Turned professional at 17 years old on December 17, 2024. Made his professional debut at the 2025 American Express (missed cut). Previously made his PGA TOUR debut as an amateur at the 2024 ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic, where he finished T26 as a sponsor exemption at 16 years, 11 months, 21 days of age.

Earned a black belt in tae kwon do in his youth.

Grew up a huge fan of Rickie Fowler, and loved to wear all of Rickie’s signature orange gear.

Prepped at Brentwood Academy in Nashville, Tennessee until after his sophomore year of high school (was reported he left the school in July 2024), at which time he continued his studies online. A notable Brentwood Academy alum is NFL All-Pro defensive back Jalen Ramsey (Class of 2013).

Although Blades did not play college golf, he went through the recruiting process and took official visits to Florida State, Illinois, Stanford, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. His official visit to Vanderbilt was the same weekend the football team stunned No. 1-ranked Alabama in October 2024. Blades recalled, “That was the most into a football game I’ve ever been.”

Mother, Rhonda Blades Brown, played two seasons in the WNBA (1997, 1998) after four seasons at Vanderbilt University (1991-95). She was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023, as she grew up in Springfield, Missouri and played at Parkview High School. Rhonda said of her induction, “Being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is one of the highlights of my basketball career. I have dreamed since I was a little girl that I would be considered one of the best to come through the state of Missouri, and I’m very thankful and grateful to be considered worth of this honor.”

Rhonda played the inaugural WNBA season in 1997 as a member of the New York Liberty, and she made the first 3-pointer in league history in the league’s inaugural game on June 21, 1997. Rhonda played for the Detroit Shock in her second and final WNBA season in 1998. After professional seasons in Israel and Turkey, Rhonda left professional basketball in 2001.

Following her playing career, Rhonda spent 23 seasons as coach of the Brentwood Academy girls basketball team in Nashville, Tennessee. Rhonda, who also taught at the school, stepped down in February 2024 after five state championships (2006, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018) and 475 victories.

Father, Parke, battles Hairy Cell Leukemia. Parke was initially diagnosed with bone cancer and only given months to live in 2022, though doctors discovered through additional tests he actually had Hairy Cell Leukemia – an extremely rare form of the disease (according to the Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation, only two percent of adult patients with leukemia have this form of the disease) which is treatable but not curable. Parke went through 20 rounds of chemotherapy in the early months of his diagnosis, and his health stabilized by the time Blades turned professional in December 2024.

Older sister, Millie, plays college basketball and will be a senior for the 2025-26 season at University of Alabama in Huntsville, an NCAA Division II program. Millie previously played two seasons at University of North Carolina Asheville (2022-24). Millie played on the varsity team for five seasons at Brentwood Academy and was a member of the 2018 state championship-winning team -- coached by her mom, Rhonda -- as an eighth-grader.