The 16-team field has been unveiled for the eleventh edition of the National High School Invitational, one of the most prestigious prep tournaments on the scouting calendar. The tournament, which USA Baseball hosts, will take place at the National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina from April 10th to April 13th.
The single-elimination style tournament has a rich history of draft talent that has come through the gates since its inception in 2012. The likes of Cody Bellinger, Joey Gallo, Max Fried, and Lucas Giolito have stepped foot in the complex, as well as recent top draft picks in Dylan Lesko, Mikey Romero, Jack Leiter, and Pete Crow-Armstrong. In 2023, the tournament added three more first-rounders to its resume, with Noble Meyer, Adrian Santana, and Ralphy Velasquez putting together excellent outings last April. Velasquez recorded six hits throughout the tournament and took home All-Tournament honors, while Meyer struck out ten in seven stellar innings in a tough-luck loss to Calvary Christian. Santana utilized the event to show off his burgeoning toolset, which culminated in the Rays selecting him at 31st overall. Overall, nine players who participated in the 2023 edition were drafted last July.
This year’s lineup features a stout lineup, including reigning champions Huntington Beach and the return of three-time champions Orange Lutheran. Florida and California have four teams apiece with North Carolina and Arizona being the only other states with multiple participants. This will be the first time in tournament history that two in-state schools appear in Cary, plus the District of Columbia is being represented for the first time. Here is the full lineup of teams:
Apex Friendship (Apex, NC)
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV)
Casteel (Queen Creek, AZ)
Chaparral (Scottsdale, AZ)
Corona (Corona, CA)
Farragut (Knoxville, TN)
Hagerty (Oviedo, FL)
Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, CA)
Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, CA)
Key West (Key West, FL)
Orange Lutheran (Orange, CA)
Puyallup (Puyallup, WA)
St. John’s College (Washington, D.C.)
St. John’s Country Day (Orange Park, FL)
Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville, FL)
Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, NC)
There’s an impressive lineup of prospects in the 2024 class that’ll take the field in Cary, but there’s also high-end talent in the 2025 and 2026 classes that are worth paying attention to. We’ll tease a few of our new Top 100 rankings in this list (which will come out later this week), but here’s a list of prospects to keep an eye on in all three classes come April 10th:
2024s:
LHP Ethan Schiefelbein, Corona (#13)
RHP/SS Bryce Rainer, Harvard-Westlake (#14)
OF Derek Curiel, Orange Lutheran (#22)
LHP Mason Russell, Casteel (#50)
RHP Duncan Marsten, Harvard-Westlake (#73)
C Burke-Lee Mabeus, Bishop Gorman (#79)
C Josh Springer, Corona (#82)
LHP Talan Bell, Hagerty
UTL Chris Newstrom, Chaparral
RHP Cade O’Leary, Farragut
RHP Nathan Aceves, Huntington Beach
RHP Tommy Bridges, Harvard-Westlake
SS Gabe Fraser, Orange Lutheran
OF Kyle Boylston, St. John’s Country Day
RHP Felix Ong, Key West
SS Austin Jacobs, Hagerty
C Kailand Halstead, Puyallup
OF Brennon Seigler, Farragut
2025s:
RHP Seth Hernandez, Corona
SS Brady Ebel, Corona
RHP/SS Billy Carlson, Corona
RHP Josh Hammond, Wesleyan Christian Academy
RHP Sam Cozart, Wesleyan Christian Academy
OF Josiah Hartshorn, Orange Lutheran
C Trent Grindlinger, Huntington Beach
SS Linkin Garcia, Huntington Beach
OF Domaine Vann, Wesleyan Christian Academy
SS Mason Pike, Puyallup
2026s:
OF Brady Harris, Trinity Christian Academy
RHP Ethan Wheeler, Trinity Christian Academy
OF Ryan Harwood, Casteel
C Brady Murrieta, Orange Lutheran
RHP Brayden Harris, Trinity Christian Academy