Playing Time Available: Carteret CC Baseball Seeking Recruits for First Season

Carteret Community College Launches Baseball Program, Begins Building First Roster

Carteret Community College is officially entering the athletics landscape, and its newly established baseball program is already gaining traction under head coach Blake Herring.

Interested athletes should fill out the for below:
https://sports.carteret.edu/

Herring, a Greene Central alumnus and former Louisburg College head coach, is leading the charge as the program builds its foundation from the ground up—both on the field and within the classroom.

“I’m full-time faculty,” Herring said. “I will teach HEA/PE courses and will be the academic advisor for the baseball players.”

That dual role reflects the program’s early emphasis on structure and development, something Herring has leaned into during a busy first month on the job.

“We have 12 commits so far in the first month,” Herring said. “We had 13 on campus in the first week and about four to six on visits weekly since the high school season has begun.”

Recruiting has been relentless.

“I have been on the road recruiting every night for the past three weeks since the season has started and have been to multiple games in a day already twice,” he said.

Despite being a startup program, Carteret has not struggled to generate interest—something Herring credits to his experience and reputation in junior college baseball, particularly within Region 10.

“Even with the program starting, I’m not new to junior college baseball or Region 10,” Herring said. “I think I have enough of a reputation in the area and at this level of baseball that we have not seen a drop off in interested high school players for Carteret CC.”

The biggest challenge, he noted, isn’t attracting players—it’s evaluating them all.

“The biggest issue I’m having at the moment is getting to all of the games to see the players I need to see,” he said.

With no returning players or redshirts, Carteret’s inaugural roster will lean heavily on incoming freshmen, creating immediate opportunities for high school seniors looking to make an impact.

“We will be majority freshmen this upcoming year,” Herring said. “We don’t have returners or redshirts. In terms of opportunity, a high school senior isn’t going to go anywhere else where there is as much opportunity to earn playing time as a freshman as what we have here at Carteret CC.”

The program’s roster blueprint is already taking shape. Herring aims to bring in around 30 commits by the summer before adding experienced transfers to round out a 40-man roster.

“The goal is to have roughly 30 players committed going into the summer to hopefully add approximately 10 transfers or older guys to complement the freshman class,” he said. “The goal for our roster is approximately 40 players—nine outfielders, 12 infielders, five catchers, and the remainder pitchers.”

Located along the North Carolina coast, Carteret Community College offers a unique recruiting pitch, but Herring is clear about keeping priorities in order.

“The beach, the location, the weather is what has drawn many here for visits,” he said. “What I’m making sure to tell recruits and their families is that we want the beach to add value to the experience.”

That value, however, comes with expectations.

“We have responsibilities in the classroom, weight room and practice field and those are our priorities,” Herring said. “When the beach starts to negatively affect the classroom and physical development, that’s when we have an issue.”

As Carteret Community College builds its program from scratch, the early signs point to a fast-moving operation with a clear vision—one centered on opportunity, accountability, and long-term development.

Also Carteret CC will be looking for Soccer and Cross Country athletes. If interested in any of the three sports fill out the link below:
https://sports.carteret.edu/