When Southern Illinois University retired the all-time winningest coach in the institution's history, they weren't just honoring Kerri Blaylock's 33-year career—they were celebrating a legacy that began on the softball fields of Herrin, Illinois.

A 1984 graduate of Herrin High School, Blaylock's journey through athletics started much earlier. From kindergarten at Northside Grade School through junior high and high school, she developed deep roots in the community that would shape her extraordinary career.

"My dad was the type that when they went out to play catch, I got to go along from the time I was five or six years old," Blaylock recalls. Her brother Keith, six years her senior and a standout athlete himself, provided early inspiration. The Blaylock family's athletic tradition was firmly established when Keith quarterbacked the 1976 football playoff team.

Blaylock's pitching talent emerged early, though initially reluctantly. "I did not want to pitch at all," she admits. Her father, however, recognized her potential. That potential caught the attention of Bruce Jilek, a Hall of Fame softball coach who would become instrumental in her development.

Under Jilek's guidance, Blaylock thrived at Herrin High School, where the softball program was a juggernaut. The team won conference championships every year, with Blaylock helping lead them to state tournament appearances in her freshman, sophomore, and junior years.

Life dealt Blaylock a difficult challenge during her sophomore year when both her father and brother were diagnosed with brain tumors just one week apart in February. They were found to have Von Hippel-Lindau disease, a hereditary condition. As her mother tended to both husband and son in a St. Louis hospital, Jilek and his wife Joy, along with Blaylock's grandparents, provided crucial support.

"He became more than just a coach to me," Blaylock says of Jilek, with whom she maintained weekly contact until his passing a few years ago. "He was a huge part of my life."

After graduating from Herrin, Blaylock attended the University of Evansville, where she earned an accounting degree while playing softball for four years. With an accounting job already lined up in Carbondale, her path took an unexpected turn when Southeast Missouri State's head coach, Lana Richmond, invited her to become a graduate assistant pitching coach while earning her MBA.

"I didn't know that was even a possibility," Blaylock remembers. With her parents' support, she accepted the opportunity, launching a coaching career that would span more than three decades.

After two years at Southeast Missouri State, Blaylock joined Southern Illinois University as an assistant coach under Kay Brechtelsbauer. What began as a position funded through fundraising evolved into one of the most successful coaching careers in SIU history. Blaylock eventually succeeded Brechtelsbauer and went on to surpass legendary baseball coach Itchy Jones—himself a Herrin graduate—as the university's all-time winningest coach.

"If he would have stayed at SIU and hadn't gone to the University of Illinois to finish his career, I wouldn't have gotten close to his record," Blaylock says of Jones, who surprised her on the field the day she broke his record.

After retiring from SIU in May 2022, Blaylock hasn't strayed far from the sport she loves. She now volunteers as a pitching coach at John A. Logan College, working alongside one of her former SIU players who serves as head coach. She also works at the Women's College World Series for the NCAA every June and helps coach a collegiate summer all-star team at international tournaments in Canada.

Blaylock's connection to Herrin remains strong. She still encounters former teachers like Jake Rendleman, Mr. Gordon, and Mrs. Walker, who continue to follow her career with pride. She maintains close friendships with high school classmates and has watched their children grow up.

"There's so much pride in Herrin and where I came from and what it's about," Blaylock reflects. "I just have the fondest memories."

Now residing in Carterville, Blaylock splits her time between coaching, traveling, playing golf at various Southern Illinois courses, and working part-time doing accounting for Dental Safari, a mobile dental care company owned by a fellow Herrin graduate.

From those early days fielding balls thrown by her father and brother to becoming a coaching legend who shaped countless young athletes' lives, Kerri Blaylock exemplifies how the foundations built in Herrin can lead to extraordinary achievement and lasting impact.