2012 National High School Invitational baseball tourney preview

While we may never be able to crown a true national champion in high school baseball, this week's National High School Invitational comes pretty close.

Team USA and Baseball America have combined forces to host the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C., with the first pitch occurring Wednesday at 11 a.m. The tournament features 16 of the top programs in the country including four teams ranked in the Top 10 of the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 - Bishop Gorman (No. 1), Carroll (No. 2), Washington (No. 7) and Columbus (No. 10).

Other teams in the tournament include programs that started the season in the Xcellent 25, like Mater Dei, Harvard-Westlake and Parkview.

The tournament runs four days with the championship game scheduled for noon Eastern Time on Saturday.

Following is a look at each of the first-round matchups.

American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) vs. Oxford (Ala.)
March 28, 11 a.m.

About American Heritage: The Patriots are 12-3 on the season with losses to West Orange, Douglas and Doral Academy, but they are coming off a 6-1 victory over Gulliver Prep, which is also participating in the National High School Invitational. Gulliver Prep recently knocked off Jesuit (Tampa), which had been ranked No. 2 in the country by MaxPreps. As recently as 2008, American Heritage finished at the top of the national rankings by Baseball America.

Who to Watch: The Patriots have one of the top shortstops in the country in Brandon Lopez, who is batting .476 with 12 RBIs, seven doubles and three home runs on the season. Catcher Zack Collins, meanwhile, leads the team with a .500 average that includes 13 RBIs and two home runs. Brandon Diaz and Alex Seibold lead the pitching staff. Seibold is 2-0 in five appearances with 22 strikeouts while Diaz has struck out 30 and has a 2-1 record. Shaun Anderson actually leads the staff with a 3-0 record and 37 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched.

About Oxford: Expected to be one of the top teams in Alabama this season, the Yellowjackets are 15-8 on the season and are ranked No. 9 in the Alabama Sportswriters Association Class 6A state poll. Among its signature wins this year include a victory over Russell County, which is also participating in the NHSI, and Fairhope, which is ranked No. 3 in the 6A state poll.

Who to Watch: Oxford has three players headed to major Division I colleges, including 6-foot-7 pitcher Tucker Simpson, outfielder Matthew Goodson and pitcher Jackson Stephens. Simpson is headed to Florida and has a fastball that tops out in the low 90s. Meanwhile Goodson, who is headed to Alabama, was one of the top home run hitters in Alabama last season with 22.

Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) vs. Russell County (Seale, Ala.)
March 28, 1 p.m.

About Harvard-Westlake: The Wolverines are 9-2-1 on the season and have rebounded with five straight wins since a three-game stretch that saw them lose to Valencia (11-4) and Alemany (2-1) and then tie Alemany (2-2). Also during that stretch, Harvard-Westlake lost pitcher Lucas Giolito, the No. 1 prospect in the MaxPreps Top 100, to an arm injury.

Who to Watch: With Giolito out, left-handed pitcher Max Fried becomes the ace of the staff. Already considered one of the nation's top pitchers, and possible the best lefty, Fried showed he can hit the ball as well with a home run, a double and four RBIs in a win over Crespi. The Wolverines also have two of the top underclassmen in the nation in sophomore outfielder/pitcher Jack Flaherty and junior catcher Arden Pabst.

About Russell County: The Warriors are ranked No. 1 in the Alabama Class 5A state rankings with a 24-7 record. Coached by Tony Rasmus, the father of MLB players Cory and Colby Rasmus, Russell County won a state championship in 2005 when it was also ranked No. 1 in the country by Baseball America.

Who to Watch: Anfernee Grier has been one of the Warriors' top hitters this year with eight home runs, 28 RBIs and a .412 average. Rock Rucker has also joined the Russell County lineup. Playing at his third school in three years, Rucker was at Redan (Stone Mountain, Ga.) last year and at Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.) as a sophomore. This year he is hitting .413 with six home runs and 30 RBIs. He also threw a no-hitter in a 12-0 win over Beauregard on Saturday. Ray Castillo leads the pitching staff in strikeouts with 46 while Jesse Nelson has 45. B J Brooks and Todd Dial lead with four wins apiece.

Brookwood (Snellville, Ga.) vs. Highlands Ranch (Colo.)
March 28, 3 p.m.

About Brookwood: The Broncos are off to a 5-3 start with a 3-0 loss to Columbus, which is also participating in the NHSI. Brookwood also has lost to Mill Creek 4-2 and Central Gwinnett 4-2. Brookwood won a state title in Georgia as recently as 2008.

Who to Watch: The Broncos have one of the nation's top pitchers in Lucas Sims. He struck out 10 and allowed one earned run in his recent outing against Shiloh. He also had eight strikeouts in a win over defending 4A state champion Marist and 10 strikeouts in a 9-1 win over South Gwinnett. Other returning starters include infielder Mike Gouge, catcher Clint Carr and pitcher Allen Tokarz.

About Highlands Ranch: Regarded as the team to beat for the 5A state championship in Colorado this year, the Falcons are off to a 3-1 start with a loss to Dakota Ridge. Highlands Ranch was 18-7 last year, losing to eventual champion Regis Jesuit in the semifinals.

Who to Watch: The Falcons sport one of the state's top players in Ryan Burr, a 6-4 pitcher headed to Arizona State. Burr does not have a decision yet but he does have nine strikeouts in four innings pitched this year. Adam Gauthier tops the offense with a .438 batting average that includes six RBIs, two doubles and a home run.

Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) vs. Washington (New York City)
March 28, 3:30 p.m.

About Parkview: The defending 5A state champions in Georgia began the season as the state's top-ranked team. The Panthers have since suffered losses to Cartersville and Columbus, but have rebounded with four straight wins for an 8-2 record.

Who to Watch: Parkview has one of the nation's top first basemen in Matt Olson, who belted 17 home runs last season and has two in his first 17 at-bats this year. He is batting .353. He is also the team's top pitcher with a 2-0 mark that includes 13 strikeouts. Edwin Arias leads the team with a .444 average that includes five doubles while Ryan Blanton is batting .429.

About George Washington: The Trojans are ranked No. 7 in the Xcellent 25 and are off to a 9-0-1 start with the tie coming in a 3-3 matchup with Grand Street Campus on Saturday. The Trojans are coached by Steve Mandl, who has more than 900 career wins. Washington also won the New York City championship last year.

Who to Watch: The Trojans have a pair of MLB prospects in catcher Nelson Rodriguez and outfielder Fernelys Sanchez. Both figure to be early picks in the June draft. Rodriguez, the City Player of the Year by the New York Post last season, is batting .333 with 12 RBIs, four triples and a home run. Henry Rodriguez is off to the best start for the Trojans, batting .567 with 12 RBIs and six doubles.

Columbus (Ga.) vs. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)
March 28, 4 p.m.

About Columbus: The Blue Devils are off to a 10-0 start with four shutouts and impressive wins over Russell County, Parkview and Brookwood, all of whom are participating in the NHSI. Columbus is the two-time defending 3A state champion and is ranked No. 10 in the Xcellent 25. The school has won 10 state championships

Who to Watch: Kyle Carter is headed to Georgia and he is off to a hot start this season. He struck out 10 in the Blue Devils' win over Brookwood. He also had a pair of home runs in a recent win over Haralson County. Other returning standouts include shortstop J.T. Phillips, who has also signed with Georgia, and Spencer Draws at second base. Will Kilgore is one of the top sophomores in the nation.

About Orange Lutheran: The Lancers have won six in a row, including a 6-4 win over Mater Dei, which is participating in the NHSI. Orange Lutheran has moved up to No. 5 in the most recent Southern Section Division I rankings. The only losses so far are to Charter Oak and St. Mary's.

Who to Watch: Brent Wheatley is headed to USC next year and he is 2-0 on the season with a recent win over JSerra. Conner Sullivan leads the team with a .619 batting average while Cody Nulph is hitting .500 and Jason Martin is hitting .476.

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) vs. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
March 28, 4:30 p.m.

About Mater Dei: The Monarchs began the season ranked No. 3 in the nation by MaxPreps, but losses to Huntington Beach, Beckman and Orange Lutheran dropped Mater Dei from the Xcellent 25. The Monarchs are currently ranked No. 4 in the Southern Section Division I coaches poll and are 7-3 on the year. The Monarchs won the Southern Section Division I championship in 2010.

Who to Watch: The Monarchs have two of the top players in the Southern Section in pitcher/outfielder Ty Moore, the Orange County Player of the Year last season, and junior catcher Jeremy Martinez, who ranks No. 4 on MaxPreps' list of the Top 50 juniors in the country. Moore is batting .345 with five RBIs and two doubles. He is also 2-1 on the mound with 11 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. Martinez is batting .452 with three doubles.

About Bishop Gorman: The Gaels are ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps and have shown they deserve the ranking after an 8-0 start with a first-place finish in the Desert Classic. The Gaels have won six straight Nevada 4A state titles.

Who to Watch: The Gaels have one of the nation's top all-around players in infielder/pitcher Joey Gallo. Besides crushing 25 home runs last season, Gallo also has a fastball that hits faster than 90 mph. He was batting .455 with one home run through the first four games of the season this year. Other players to watch include outfielder Johnny Sewald, outfielder Kenny Meimerstorf and pitchers Evan Dunn and Cody Roper.

Sarasota (Fla.) vs. Lee County (Sanford, N.C.)
March 29, 9:30 a.m.

About Sarasota: The Sailors have a strong history in Florida with eight state championships. Sarasota returns the majority of its starters from last year's team that reached the regional quarterfinals. Sarasota is off to a 9-4 start with a key win over Flanagan.

Who to Watch: Top players for the Sailors include Danny Mars, who batted .436 last season, and pitcher Dylan White, a junior headed to Miami.

About Lee County: The host team is off to the slowest start of any of the 16 entrants at 2-6. Lee County won a state championship in 2001 and head coach Charlie Spivey has been involved with Team USA, which is putting on the event.

Who to Watch: Chase Arrington leads Lee County with a .400 batting average that includes two doubles and a triple. Alex Furl, the team's top returning hitter from last year, is a four-year starter.

Gulliver Prep (Miami) vs. Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas)
March 29, 9:45 a.m.

About Gulliver Prep: The Raiders have an impressive win on their resume after handing Jesuit (Tampa) its first loss of the season last week. However the win is the only victory in the last four games for Gulliver Prep, which has lost to St. Brendan and Key West, along with American Heritage. The Raiders are 7-4 on the season.

Who to Watch: The Raiders have four players committed to play at Miami next year, including shortstop Adrian Marin, outfielder Ricky Eusebio, pitcher Ivan Peleaz and third baseman Eric Neitzel. Catcher Chris Chinea, headed to LSU, might be the most prized recruit of the bunch as he is recognized as one of the top catchers in the country.

About Carroll: The 2010 Texas 5A state champions, the Tigers are favored to win the title this season and are currently ranked No. 2 in the Xcellent 25. Carroll is off to a strong start, jumping out to a 14-0 record thanks to a powerful offense that has seven players hitting better than .400 early in the season.

Who to Watch: The Tigers have one of the top outfield prospects in the country in Courtney Hawkins, who has hit five home runs already this season. Hawkins, along with O'Shea Dumes, also lead a talented pitching staff. Josh Cruz is among the hitting leaders with a .477 average while Trey Rodriguez leads the team with a .513 average. Dumes leads the team in RBIs with 24.