Heath Blackmon joined App State Baseball as the program's pitching coach in June 2025.
 
A rising star in college baseball, Blackmon recently concluded a four-year stint as the Director of Player Development for East Carolina, where he helped guide the Pirates to four NCAA tournament appearances (including hosting a Super Regional in 2022), three regular season American Athletic Conference titles and two conference tournament championships.
 
In his role at ECU, Blackmon worked in a variety of capacities, assisting in pitching development, recruiting and game planning. Nine pitchers he coached have been selected in the MLB draft over the past three seasons, including 2024 AAC Pitcher of the Year and All-American Trey Yesavage, who was selected in the first round of the 2024 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He also helped oversee the development of Carter Spivey, the 2022 AAC Pitcher of the Year.
 
Blackmon comes to Boone with diverse experience on the diamond. Prior to coaching at ECU, he served as the head coach at Hickory Grove Christian School in Charlotte, where he led the program to a pair of conference titles and a 3A state championship in 2021, amassing a 46-14-1 record across three seasons. He concurrently worked as head coach at the Showcase Baseball Academy in Charlotte, leading the 2022 National Scout Team.
 
As a player, the Albemarle, N.C., native helped South Stanly High School capture a pair of 1A state titles in 2009 and 2012. He served as the everyday catcher as a junior and senior in addition to pitching in the 2012 title-clinching game.
 
Blackmon went on to play collegiately for Brevard College during the 2013 season before earning his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Liberty University in 2018. He and his wife, Brittany, have two sons, Haddon and Cullen.