Brendan Blackburn’s midseason surge drew attention from the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association. Impressed with Blackburn’s play, the association made him a Class 4 all-state selection. He received honorable mention as a utility player. “I was extremely excited when I found out about being selected to all-state,” Blackburn said. Blackburn spent much of his all-state season as Excelsior Springs’ center fielder. His position player work also included time at shortstop. In center field, Blackburn made 46 putouts. Blackburn’s other defensive stats included a .933 field percentage, which counted his pitching appearances. He committed only six total errors. As a pitcher, Blackburn made nine appearances, throwing 24.1 innings, striking out 16 and allowing 28 runs. Offensively, Blackburn stole 23 bases out of 26 attempts. He batted .333 with 40 hits, including 14 extra-base hits – two of those bei...