Top Draft prospects slated for ninth annual NHSI
The National High School Invitational Field has been set.
USA Baseball announced the 16 teams that will participate in the ninth annual NHSI, which will take place April 1-4 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.. Select games will also be streamed on MLB.com.
“USA Baseball is excited to continue celebrating high school baseball on the national stage with the ninth annual National High School Invitational,” USA Baseball executive director and CEO Paul Seiler said in a statement. “In its sterling history, the NHSI has drawn elite baseball talent and the premier prep teams from across the United States for a truly one-of-a-kind tournament, and this year will be no different.”
There will be five Top 100 MLB Draft prospects taking part in the NHSI, and several of the country's best high school teams, including Orange Lutheran High School (Orange, Calif.), which has won the tournament the past three years.
Top 100 MLB Draft Prospects:
12. Ed Howard -- SS, Mount Carmel
26. Pete Crow-Armstrong -- OF, Harvard-Westlake
65. Drew Bowser -- 3B, Harvard-Westlake
79. Enrique Bradfield Jr. -- OF, American Heritage
98. Ryan Bruno -- LHP, American Heritage
Those five players may be the next big names in the sport, but there are several current stars and top prospects who have participated in years past. Major Leaguers such as Cody Bellinger and Jack Flaherty have taken part, so have first-round Draft picks CJ Abrams, Matthew Liberatore, Triston Casas and others.
While each team is guaranteed to play four games, the NHSI is a single-elimination tournament. In addition to Orange Lutheran, several competing schools will be making return trips to the tournament.
American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Harvard Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), Mount Carmel (Chicago), Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) and St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) have all previously played in the NHSI. In total, nine states will be represented, with California and Florida leading the way as each state will have four teams in the tournament.
“The National High School Invitational is the gold-standard event in high school baseball,” said Scott Dupree, executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance. “There is no better national showcase of premier teams and elite players at the high school level, and USA Baseball has done a fantastic job of creating and cultivating this event.”
The complete list of 2020 NHSI teams is as follows:
American Heritage School (Delray Beach, Fla.)
American Heritage School (Plantation, Fla.)
Baylor School (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Bob Jones High School (Madison, Ala.)
Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Harvard-Westlake School (Studio City, Calif.)
Mount Carmel High School (Chicago)
North Gwinnett High School (Suwanee, Ga.)
Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)
Orange Lutheran High School (Orange, Calif.)
Parkview High School (Lilburn, Ga.)
Reagan High School (Pfafftown, N.C.)
Red Land High School (Lewisberry, Pa.)
Regis Jesuit High School (Aurora, Colo.)
St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Thousand Oaks High School (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)