Sports

Keystone baseball: Blake Moore commits to Akron

By Will Cunningham, The Morning Journal, Lorain, Ohio The Tribune Content Agency

July 1, 2026 5:21 PM

There is another area baseball player in the class of 2027 heading to the Mid-American Conference.

On June 30, Keystone's Blake Moore announced his commitment to Akron, becoming the fifth area player to commit to a MAC school.

He joins his teammate Ryan Younglas, who is committed to Toledo alongside North Ridgeville's Manny Ramos, as well as Amherst twins Cael and Cole Charles, who are committed to Kent State.

"It'd be really exciting to see Ryan," Moore said. "I'd love to play against my friends, and being in the same conference and maybe having a chance to play against each other, that's really fun."

Moore is coming off a tremendous junior season on both sides of the ball, slashing .359/.435/.609 with four home runs, 11 doubles, and 23 RBI, while posting a 3.17 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 28.2 innings.

Despite his offensive prowess, Moore will exclusively focus on pitching with the Zips, and the program's focus on that side of the ball, led by head coach Bryan Faulds, a former pitching coach, was the driving force behind his commitment.

"I really liked that the head coach used to be a pitching coach," Moore said. "At Akron, pitching is a priority, which I really like, and you can't get much better than that."

As Moore's recruitment heated up, he felt the pressure of playing in front of scouts, but making the right decision was all that mattered to him.

"It's been difficult," he said. "I've had a lot of conversations with a lot of different people, and it's been stressful playing in front of people, but in the end, it came out good, and that's all that matters."

While the baseball side of things is the biggest reason for choosing Akron, Moore is also happy to be staying close in Northeast Ohio.

"It's pretty nice being able to stay close to home," he said. "It's only about an hour away, so my family can come and watch the home games, which is really nice."

With his recruitment now behind him, Moore can turn his full attention to finishing his summer season, then preparing for a senior season in which Keystone has all the pieces to make a deep playoff run.

"It's really nice to have it out of the way," he said. "Now I can go on to my senior year and have fun with my friends one last time."