Feb 11, 2013
USA Baseball announced today the first round games for the second annual National High School Invitational (NHSI). The event will take place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex (NTC) in Cary, N.C., March, 27-30, 2013, with the semi-final and championship games streamed live on USABaseball.com. The tournament field includes teams from 10 states and will feature some of the top prep baseball programs and players in the country. Baseball America, The Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and The Town of Cary are partnering with USA Baseball in the hosting and presentation of the event.
First round match-ups on Wednesday, March 27 include defending champion Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Tullahoma High School (Tullahoma, Tenn.) on Coleman Field at 12:30pm ET. T.C. Roberson High School (Asheville, N.C.) will meet Bingham High School (South Jordan, Utah) at 1:15pm ET on Field 4. The 3:45pm ET game on Coleman Field will feature Cathedral Catholic High School (San Diego, Calif.) and Grayson High School (Loganville, Ga.). The full slate of games for the round of 16 and the championship schedule can be found here.
“We are thrilled with the first round match-ups for this year’s National High School Invitational and the high-level of competition across the entire event,” said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO. “The NHSI has quickly become the premier high school baseball tournament in the country, and USA Baseball is excited to once again showcase the nation’s best high school programs and players.”
In conjunction with today’s schedule announcement, USA Baseball released the first of five NHSI Bracket Selection Show videos on USABaseball.com. The first video includes an introduction to the event, analysis of the teams, announcement of the first round matchups, and each team’s road to the championship.
Four additional NHSI Selection Show videos will be released on USABaseball.com at noon (EST) on Tuesday, Feb. 12 and Wednesday, Feb. 13. The videos will provide an in depth breakdown of the round of 16 matchups, with analysis of the teams and players that are set to square off in the first round of the NHSI from Baseball America’s Nathan Rode and Conor Glassey. The team-by-team breakdowns will also include interviews with participating coaches and players.
Also this week, as part of its annual High School Preview, Baseball America will release its Preseason Top 25 on Tuesday, Feb. 12. The Top 25 is voted on by a committee of coaches from around the country. Baseball America subscribers will be able to read capsules on each of the teams while a look at other teams to watch will also be available. On Thursday, Feb. 14 Baseball America will publish the second part of its High School Preview, which will include the Preseason All-Americans, as voted on by Major League scouting directors, and information regarding the top tournaments and match-ups to watch, including the NHSI.
The participating teams in the 2013 NHSI are as follows: Bingham High School (South Jordan, Utah), Cathedral Catholic High School (San Diego, Calif.), Christian Brothers High School (Memphis, Tenn.), Eustis High School (Eustis, Fla.), Florida Christian School (Miami, Fla.), Grayson High School (Loganville, Ga.), Hamilton High School (Chandler, Ariz.), Harvard-Westlake School (Studio City, Calif.), Jenks High School (Jenks, Okla.), Lexington High School (Lexington, S.C.), Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.), Milton High School (Milton, Ga.), T.C. Roberson High School (Asheville, N.C.), The Woodlands High School (The Woodlands, Texas), Tullahoma High School (Tullahoma, Tenn.), and Venice High School (Venice, Fla.).
Among Baseball America’s top 100 draft-eligible high school prospects are nine players scheduled to compete in the NHSI. The list is highlighted by Grayson's Austin Meadows (No. 1), Tullahoma’s Jordan Sheffield (No. 7), Stephen Gonsalves (No. 13) of Cathedral Catholic, and Lexington’s Nick Ciuffo (No. 19).
Also set to compete in the NHSI are three members of the World Champion 2012 USA Baseball 18U National Team. The players who won gold with USA Baseball at the IBAF 18U World Championships in South Korea include Gonsalves, Jeremy Martinez (Mater Dei) and Chris Okey (Eustis).
The NHSI will be a single-elimination championship tournament, with each participating team guaranteed to play four games.
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