CRESTVIEW — Blake Dean has always been a trailblazer.
At Crestview High School, the 2006 graduate was the face of three playoff runs in four years.
At Louisiana State University, Dean was the face of the Tigers’ national title in 2009 and later collected two all-American nods.
Then Major League Baseball took notice; the Twins selected him in 2009 in the 10th round, and the Dodgers selected him in the eighth round in 2010. He signed with the latter, playing two years in the minors before retiring to take an assistant job with his alma mater.
Three years later, Dean is the face of yet another program. This time it’s the University of New Orleans, which removed the “interim” tag and officially named him the country's youngest Division I head coach.
His family has been proud. That includes his little brother, Dakota, who just so happens to be the chief focus of Dean’s initial recruiting class.
Discussing everything from recruiting to winning to his affinity for racking up monikers, we talked to Dean about his meteoric rise from decorated prospect to the face of a mid-major program.
How does it feel to be the head man of a Division I program?
“It feels great. At 27, I never thought I’d be a head coach. I certainly wasn’t planning on it, even though that’s always been the end goal.”
How does “head coach” compare to your past monikers (Northwest Florida Daily News Player of the Year twice, two-time all-American, MLB prospect, now head coach …)?
“It’s hard to top the national champion thing, knowing that you’ve been named the best of the best. But head coach is a whole different aspect. It’s in a different ballpark.”
Not too far removed from being a top prospect, that must be a selling point to recruits. You were in their position not too long ago.
“I think being the youngest Division I coach will open up doors. That’s the big thing. I think that’s my edge, that I can relate to players.
"And I still have a lot of ties to LSU as well, so that helps with the connections I’ve made.
"Players know that I’ve been there before, so I can work with them.”
The team has had hard times over the past decade, especially with Hurricane Katrina. After finishing 14-40 last year and going 54-199 over the past five years,how do you turn that around?
“I think we’re getting closer, where bringing in one or two players can change everything. We had a 12th-round draft pick this year, something that hasn’t happened, so there’s that.
"And I’m hoping to bring my brother over from Northwest and a couple more players from over there.
“I think I’ll get (Dakota) to come here. I’d say it’s a done deal.”
Will you recruit heavily from your old stomping grounds?
“Oh yeah, Crestview and Fort Walton Beach are only 3 ½ hours down the street, so we’ll definitely keep our eye on the talent in the Panhandle.”
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'It feels great': Crestview Bulldog standout named country's youngest Division I head coach