CARY, N.C. – The 2024 calendar year marks the 11th edition of the National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary. Play begins on Wednesday, April 10, at the National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, and will conclude with the crowning of a champion on Saturday, April 13.
Once again, this year’s field is loaded with talent, featuring two past NHSI champions, four 2023 state champions, 144 college commits, and 26 USA Baseball alums. Read up about this year’s field.
Best in the State
Four teams in this year’s NHSI field are coming off state championship seasons in 2023, as Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), Casteel (Queen Creek, Ariz.), Farragut (Farragut, Tenn.), and St. John’s Country Day (Orange Park, Fla.) all captured titles at their respective class levels.
Former Champs Return to Cary
This year’s field boasts two former champions, defending champion Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and three-time winner Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.). Between the two schools, the Oilers and Lancers have won five of the last six editions of the event. In addition to last year’s title, Huntington Beach won its first trophy in 2016 while Orange Lutheran won the event in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The 2024 event will mark the seventh time both teams have participated in the NHSI, which is the most appearances of any team in the tournament.
Old and New Foes
Nine schools have played in at least one past edition of the NHSI, while seven schools will make their NHSI debuts on April 10. Along with Huntington Beach and Orange Lutheran, Bishop Gorman, Farragut, Hagerty (Oviedo, Fla.), Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), Puyallup (Puyallup, Wash.), St. Johns Country Day, and Trinity Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) are all past participants.
Apex Friendship (Apex, N.C.), Casteel, Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Corona (Corona, Calif.), Key West (Key West, Fla.), St. John’s College (Washington, D.C.), and Wesleyan Christian (High Point, N.C.), will join the 16-team field for the first time.
St. John’s College’s upcoming debut will mark the first time that the District of Columbia has been represented in the NHSI.
Back For More
Hagerty senior Adam Ciccone and Huntington Beach junior Tyler Bellerose were named to last year’s NHSI All-Tournament Team and are back for more in 2024. Both had stellar performances across the week at the plate or on the mound last year, and will just a few of the many players to keep an eye on during the event.
Ciccone turned in a .667 batting average with eight hits, nine total bases, two runs, and two RBIs in four games. Bellerose tossed nine innings and compiled a 1.00 ERA while fanning eight batters across two appearances. In the championship game last year, he surrendered one earned run in six innings en route to being tabbed the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Best of the Best
The NHSI is known for bringing the nation’s best high school talent to Cary, North Carolina. Seven teams in this year’s field were featured MaxPreps’ Preseason Top 25 Poll:
- No. 5 Corona
- No. 11 Orange Lutheran
- No. 12 Bishop Gorman
- No. 13 Harvard-Westlake
- No. 14 Farragut
- No. 16 Huntington Beach
- No. 20 Chaparral
Headed to the Next Level
One-hundred and forty-four players participating in the 2024 NHSI are committed to play college baseball, which averages out to nearly nine players per team. Seventy-one of those players are committed to play in a Power Five conference. Farragut leads all teams in the field with 17 college commits, while Orange Lutheran and St. John’s College each have 14 players committed to play in college.
The NHSI is not only guaranteed to showcase the top future collegiate talent, but has also had 180 past participants selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. Nine picks in the 2023 MLB Draft competed in last year’s event, including Noble Meyer (10), Ralphy Velazquez (23), and Adrian Santana (31) who were selected in the first round.
Repping the Red, White, and Blue
This year’s NHSI field features 18 players and nine coaches who have been a part of a past national team, which is a combined 27 USA Baseball alums. Orange Lutheran leads the way with seven alums, while Corona has five, Harvard-Westlake has three, Bishop Gorman, Casteel, and Puyallup each have two, and Chaparral, Hagerty, Huntington Beach, Key West, St. John’s College, and Trinity Christian have one apiece.
Reunited in Cary
The NHSI will serve as a reunion for several past Team USA players and coaches. Multiple members from 12 past national teams, including six teams which won gold in their respective international competition, are participating in this year’s NHSI:
- 1992 18U – Dave Demarest (Corona (assistant coach)), Kevin Gibbs (St. John’s College (assistant coach))
- 1994 CNT – Gibbs, Doug Mientkiewicz (Key West (assistant coach))
- 2017 12U! – RJ Farrell (Orange Lutheran (assistant coach)), Bryce Rainer (Harvard-Westlake), Ben Reiland (Orange Lutheran)
- 2018 12U! – Farrell, Kailand Halstead (Puyallup), Brady Strohm (Orange Lutheran), Marc Wiese (Puyallup (assistant coach))
- 2019 12U – Farrell, Josiah Hartshorn (Orange Lutheran), Weise
- 2019 15U! – Jared Halpert (Harvard-Westlake (assistant coach)), Reiland
- 2021 15U – Halpert (manager), Mason Russell (Casteel), Ethan Schiefelbein (Corona), Josh Springer (Corona)
- 2022 12U! - Farrell, Troy Gerlach (Chaparral (assistant coach))
- 2022 15U! – Brady Ebel (Corona), Ryan Harwood (Casteel), Brady Murrietta (Orange Lutheran), James Tronstein (Harvard-Westlake)
- 2022 18U! – Talan Bell (Hagerty), Eric Borba (Orange Lutheran (assistant coach))
- 2023 15U – Trey Ebel (Corona), Brady Harris (Trinity Christian), Tronstein
- 2023 18U – Derek Curiel (Orange Lutheran), Burke-Lee Mabeus (Bishop Gorman), Rainer, Schiefelbein
! denotes that the team won a gold medal in its respective international competition
Follow Along
All games of the 2024 NHSI will be streamed on USABaseball.TV (subscribers must create a FREE account) and live scoring will be available on GameChanger. Stay up to date on the latest news of the 2024 NHSI at USABaseball.com or via @USABEvents on Twitter/X and Instagram.
