2016 NHSI Field Includes Elite Talent
The field and matchups for the 2016 National High School Invitational have been set. The tournament will take place at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C. from March 23-26, with Baseball America serving as the official media partner for the event. The field is loaded with quality high school teams as well as elite prospects, including outfielder Blake Rutherford and lefthander Braxton Garrett, both of whom are Team USA alumni. In total, seven of the preseason top 100 high school prospects will play at NHSI, including Rutherford (3), Garrett (12), infielder Carter Kieboom (17), righthander Zach Hess (24), infielder Daniel Bakst (26), outfielder Josh Stephen (81) and righthanded pitcher/infielder Greg Veliz (90).
| Pod 1, Game 1 | ||
| Huntington Beach (Calif.) High | Poly Prep Country Day School, New York | |
| Nickname: Oilers | Nickname: Blue Devils | |
| Coach: Benji Medure | Coach: Mattew Roventini | |
| 2015 Record: 25-8 | 2015 Record: 19-4 | |
| Top Prospects: RHP Hagen Danner (2017, UCLA), LHP/OF Nicholas Pratto (2017, Southern Cal), RHP Logan Pouelsen (UCLA) | Top Prospects: SS/3B Daniel Bakst (Stanford), RHP Nicholas Storz (2017, LSU) | |
| Notable Baseball Alumni: Rays C Hank Conger, Reds RP Collin Balester.k | Notable Baseball Alumni: Red Sox minor league OF Kevin Heller, former Braves minor league 2B JJ Franco | |
| Other Alumni: Chiefs/Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez. | Other Alumni: NBA center Joakim Noah, actor Calvert DeForest | |
| Matchup: The Oilers, ranked No. 1 nationally in the preseason, will rely on the power arm of junior righthander Danner as they aim to neutralize Poly Prep’s promising bats. | ||
| Pod 1, Game 2 | ||
| Topsail High, Hampstead, N.C. | Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville, Fla. | |
| Nickname: Pirates | Nickname: Conquerors | |
| Coach: Chris Blake | Coach: Gil Morales | |
| 2015 Record: 25-3 | 2015 Record: 24-8 | |
| Top Prospects: OF Sam Hall (2017, Clemson), RHP Bryce Cota (Campbell) | Top Prospects: RHP JC Flowers (Kentucky), OF Todd Lott (Louisiana Lafayette) | |
| Notable Baseball Alumni: UNC Wilmington OF Clark Cota. | Notable Baseball Alumni: Former Major League RHP Paul Rigdon | |
| Other Alumni: N/A | Other Alumni: Titans running back Jamie Harper | |
| Matchup: The Conquerors’ talented lineup is filled with Division I prospects, and Topsail has a well-rounded squad built around junior outfielder Hall. | ||
| Pod 2, Game 1 | ||
| Rocky Mountain High, Fort Collins, Colo. | North Broward Prep, Pompano Beach, Fla. | |
| Nickname: Lobos | Nickname: Eagles | |
| COACH: Scott Bullock | Coach: Brian Campbell | |
| 2015 Record: 14-6 | 2015 Record: 15-12 | |
| Top Prospect: SS John Sorenson (2017, uncommitted) | Top Prospects: RHP Greg Veliz (Miami), RHP Evan McKendry (Miami) | |
| Notable Baseball Alumni: Cardinals LHP Marco Gonzales, Blue Jays minor leaguer Andy Burns | Notable Baseball Alumni: Reds minor league RHP Sarkis Ohanian | |
| Other Alumni: Singer-songwriter Katie Herzig | Other Alumni: Singer-songwriter Ariana Grande | |
| Matchup: North Broward has one of the best pitching staffs in the nation, but it was off to a tough start and will be challenged by the well-coached Lobos. | ||
| Pod 2, Game 2 | ||
| Houston High, Germantown, Tenn. | Allatoona High, Acworth, Ga. | |
| Nickname: Mustangs | Nickname: Buccaneers | |
| Coach: Lane McCarter | Coach: Keith Hansen | |
| 2015 Record: 33-10 | 2015 Record: 30-5 | |
| Top Prospect: SS Jack Kenley (Arkansas) | Top Prospect: OF Kyle Jacobsen (2017, South Carolina) | |
| Notable Baseball Alumni: Giants RHP Matt Cain | Notable Baseball Alumni: Clemson RHP Clate Schmidt, South Carolina RHP Clarke Schmidt | |
| Other Alumni: NFL players David Nugent and Jeremy Jarmon | Other Alumni: N/A | |
| Matchup: Kenley brings solid all-around skills to the table, but Allatoona is equally set with Jacobsen, one of the top players in the 2017 class. | ||
| Pod 3, Game 1 | ||
| Mater Dei High, Santa Ana, Calif. | The First Academy, Orlando | |
| Nickname: Monarchs | Nickname: Royals | |
| Coach: Burt Call | Coach: Scott Grove | |
| 2015 Record: 18-13 | 2015 Record: 20-7 | |
| Top Prospects: OF Josh Stephen (USC), OF Grant Burton (2018, Stanford) | Top Prospects: RHP/3B Garrett Milchin, OF Kendrick Calilao (2018, Florida), Joseph Charles (2019, Uncommitted) | |
| Notable Baseball Alumni: Bobby Meacham, Danny Espinosa, Sergio Santos, Ryan McMahon, Cory Hahn, Ty Moore, Mike Hessman | Notable Baseball Alumni: Florida State OF Ben DeLuzio, Virgina OF Adam Haseley, Royals minor leaguer Foster Griffin | |
| Other Alumni: Southern Cal QB Matt Barkley, Cardinals QB Matt Leinart | Other Alumni: WNBA center Krystal Thomas | |
| Matchup: Stephen and the Monarchs will face an immediate challenge in The First Academy, the 2014 NHSI champions. | ||
| Pod 3, Game 2 | ||
| Florence (Ala.) High | Liberty Christian Academy, Lynchburg, Va. | |
| Nickname: Falcons | Nickname: Bulldogs | |
| Coach: Steve Garrett | Coach: Randy Tomlin | |
| 2015 Record: 14-22 | 2015 Record: 22-1-1 | |
| Top Prospect: LHP Braxton Garrett (Vanderbilt) | Top Prospect: RHP Zack Hess (Louisiana State) | |
| Notable Baseball Alumni: N/A | Notable Baseball Alumni: N/A | |
| Other Alumni: Chargers DE Fred Moore | Other Alumni: NFL players Rashad Jennings and Bobby Massie | |
| Matchup: This matchup pits two of the top pitchers in the nation against each other, with Garrett facing Hess. | ||
| Pod 4, Game 1 | ||
| Flanagan High, Pembroke Pines, Fla. | Chaminade College Prep, Canoga Park, Calif. | |
| Nickname: Falcons | Nickname: Eagles | |
| Coach: Ray Evans | Coach: Frank Mutz | |
| 2015 Record: 21-6 | 2015 Record: 15-15 | |
| Top Prospects: SS Mark Vientos (2017, Miami), RHP Nick MacDonald (Arkansas State), LHP Dylan O’Connell (Florida Atlantic), OF Eric Rivera (Florida Atlantic) | Top Prospects: OF Blake Rutherford (UCLA), C Nick Kahle (Washington) | |
| Notable Baseball Alumni: Tigers OF J.D. Martinez, Indians 1B/DH Mike Napoli | Notable Baseball Alumni: Blue Jays OF Kevin Pillar | |
| Other Alumni: NFL CB Cary Williams | Other Alumni: The Killers guitarist Dave Keuning, cinematographer John Longenecker | |
| Matchup: Chaminade has one of the nation’s top hitters in Rutherford, while Flanagan counters with a deep team and a storied baseball tradition. | ||
| Pod 4, Game 2 | ||
| Walton High, Marietta, Ga. | Bingham High, South Jordan, Utah | |
| Nickname: Raiders | Nickname: Miners | |
| Coach: Shane Amos | Coach: Joel Sato | |
| 2015 Record: 30-7 | 2015 Record: 30-4 | |
| Top Prospects: SS Carter Kieboom (Clemson), RHP Zac Kristofak (Georgia) | Top Prospect: LHP Sean Keating (Arizona State) | |
| Notable Baseball Alumni: Athletics OF Billy Burns, Tigers RHP Luke Putkonen, Twins RHP Blaine Boyer | Notable Baseball Alumni: Cubs SS/3B Daryl Robertson | |
| Other Alumni: NBA guard Glen Rice Jr., The Black Crowes founders Chris and Rich Robinson | Other Alumni: Rams WR Kevin Curtis, model and actress Jaime Bergman | |
| Matchup: Walton is the top-ranked team in the nation, but the Miners will compete with Keating on the mound. | ||
Comments are closed.