USA Baseball announced the 25 semifinalists for its Golden Spikes Award on Monday. Presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the 41st Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 28 in Los Angeles.
The participant is not eligible for a USA Baseball team or event this year.
Last year, Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) claimed the NHSI title following a 3-2 win over Dana Hills (Dana Point, Calif.). The Lancers will return to the event in 2018 to defend their championship.
Huntington Beach's (Huntington Beach, Calif.) NHSI championship was a story of redemption. The Oilers hoisted the 2016 trophy one year after being eliminated from the tournament by the eventual champions.
San Clemente (San Clemente, Calif.) secured its first National High School Invitational in the event's fourth year with a decisive 8-3 victory over College Park (Pleasant Hill, Calif.).
In 2014, The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.) became just the second team to be crowned NHSI champions. The Royals topped Clovis High School (Clovis, Calif.) 5-3 to claim the title.
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) successfully defended its NHSI title when it won its second consecutive in 2013. The Monarchs matched up against Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) for the second year in a row and once again came out on top.
In the inaugural NHSI, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) became the tournament's first champion after securing a 302 walkoff victory over Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.).
