Baylor Chattanooga, Tenn.	Calvary Christian Fort Lauderdale, Fla.	Orange Lutheran Orange, Calif.	Regis Jesuit Aurora, Colo.

 

In the Rankings

Baylor: #11 in MaxPreps Preseason Top 100
Calvary Christian: #63 in MaxPreps Preseason Top 100
Orange Lutheran: #8 in MaxPreps Preseason Top 100
Regis Jesuit: #32 in MaxPreps Preseason Top 100

Alumni Profiles

Daniel Corona Jr. (Baylor) is a veteran of the USA Baseball system, being one of three Baylor players on the 2015 12U National Team that won gold at the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup, and also having participated in the 14U and 16U National Team Development Programs (NTDP). On the mound for the 2015 12U National Team, Corona recorded the final three outs of the gold medal game against Chinese Taipei to help secure the World Cup title. With the Red Raiders in 2019, Corona batted a strong .367 and was among the team leaders in hits, doubles, and runs scored while playing shortstop as a sophomore. Corona is committed to play baseball at Wake Forrest University after his senior season.

Karson Bowen (Orange Lutheran) is a three-time national team alum, and two-time gold medalist, winning gold with the 2018 and 2019 15U National Teams and earning a silver medal with the 2016 12U National Team. He started at catcher for the U.S. in eight games at the 2019 U-15 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier and led the team with nine RBIs and 11 total bases while batting .381 and stealing five bases. Bowen played in four games at the 2018 U-15 World Cup, adding two hits in five at-bats with one RBI, one run scored, and one stolen base. Bowen is a rising sophomore at Orange Lutheran and is uncommitted for collegiate ball. 

Cooper Kinney (Baylor) won gold with the 2015 12U National Team and has since participated in the 14U and 16U NTDPs. While at the U-12 Baseball World Cup, he helped lead Team USA's offensive effort in a 13-1 win over Australia with a 2-for-4 day including two RBI and three runs scored while starting behind the plate. Now committed to play college ball at the University of South Carolina, Kinney produced an impressive .393 batting average with five home runs, 30 RBI, and 18 runs scored in his junior season with the Red Raiders.

Nick Kurtz (Baylor) starred on the mound as part of the 2015 12U National Team that won gold in Taiwan, leading the team in innings pitched, strikeouts, and wins while posting a 0.41 ERA for the stars and stripes. The lefty was also credited as the winning pitcher in the 7-2 victory over Chinese Taipei in the gold medal game. The Wake Forrest commit has since participated in 14U and 16U NTDPs and posted a 3-0 record with one save and 36 strikeouts over 24.0 innings pitched while also batting .337 with three home runs and 20 RBI with the Red Raiders last season. 

Andy Painter (Calvary Christian) was a key pitcher on the 2018 15U National Team which won the first U-15 Baseball World Cup title in U.S. history. With Team USA, Painter posted a 2-0 record with a sparkling 0.90 ERA over 10.0 innings while tallying 13 strikeouts. The righty tossed 5.1 innings of one-run ball in the U.S. victory over Panama in the gold medal game. Painter recorded a 7-2 record with a 1.43 ERA as a junior with the Eagles and earned an invite to the 2019 17U NTDP. He is committed to play at the University of Florida.

Max Rajcic (Orange Lutheran) is a two-time national team alum, playing for both the 2018 and 2019 18U National Teams. At the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup he tallied a team-high 13.1 innings pitched over two starts and posted a 1.35 ERA for the silver-medal-winning squad. Rajcic earned a gold medal at the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships as a key piece of the U.S. bullpen, tossing 5.2 hitless innings over four appearances while notching eight strikeouts. The UCLA commit dominated the opposition during his junior season with the Lancers, posting an 8-1 record and a tidy 0.55 ERA over 63.0 innings pitched and earning an invite to the 2019 Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) League.

Prospect Profiles

Jacob Thompsen (Regis Jesuit) is a two-way threat for the Raiders who batted .340 has a junior shortstop in 2019 while posting a 0.95 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 37.0 innings across 10 appearances on the mound. The rising senior is committed to play baseball at Cal State - Long Beach. 

Vytas Valincius (Baylor) transferred to Baylor from St. Laurence (Burbank, Ill.) where he batted .417 with three home runs, 12 doubles, and 41 RBI as a sophomore. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound first baseman has committed to play baseball at the University of South Carolina.

NHSI History

Baylor School:
Baylor is making its first appearance in the NHSI.

Calvary Christian Academy:
Calvary Christian will make its second appearance at NHSI after posting a 3-1 record in the 2018 event. The Eagles reached the semi-final of the 2018 NHSI, but were topped by eventual champion, Orange Lutheran, in a tight 3-2 game. 

Orange Lutheran High School:
Orange Lutheran is the three-time defending champion of the NHSI, and is making its sixth overall appearance in the tournament. The Lancers enter the 2020 contest with an active 13-game winning streak in the event, having gone undefeated in the 2019, 2018, and 2017 tournaments. The team's last NHSI loss came at the hands of Venice High School (Venice, Fla.) in 2014.

Regis Jesuit High School:
Regis Jesuit is making its first appearance in the NHSI. 

Matchups

Baylor vs. Calvary Christian (Wednesday, April 1, 11 a.m.)
Calvary Christian enters with tournament experience after reaching the NHSI semi-final in 2018, but Baylor comes with one of the top infields in the country after the addition of Vytas Valincius. The Baylor Red Raiders come into the NHSI as the defending Division II-AA Tennessee state champions, but could face a USA Baseball alum in Andy Painter who has proven his mettle in big games.

Regis Jesuit vs. Orange Lutheran (Wednesday, April 1, 1 p.m.)
Orange Lutheran returns to NHSI as the unprecedented three-time defending champion, with eight starters from the 2019 winners still on the squad. The Lancers will look for their 14th-consecutive NHSI victory when they take on Regis Jesuit, but the Raiders may send their stud senior Jacob Thompsen to the hill in an attempt to upend the defending champions and head towards a title of their own.

Round 2

The team that advances to the semifinals from this section of the bracket will face the semifinalist fthat advances from the section of the bracket that features American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), Parkview High School (Lilburn, Ga.), Red Land High School (Lewisberry, Pa.), and Thousand Oaks High School (Thousand Oaks, Calif.).