As the 2024 National High School Invitational quickly approaches, USABaseball.com breaks down this year's event by the numbers.
11 YEARS
Wednesday, April 10, will mark the 11th edition of the National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary. Beginning in 2012, the NHSI has continuously hosted the best high school programs in the nation, welcoming future big league All-Stars to the USA Baseball National Training Complex on a yearly basis.
2 FORMER CHAMPIONS
This year’s field boasts two former champions: defending champion Huntington Beach and three-time winner Orange Lutheran. 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.
4 STATE CHAMPS
Four teams in this year’s NHSI field are coming off state championship seasons in 2023, as Bishop Gorman (NV), Casteel (AZ), Farragut (TN), St. John’s Country Day (FL) all captured titles at their respective levels.
27 TEAM USA ALUMS
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.
144 COLLEGE COMMITS
One-hundred and forty-four players at the 2024 NHSI are committed to play college baseball, which averages out to nearly nine players a 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.
180 NHSI PARTICIPANTS DRAFTED
Through 10 years of the NHSI, a combined 180 participants have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. Nine picks in the 2023 MLB Draft participated in last year’s event, including Noble Meyer (10), Ralphy Velazquez (23), and Adrian Santana (31) who were selected in the first round.
8 NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS
This year’s field boasts nine teams that were featured in the top 30 of MaxPreps’ Preseason 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, and No. 30 Casteel.
9 PAST PARTICIPANTS
Nine teams in this year’s NHSI field have participated in a past edition of the event. This year will mark the seventh time Huntington Beach and Orange Lutheran have competed in the NHSI, which is a tournament record. Along with Huntington Beach, Bishop Gorman and Hagerty will return to Cary for the second consecutive year. Additionally, St Johns Country Day will make its second appearance in three years after debuting in 2022, while Farragut and Puyallup return to the field for the first time since 2015. Trinity Christian Academy is set to make its third appearance after competing in 2017, and Harvard-Westlake will return to Cary for the fourth time as they participated in 2012, 2013, and 2019.
7 STATES REPRESENTED
Programs from seven different states are represented at this year’s NHSI. California and Florida each have four representatives to lead the field, while Arizona and North Carolina feature two teams. Nevada, Tennessee and Washington each boast one team in this year’s tournament. Additionally, the District of Columbia will be represented the first time ever when St. John’s College High School makes its NHSI debut on April 10.
