against him. In live ‘BP’ I was always the guy catching him. It’d be really cool to face him and see how that rivalry goes.”