Getting Whitt it
Dragons turn to familiar face for new beginning
Blake Whitt
Blake Whitt was announced as Clinton’s new coach early last week. He replaces Eric Hart, who guided the Dragons over the past two seasons.
Whitt previously coached at Clinton under former Head Coach Rob Stacy, who left following the 2024 season to take the head coaching position at West High School in Knoxville. He also served as an assistant coach at Oak Ridge High School under Travis Free.
After taking a brief hiatus from high school baseball, Whitt continued coaching travel teams. Now, he returns to the high school ranks with high expectations for the Dragons’ future.
“We want to change the culture and we want to give the city of Clinton and the school something to be proud of,” Whitt said. “We’re going to work hard and I’m a players’ coach, but I’m going to work the players hard.”
Whitt is also familiar with many of the players currently in the program.
“Rob did a great job building the program and turning things around, and the seniors on the 2027 team were freshmen when I was here,” he said. “I know that they want to work hard and they want to compete.
“The biggest thing is getting the players to want to work hard.”
During his time at Oak Ridge, Whitt helped Free engineer a turnaround that has seen the Wildcats reach three consecutive Class 4A state tournaments.
“I was Travis’ catching coach, and Rob and Travis are two of the best coaches around,” Whitt said. “Both of them taught me a lot.”
Now a Clinton resident, Whitt played at South-Doyle High School in Knoxville under longtime coaches Jeff Browning and Robby Howard.
A multi-sport athlete, he also played football for the Cherokees before continuing his baseball career at Hiwassee College. He later played independent professional baseball, including a stint in the Frontier League with the Southern Illinois Miners.
Whitt arrives with a reputation for connecting with players and helping programs improve on and off the field.
“I look forward to this challenge,” he said. “I moved to Clinton and my wife works there.”
Whitt and his wife, Keela, have two sons, Easton and Rawlings.
