Blair was a gifted, all-around standout on the diamond for the Trojans for four seasons, while seeing action as a pitcher, first baseman and as an outfielder.
Carson, who hit .309 during the 2007 season, helped lead the team to 29 wins and a fifth-place finish in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference regular - season standings. The team reached the CVAC Tournament Finals after winning four straight elimination games.
Following his junior campaign, Carson was named first-team All-Conference Carolinas and earned second-team South Atlantic Region recognition after posting a .326 batting average.
Carson capped off his collegiate career in 2009 by capturing All-Conference accolades for the second straight year, being named to the Conference Carolinas All-Tournament team and again garnering second-team All-Southeast Region honors. He was also named AU’s Male Athlete of the Year.
Carson led the Trojans in total bases during all four seasons and paced AU in home runs, hits and RBI in both 2008 and 2009 and is still at the top of the school record books in career at-bats (883), hits (285), home runs (34), total bases (482) and extra base hits (112), while ranking second in triples (17), RBI (188) and runs scored (178) and standing 10th with a .333 career batting average.
He was later selected as a pitcher by the Cincinnati Reds in the 42nd round of the 2009 MLB Draft .
Following his professional career, Carson served as head coach at Hilton Head High School and led the Seahawks to the postseason each year, while notching an impressive 71-24 record. After his coaching stint in the low country, the Westside High School standout was tabbed to lead the Crescent baseball program in 2017.
After six seasons in Iva, Carson owns a 79-61 record at the helm of the Tiger program and has guided the Tigers to the postseason in two of the last three seasons, while capturing the regional and district championships both times. He was named the South Carolina 3A Coach of the Year after leading Crescent to the 2019 Upper State Championship.
Blair graduated with a Bachelor ’s degree in Physical Education (K- 1 2 ).
