Pending district approval, Sahuaro has recommended Darren Blakely to take over the baseball program at the school. Blakely, a longtime minor-leaguer coming out of the University of Hawaii, played for Team USA in the 2003 World Cup in Cuba and now resides in Tucson.

Blakely was drafted in 1995 by the Braves before setting off for Hawaii and the Angels took him after his junior year in 1998. In all, he played 11 seasons in the minors with his last stint coming in 2010 with the Tucson Toros in the Golden Baseball League.

He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 where he served with the 101st Rakkasans as an interrogator and was honorably discharged in 2014 due to an injury. He redirected his efforts and went to the University of Arizona to complete his college education to prepare himself for a career in coaching.

“I'm very excited and appreciative of the opportunity. This was something that I've wanted to do since I shut down playing,” Blakely said.

“I went back and finished my degree which was needed to coach at any school level. I've worked with this program in the past and a lot of the current roster. Just ready to start this new journey with a great bunch of young men. It's now my responsibility to develop and prepare them for potential opportunities at the next level. Again, very appreciative to the administration and all of those involved. Looking forward to the future as well as getting the school and community behind us.”

Blakely has also started a 10U program, the Bucs Baseball Club.

His motto for Sahuaro will be, “Changing the culture.”