Blake comes to ECU as a four-year letterwinner for head coach Jamie Mabe at Ronald Reagan High School. The Pfafftown, N.C. native is a four-time Central Piedmont 3A All-Conference and all-county performer and helped the Raiders to a 7-3 league record as a senior, where he belted eight home runs.

During his freshman season, Blake batted .508 with a pair of home runs and was named Triad Sports Weekly Rookie-of-the-Year. He followed his rookie campaign hitting four round-trippers while batting .450 and as a junior batted .400 with a team-best 10 homeruns, 33 RBI and seven doubles.

ECUPirates.com sat down with Blake for a quick 15 Question segment:

1.       Favorite sports hero: Mickey Mantle

2.       Person in history I'd most like to meet (& why): Mickey Mantle because he is arguably the best hitter ever in the game.

3.       Best athlete I've played against: Madison Bumgarner - 1st round pick by the San Francisco Giants (10th overall) in 2007.

4.       If I had to play another sport at ECU it would be: Golf

5.       If I were a superhero I'd be: Superman

6.       My favorite sports announcer is: Dick Vitale

7.       My favorite movie is: Black Sheep

8.       My favorite cartoon/TV show as a child was: Courage the Cowardly Dog

9.       My favorite breakfast cereal as a kid was: Cocoa Pebbles

10.    The CD I listen to most is: Metallica - The Black Snake Album

11.    I hated it when my mother made me eat: Meatloaf

12.    My advice to youngsters is: Never give up and keep your eyes on your goals

13.    My worst fear is: Clowns

14.   The biggest obstacle I've overcome was: Climbing Pilot Mountain

15. When I played my sport as a kid I pretended I was: Mickey Mantle and Albert Pujols

Connerely capped off his senior season helping Coach Kenny Lewis and the Confederates claim a share of the Capital District crown. He batted .425 with four homeruns in 2010 and was named first-team all-district, all-metro and all-region, while also garnering second-team N.C. all-state accolades and was named district player-of-the-year.

On the gridiron, he was a three-time letterwinner earning first-team all-district honors as a receiver and was a honorable mention selection as a defensive back as a senior.

In the classroom, Connerely was seven-time academic all-district selection (baseball-4, football-3) as well as a member of the National Honor Society, Beta Club, Varsity Club and was a Hanover Scholar. During his first semester at East Carolina he posted a 3.0 GAP and was named to the ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll in the Fall of 2010.

ECUPirates.com sat down with Connerley for a quick 15 Question segment:

1.       Favorite sports hero: Cal Ripken, Jr.

2.       Person in history I'd most like to meet: George Washington

3.       Most impressive person I've ever met: James Robert "Radio" Kennedy

4.       Best athlete I've played against: Jameson Taillon - 1st round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd overall) in 2010.

5.       If I were a superhero I'd be: Batman

6.       People say I look like: John Cena (wrestler)

7.       My favorite sports announcer is: Dick Vitale

8.       My favorite movie is: Shooter and the Hurt Locker

9.       My favorite cartoon/TV show as a child was: Scooby-Doo

10.    My favorite toy as a child: Tonka Trucks

11.    My favorite breakfast cereal as a kid was: Cinnamon Toast Crunch

12.    The think I like most about ECU is: The atmosphere

13.    My advice to youngsters is: Always give 110 percent, a 100 percent of the time

14.    My most prized possession is: My dogs

15.    My worst fear is: Spiders