Alec Blair commits to Oklahoma; De La Salle 2-sport star will play basketball and baseball

California high school product picks the Sooners in both sports
De La Salle basketball standout Alec Blair (33) was a first-team All-State performer as a junior last season.
De La Salle basketball standout Alec Blair (33) was a first-team All-State performer as a junior last season. / Photo: Dennis Lee

One of the nation’s top two-sport athletes committed to the University of Oklahoma in both sports on Tuesday. 

Alec Blair, an incoming senior at De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), a first-team All-State basketball player and all-region baseball star announced live on YouTube that he will play both sports for the Sooners starting in 2025. 

The lean and lanky 6-foot-6 wing in basketball and center fielder in baseball told 247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein that he’s following “God’s plan,” to Oklahoma, while thanking his family, coaches and every college coach who ever recruited him. 

"The entire recruiting process was awesome," he said.

But the decision wasn’t easy. Ultimately he picked the Sooners over five other basketball offers: Cal, Clemson, Oregon, Texas A&M and USC. He said he was brought to tears having to tell some coaches he had picked the Sooners.

De La Salle coach Marcus Schroeder said Blair's passion for the game and his care for others actually supersedes his massive athletic skills.

"Alec is such a unique player because of his size, his basketball IQ and his play-making ability," said Schroeder, a De La Salle graduate and former Associate Head Coach at St. Mary's College. "He is such an efficient scorer and he can see every pass on the count."

Blair carried the Spartans (25-6) to the Northern California Open Division playoffs by averaging 19.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. A matchup nightmare on offense, he is also considered an elite defender who guarded just about every position. 

He's ranked the No. 38 basketball player in the country by 247Sports from the Class of 2025.

“I think I have one of the best midrange games in the nation,” Blair said when asked what he’ll bring to Oklahoma, which finished 20-12 last season and 8-10 in conference play. “I’ve definitely improved as a shooter.” 

De La Salle’s leading scorer and rebounder since he was a freshman, Blair’s passing and ball-handling have improved immensely, so much so that some believe he could be a big point guard in college. 

“He was pretty much unstoppable against us and we had some very good defenders,” said Salesian coach Bill Mellis, whose team won North Coast Section and NorCal Open titles. “We threw everyone at him.” 

Said Schroeder: "You can play off him anywhere on the court — the post, elbow, perimeter and in the ball screen. He is also a tremendous on-ball defender."

Alec Blair, De La Salle
Alec Blair's midrange game is one of the bet in the state, if not the country. The 6-6 incoming senior wing committed to the University of Oklahoma on Tuesday. / Photo: Dennis Lee

Blair sustained a strained knee injury at the end of the third-quarter in De La Salle’s season-ending loss to Modesto Christian, which kept him out three weeks of the baseball season. 

He didn’t miss a beat, hitting .373 with three homers and 18 RBI. He split time all spring and summer between the two sports. He just returned from USA Baseball trials. 

Calling himself “toolsy,” Blair indeed is blessed with multiple skills from hitting for average and with power. He also showed off excellent speed and a strong arm. 

He’ll join a Sooner baseball program that was 40-21 in 2024 and has gone 158-105 over the last five seasons. Bobby Whitt Sr. (1985) and Mark Redman (1995) are probably the most famous Oklahoma All-American players. 

Oklahoma’s basketball team has gone a combined 89-68 over the last five seasons. Three of its most famous players over the years are Blake Griffin, Trae Young and Austin Reeves.

Schroder said the Sooners are getting a player who will contribute even on off shooting nights and hitless games.

"As good as he is on the court and on the baseball field, he is an even better person," Schroder said.


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Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.