Blake Gillespie No-Hitter a Potential Catalyst in Charlotte NCAA Tournament Push
Image credit: Charlotte's Blake Gillespie (Photo courtesy of Mark Estes)
The weight of history can be an imposing presence.
As much as Blake Gillespie believed he could steel himself against that pressure, he found that with each pitch bringing him closer to the record books on Friday night against James Madison, the gravity of the moment became undeniable.
The reality of a no-hitter, elusive and rare, loomed larger with every batter retired.
Rather than succumbing to the enormity of it, Gillespie embraced discipline. He compartmentalized the creeping thoughts and anchored himself in routine.
“I’m human,” Gillespie told Baseball America. “I can’t avoid that thought when it comes up, but I can choose how to react to it. I told myself, ‘That’s drama. That’s not the game right now. It doesn’t matter. Just focus on one pitch at a time.’”
It was that oft-repeated mantra—one pitch at a time—that propelled Gillespie to the second no-hitter in Charlotte baseball history. It enabled him to command his arsenal with precision, pounding the zone with intent and executing each pitch with calculated poise. More than just preserving the no-hitter, it kept him connected to the bigger picture, too—his team’s pursuit of a postseason berth—rather than a singular, personal feat.
His unshakable focus spread to his teammates. By the seventh inning, the dugout grew silent. Superstition and respect dictated it. Gillespie sat alone, locked in, on the verge of immortality.
And after 113 pitches, that history was sealed.
The final out nestled into a glove, and pandemonium erupted. Yet, in its immediate aftermath, Gillespie deflected the spotlight, his first instinct to acknowledge those who stood behind him.
“I hope this is just what sets us off,” he said proudly. “This is such a good team, and tonight you just got a look at what we can do.”
Had Gillespie basked in the glory of his moment, it would have flown in the face of the team-first approach his head coach Robert Woodard said has come to define the Georgia transfer, whose leadership has proven as valuable as his ability to land a good slider for a strike.
Gillespie quickly took on a vocal role in a 49ers’ locker room, which is largely filled with new faces after the program posted a losing record in 2024 and subsequently rebuilt with a high volume of transfers from all levels of the sport, including junior college and Divisions II and III.
“There’s guys like Blake who we identified as certainly talented,” Woodard said. “He went to Georgia for a reason and was in the mix to pitch there for a reason. At Charlotte he just had an opportunity to come in and be a real horse for us.”
Like many of his teammates, Gillespie’s journey to Friday’s historic outing wasn’t linear.
His college career had been filled with adversity, from inconsistent opportunities on the mound to the search for a program that would let him develop at his own pace. He had to battle through trials, proving that patience and perseverance would eventually reward him.
“I’ve struggled a lot on the field in college so far, kind of haven’t been the luckiest guy,” Gillespie admitted. “Just being able to stay in my process and stay level-headed, realizing that there’s a plan for me—everything was supposed to happen for a reason.”
That belief led him to Charlotte, a place that gave him not just a fresh start, but the stability to take ownership of his game. After transferring from Georgia, where he was primarily used out of the bullpen, Gillespie embraced the transition to a full-time starter.
It was at Charlotte that he refined his approach, learned how to pitch rather than just throw, and developed a presence on the mound that made him more than just another arm in the rotation.
“Just an opportunity to comfortably be myself, comfortably fail if that makes sense,” he said. “Having the starting role, being able to take the ball every seven days regardless of how the last outing went—it was an opportunity to be loose, be coached, and develop within comfort.”
Gillespie’s free but competitive nature has rubbed off on his teammates.
“He’s got a great attitude and he just constantly wants to get better,” Charlotte pitching coordinator Cameron Hansen told BA. “He’s a student of the game for sure and brings out the best in our other pitchers that way.”
Woodard and Gillespie view Friday’s no-hitter as a testament to the value of the transfer portal—a system often criticized but one that, in the right circumstances, can be career-changing. For players like him, the portal represents a second chance, a place to find the right fit and fulfill his potential.
Woodard recalled Gillespie being “very convicted in what he was looking for.” That eagerness plus Gillespie’s raw talents made the two sides a perfect match.
“He wanted to go to a place that was going to invest in him,” Woodard said, “not only as a player but as a person.”
Woodard said Charlotte has become a haven for players seeking that second opportunity.
The program has embraced transfers from major programs, helping them develop and showcase their talent. Gillespie is just the latest success story in a lineage that has included five top-five round draft selections in the last three years.
“The portal can take, but it can really give, too,” Woodard added. “I just coach through the lens that the transfer portal allows me to coach some really awesome guys who clearly want to finish their careers on a positive note.”
Gillespie, of course, was no exception.
“Blake was very highly recruited out of the transfer portal,” Woodard said. “He could have come in here and tried to big league guys and made it about him. He’s been the exact opposite. He couldn’t be more of a team guy. All he wants to do is talk about (catcher) Logan Poteet behind the plate. He wants to deflect the spotlight. He’s so deserving of the spotlight, though. He’s just been a workhorse in our program since he arrived at Charlotte in August.”
Gillespie’s team-first approach stood out plainly on Friday.
As his coach predicted, the righty wasted little time pointing out that his no-hitter wasn’t just a personal milestone—it could very well be the launching point for a Charlotte team poised to make noise nationally.
The 49ers, despite flying under the radar, believe they have what it takes to compete at the highest level, something they proved to themselves when they pushed No. 4 Arkansas to the brink in a three-game series.
A postseason berth this year would mark Charlotte’s third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five years, which would match a program record.
The way Gillespie said he sees it, Friday’s no hitter was a testament to the 49ers’ strength, not his own individual efficacy.
A no hitter, the junior righty pointed out numerous times, is a “team accomplishment.”
“I really think this team can do something special,” Gillespie said. “We’re very underrated. Hopefully, this outing puts our team on the map, and we can show the world what we can do.”
For Gillespie, the no-hitter wasn’t the pinnacle—it was just the spark. And if the 49ers have their way, March 7 won’t just be remembered for one historic performance, but for the night that set the stage for something even greater.
“This will be the game that, when we do something special as a team, we’re going to point to March 7 and just say that was the night,” Woodard predicted. “That was the night Charlotte took a jump as a team. And it happened on a night where an individual had one of the greatest performances in our program’s history.”
