The 16-team field has been unveiled for the tenth edition of the National High School Invitational, one of the more prestigious tournaments on the scouting calendar. The tournament, hosted by USA Baseball, will take place at the National Training Complex in Cary, NC and will take place from March 29 through April 1.
The tournament is a single-elimination bracket format with teams guaranteed four games. The event has a rich history of talent, with nine first round picks in the past three drafts alone. The event has been dominated by California teams historically, as they've won seven of the nine tournaments to date.
The tournament features four schools from both Florida and California, including 2016 champion Huntington Beach and Tampa-area powerhouse Calvary Christian. Georgia is represented by two schools, while Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, North Carolina, and Oregon will have one school each.
Two notable omissions from the event include Southern California juggernaut Orange Lutheran, who is a three-time tournament champion. 2022 champion Stoneman Douglas also missed the cut.
Here are the list of teams participating in 2023:
Aquinas High School (CA)
Basha High School (AZ)
Bishop Gorman High School (NV)
Bishop Verot High School (FL)
Blessed Trinity Catholic High School (GA) Buursema and Lankie (NR)
Brother Rice High School (IL)
Calvary Christian High School (FL)
Doral Academy (FL)
Hagerty High School (FL)
Houston County High School (GA)
Huntington Beach High School (CA)
JSerra Catholic High School (CA)
Portland Jesuit High School (OR)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School (CA)
St. Xavier High School (KY)
T.C. Roberson High School (NC)
The 2023 draft class has plenty of talent involved in this year’s tournament, as well as some noteworthy 2024 prospects. Here’s a list of players from our rankings, as well as some others who just missed:
2023 Draft Class
RHP Noble Meyer, Portland Jesuit High (#21)
RHP Liam Peterson, Calvary Christian High (#50)
INF Eric Bitonti, Aquinas High (#52)
RHP Garrett Baumann, Hagerty High (#75)
C Raffaele Velazquez, Huntington Beach High (#78)
OF Drew Burress, Houston County High (#141)
INF Trent Caraway, JSerra Catholic High (#151)
INF Adrian Santana, Doral Academy (#184)
RHP Landen Maroudis, Calvary Christian High (#196)
LHP Hunter Dietz, Calvary Christian High (#271)
RHP Porter Buursema, Blessed Trinity Catholic High (NR)
RHP Jake Lankie, Blessed Trinity Catholic High (NR)
C Blake Balsz, Santa Margarita Catholic High (NR)
2024 Draft Class
LHP Talan Bell, Hagerty High (#63)
OF Michael Torres, Doral Academy (#97)
RHP Cade Townsend, Santa Margarita Catholic High (NR)
INF Matthew Champion, JSerra Catholic High (NR)
SS Austin Jacobs, Hagerty High (NR)
RHP Jake Gregor, St. Xavier High (NR)
C Burke Mabeus, Bishop Gorman High (NR)
Lists to both rankings can be found here: