The 2026 National High School Invitational is in the books, and a stellar week of baseball ended with Orange Lutheran High School edging Venice High School 7-6 to claim its fourth NHSI title.
It was a record-setting week at the USA Baseball National Training Complex, highlighted by dominant team and individual performances. Top draft prospects and emerging talent made headlines at the nation’s premier high school baseball tournament, matching strikeout records and delivering walk-off hits to keep their team’s title hopes alive.
Sixteen of the nation’s top programs participated, and nine states were represented. California led the field with four teams, followed by Florida with three. Six nationally ranked schools participated, and 137 college commits touted their skills, 63 of whom are headed to Power Four programs. Additionally, six players who competed are ranked among MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Draft Prospects. Read more for top performances and all of the data and analytics tied to the week’s most prolific pitchers and hitters.
The Title Contenders
For the 10th time in tournament history, a California school was crowned champion, as Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) held off a late rally from the defending champion Venice (Venice, Fla.) to capture its fourth title in nine years.
Orange Lutheran consistently won close games and mitigated big innings from opponents en route to a podium-finish. In all four games played, the Lancers won by three runs or less, including two walk-off wins. Despite their lack of offensive power, finishing 10th among all teams in runs scored (15), they managed to record a tournament-best 1.69 ERA as a staff. They allowed the second fewest runs to score all week (9), including only one earned run prior to Saturday’s title game.
Right fielder Eric Zdunek earned championship game MVP after going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Zdunek, Jordan Kurz, and CJ Weinstein combined for 14 of the team’s 29 hits and eight of its 14 RBIs in the tournament.
Venice powered its way to a second consecutive championship game appearance after dominating the field on both sides of the ball. After opening with a 10-0 win over Gloucester Catholic, Venice shut out Harvard-Westlake (Los Angeles, Calif.) in run-rule fashion, 14-0, to advance to the semifinals. Venice ranked second among all teams in runs scored (32) and allowed the fewest runs to score (8).
Venice featured a relentless lineup with firm pitching, batting .415 as a team while its staff used only six pitchers across four games and compiled a 1.96 ERA. Leadoff man August Backman tallied a tournament-best .636, while four of Venice’s eight batters who recorded at least 10 plate appearances batted .450 or better.
Noteworthy Performances
Aside from its title run, a top story stemmed from Orange Lutheran’s day one win over Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.), where the Lancers’ Gary Morse tied the NHSI single-game strikeout record with 16 en route to his complete-game, one-hit shutout.
Backman, a Florida commit, led Venice at the plate and took home the batting title after hitting .636 on the week. His teammate and LSU commit Graham Houston made highlight-reel plays at short, hit .538, drove in seven runs, and launched a grand slam in Venice’s rout of Harvard-Westlake.
Harvard-Westlake first baseman Jake Kim raked in his NHSI debut, batting .600 and clobbering two home runs. The UCLA commit led the field in RBIs with eight and turned in a tournament-best 2.214 OPS.
Starters Stealing the Show
From the first pitch to the last, pitchers made headlines, as six aces fired complete-game shutouts at the NHSI.
Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) kicked off the tournament with a win over Tampa Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), as two Power Four commits dueled it out on the bump and runs came at a premium. In a game that saw five hits combined, Trinity’s Grayson Willoughby (Kentucky commit) threw a complete-game shutout, scattering two hits and striking out seven. His counterpart, Kaden Waechter (Florida State), executed an equally stellar showing, compiling 10 strikeouts across six innings of two-hit ball.
Edmond Memorial’s (Edmond, Okla.) 6-foot-8 right-hander Laird Williams dazzled in his start against Regis Jesuit on Thursday. The Tulane commit tallied 11 strikeouts in his complete-game outing, surrendering only two hits and one run in the process.
On Friday, Samir Mohammed, a 2023 15U National Team alum, turned in four innings of work and fanned 10 batters for Tampa Jesuit, while Venice’s Kohen Poplin allowed one run in his complete game effort against Baylor School in the semifinals.
Trinity’s Konnor Stargel rose to the occasion on Saturday against Max Preps’ then-ranked No. 1 team in the nation, St. John Bosco. Stargel went the distance and dominated from start to finish, striking out five while walking only two batters in seven innings.
Eli Martinez (2022 12U) for Aquinas (San Bernardino, Calif.) also spun a gem, as the sophomore punched out seven and shut out Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.) in his complete-game performance.
The Pipeline & Draft Stock
The tournament also featured several USA Baseball alumni and rising draft prospects. Six players ranked in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Draft Prospects list competed, including the aforementioned Gary Morse (No. 79), 2025 18U National Team alum Kaden Waechter (No. 37), and Grayson Willoughby (No. 100).
Another top prospect, Cooper Sides (No. 74), got the nod for Orange Lutheran in the semifinals where he struck out three and allowed no earned runs in five frames. Brady Harris, the No. 34 ranked draft prospect and a member of the 2023 15U National Team, batted .357 and drove in four runs for Trinity Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.).
Harris’ teammate from the 2023 15U National Team, Wilson Andersen, got it done on both sides of the ball for Tampa Jesuit, collecting five hits at the plate while fanning six batters across six innings pitched.
Two other 15U National Team alumni helped propel Orange Lutheran, including 2022 alum Brady Murrietta, who caught every game for the Lancers, and first baseman Jordan Kurz (2024), who contributed four base hits and two doubles.
Harvard-Westlake also featured a pair of 15U National Team alumni, as James Tronstein (2022 & 2023) batted .500 while freshman Louis Lappe (2025) started all four games at the hot corner, hit at a .462 clip, and drove in six runs.
To see more statistics from NHSI, click here.
Top Numbers and Analytics:
Top 5 Exit Velocities:
- Ira Rootman (Harvard-Westlake) - 110.6 mph
- Ryan Harwood (Casteel) - 108.9 mph
- Jordan Martinez (Trinity Christian) - 107.9 mph
- Nolan Hosking (Trinity) - 106.9 mph
- CJ Weinstein (Orange Lutheran) - 106.9 mph
Top 5 Hit Distances:
- Braeden Lipoff (Gloucester Catholic) - 420 feet
- Max Phillips (Trinity) - 401 feet
- Ethan Wheeler (Trinity Christian) - 390 feet
- Jaden Jackson (St. John Bosco) - 390 feet
- Henry Pancoast (Gloucester Catholic) - 387 feet
Top 5 Average Fastball Velocities:
- Samir Mohammed (Tampa Jesuit) - 95.7 mph
- Wilson Andersen (Tampa Jesuit) - 94.1 mph
- Grayson Willoughby (Trinity) - 93.6 mph
- Wyatt Clatur (Nolensville) - 93.4 mph
- Julian Garcia (St. John Bosco) - 93.3 mph
Top 5 Player Max Pitch Velocities:
- Samir Mohammed (Tampa Jesuit) - 98.2 mph
- Cooper Sides (Orange Lutheran) - 97.0 mph
- Wilson Andersen (Tampa Jesuit) - 96.9 mph
- Grayson Willoughby (Trinity) - 96.9 mph
- Wyatt Clatur (Nolensville) - 96.8 mph
Top 5 Average Breaking Ball Spin Rate:
- Ryan Walls (Trinity Christian) - 3247 rpm
- Parker Loew (Trinity Christian) - 2851 rpm
- Julian Garcia (St. John Bosco) - 2811 rpm
- Paul Mittmann (Orange Lutheran) - 2720 rpm
- Marcus Greis (Orange Lutheran) - 2698 rpm
SOCIAL MEDIA
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