 Blevins played baseball, basketball, and football and was in the marching band at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, Ohio.He became a fan of the Oakland Athletics during the 1990 World Series, and his favorite baseball players included Jose Canseco and Rickey Henderson, though he idolized Ken Griffey, Jr.

Before graduating in 2001 with fewer than 40 other students, Blevins was only recruited to play college baseball by a local Division III school.Blevins chose instead to attend the University of Dayton on an academic scholarship.