Four representatives from California will be in the 16-team field for the 11th annual National High School Invitational, set for April 10–13 at USA Baseball’s training complex in Cary, North Carolina.
Two-time champion Huntington Beach, which captured the title last year, and three-time winner Orange Lutheran highlight a contingent from the Golden State that also includes three-time runner-up Harvard-Westlake of Studio City and first-time participant Corona.
Florida will also send four teams to the prestigious event, which will include representatives from seven states overall.
“This tournament offers an unrivaled history of phenomenal players and talented champions, and we look forward to adding to that in just a few months,” USA Baseball Executive Director and CEO Paul Seiler said in a news release announcing the entrants.
Tournament alumni who have gone on to Major League Baseball stardom include Cody Bellinger, who was the 2019 National League most valuable player with the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2021 World Series champion Max Fried, two-time all-star first baseman Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves, and 2023 American League Gold Glove shortstop Anthony Volpe of the New York Yankees.
Nine players from last year’s National High School Invitational field went on to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft, with six of those being chosen in the first four rounds.
This year’s tournament field includes defending state champions Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, Nevada; Casteel of Queen Creek, Arizona; St. John’s Country Day of Orange Park, Florida; and Farragut of Knoxville, Tennessee.
The championship bracket of the tournament is single-elimination, but each team is guaranteed four games. The schedule has not been announced.
Huntington Beach, one of three schools with multiple National High School Invitational championships, captured its first in 2016. The Oilers will be participating in the tournament for the eighth time.
A season ago, Huntington Beach outscored its four opponents 25–9, and went on to finish with a 21–9 record and advance to the second round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
Orange Lutheran, which made the first of its six National High School Invitational appearances in the inaugural edition in 2012, won three consecutive titles from 2017–19. The Lancers are coming off a 20–12–1 season that culminated with an appearance in the CIF Southern California Division 1 playoffs.
Harvard-Westlake, a school that has produced numerous major-leaguers including Fried and fellow pitchers Jack Flaherty of the Detroit Tigers and Lucas Giolito of the Boston Red Sox, is in the tournament for the first time in five years. The Wolverines, who went 21–9 last season, have finished second in each previous National High School Invitational appearance, in 2012, 2013, and 2019.
In addition to Corona, which went 22–11 last season, other first-time participants include Key West, Florida; St. John’s College High School of Washington, D.C.; Chaparral of Scottsdale, Arizona; and North Carolina entries Apex Friendship and Wesleyan Christian of High Point.
Puyallup, Washington and two other Florida schools, Trinity Christian of Jacksonville and Hagerty of Oviedo, round out the field.
