Over the last decade, a bid to the National High School Invitational has become much more than an entry into a prep baseball tournament. A 16-team invitation-only event, there is nothing else like it in the high school realm. Sure, there are numerous high school tournaments hosted around the country, but none quite stack up to the value that the NHSI provides to its participants.
The NHSI has become an event that teams strive to put on their calendars. Not only does it give schools the status of being one of the best teams in high school baseball, but the experience on and off the field that the NHSI provides year in, and year out is unmatched.
What could be better than playing at a facility that has had big leaguers walk its grounds and on fields that are kept in immaculate condition? Not to mention playing against the best high school teams in the nation while gaining exposure to Major League Baseball scouts and college coaches? It’s this combination which creates an experience that keeps past participants desiring to come back year after year.
As the eleventh edition of the event approaches, there are two teams that will be returning for a seventh time: Huntington Beach High School (CA), which competed in the inaugural event in 2012, and Orange Lutheran High School (CA), which made its debut in 2015. The pair of Southern California schools have had much success since their NHSI debuts as they have won a combined five titles in the last six years the event has been held.
“I remember being told that USA Baseball had a vision of putting together the best high school tournament in the country to hopefully help establish a national champion,” recalled Orange Lutheran Head Coach and three-time USA Baseball national team coach Eric Borba. “There wasn’t anything like that at the time, and their goal was to bring the best 16 teams in the country to one spot. As a younger coach, trying to build our program and our brand, the opportunity to participate in that seemed very exclusive and something that could help take us to another level.”
Taking high school programs to new heights is exactly what the NHSI has done for its participants. What was a leap of faith at the time–taking a chance on a brand-new concept in prep baseball on the other side of the country–has opened the door to numerous opportunities for so many teams like Huntington Beach and Orange Lutheran.
From the national reputation that has been created for teams that participate in the event to the perspective players gain in just how many paths their careers could go on, the benefit of this event goes far beyond wins and losses on the field.
“This event really has enabled our kids to get exposure on the East Coast,” said Huntington Beach Head Coach Benji Medure. “From our 2016 championship team, we had multiple players end up going to schools like Harvard and North Carolina State. Before this event, there was no chance of that happening and our players would just get recruited by Southern California schools. Over time we’ve become more nationally known to where schools from all over the country are recruiting our players. It’s really opened up the eyes of our players to see that baseball is truly a national sport and it’s not just limited to Southern California. Our players are going to places all across the country now, and I think that’s a good thing.”
This heightened exposure isn’t just for West Coast teams, though. Teams even from the eastern part of the country have seen a rise in the number of players who are being recruited on a national scope. Because the level of competition is elevated in Cary, colleges and professional scouts are truly able to evaluate the talent of each player that is participating.
“The exposure that you get from a college and professional scouting standpoint is great for our guys because of the competition they face at the NHSI,” said St. Johns Country Day (FL) Head Coach Tom Lucas. “If we play an inferior opponent in Florida, scouts really struggle with getting a sense of how guys perform, but in Cary it’s the best of the best. This event will attract so many scouts from across the nation; you’ll have national scouting directors from MLB organizations, and some teams will send four representatives from their big-league club to come scout the event.
“On top of that, college coaches get to see them and don’t have to wonder how they’ll fare against college competition because they’re getting to see hitters face pitchers who could get drafted in the top three rounds of the MLB Draft and vice versa. So, if those coaches can see them succeed against guys like that, that’s the type of player they want to offer.”
As an event that schools strive to receive an invitation from, April 10th will be a special day for seven teams in this year’s field as it will mark their NHSI debuts. This week, those teams will get the opportunity to join an elite group and showcase why they are deserving of the reputation as one of the top high schools in the country.
Chaparral High School (AZ) will be one of those seven schools making their debuts. For the players and a majority of the coaching staff it will be their first time at the National Training Complex, but for head coach Troy Gerlach, this will be like a homecoming. A three-time national team coach, Gerlach is coming off leading USA Baseball’s 2023 12U National Team to a gold medal at the World Baseball Softball Classic (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup last summer. He has also served as an assistant coach for the 2022 12U squad and for the 2018 15U National Team which both won gold at their respective World Cups and has been a part of several USA Baseball events from the developmental and identification side.
“Cary is kind of a second home to me,” said Gerlach. “Somebody asked me the other day how many days a summer I'm in Cary, and I got to thinking that the last four or five summers, I've been there for about three weeks each time, if not more. So, it's pretty awesome to be able to take the kids there and let them experience the complex and facilities. My son [Ty] is making the trip with us too, so to be able to share it with him and let him see where dad’s been the last four or five summers is pretty special.”
With Gerlach’s success on the USA Baseball front combined with accomplishing a feat that has been on his list of goals since taking the reins of Chaparral’s program in May of 2019, this week could go in his memory bank as one of the top moments in his coaching career.
“This tournament is one of the most recognized in the country on the high school level, and it was one of my goals when our staff got the job at Chaparral to be able to bring our team to the NHSI. Having the history that I do with a first-class organization like USA Baseball and winning a couple of gold medals, just being able to have our players experience that same type of atmosphere and play against the best players in the country is going to be pretty awesome.”
This week provides an opportunity for teams to not only compete in a top-tier event, but to celebrate the hard work they have put in to earn an invitation to Cary. So, as the 2024 National High School Invitational commences this week, one thing certainly rings true for every team as they make their way to Cary, North Carolina, that each coach and player will look to soak in the full experience that the event offers to its participants.
“We’re telling our kids to enjoy the experience,” explained Lucas. “What USA Baseball does is first class. From the moment we get off the planes, these kids are going to feel like big leaguers; they're going to feel like they're a part of Team USA. It’s just so special and it’s probably going to be one of the best baseball weeks of their lives just because of everything USA Baseball does. It's truly the best of the best getting together and doing what they enjoy doing that week.”
“It's such a first class run event. It's an unbelievable event for our kids that they'll cherish and remember for the rest of their lives,” said Borba. “They get treated almost like big leaguers would, so I think the overall experience that players and their families have by traveling to Cary and playing at the National Training Complex just brings you chills. When you walk in through that gate at the front to know all the great players from our past who have played and trained there, it’s just one of those special once in a lifetime type of opportunities.”
