“We are very excited about blake joining our program,” said Finwood. “He has a great background and is a tireless worker. With his experience at Vanderbilt, he obviously is used to winning, and brings that mentality to everything he does. He will be a great addition to our coaching staff.”
In his four seasons on the Commodores’ staff, Allen worked primarily with hitters and catchers, and also assisted with the team’s strength and conditioning program.
During his time in Nashville, Allen was part of three NCAA Regional teams, and an SEC championship squad in 2007. The 07 Commodores were also ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the season, and went into the NCAA Tournament as the top overall national seed.
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Allen began his collegiate playing career at DePauw (Ind.) University and finished at Blackburn College. At Blackburn, Allen was an all-conference and record-setting performer in both baseball and football.
He joined the Vanderbilt coaching staff after one year as baseball recruiting coordinator and linebackers/special teams coach for football at Franklin (Ind.) College. While there, he worked with the catchers and hitters, and also was involved with the strength and conditioning program as the baseball team set a record for home runs in a season and finished with its second-best victory total in team history.
Prior to his stint at Franklin, Allen was a graduate assistant with both football and baseball for two years at DePauw.
Allen earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Blackburn in 2001, and a Masters Degree in Kinesiology from Indiana State in 2003.
