Top high school baseball tournaments for the 2016 season

Video: Huntington Beach (CA) baseball - Preseason Rankings

March is tournament time for high school baseball, and the best tournament in the nation, once again, is the National High School Invitational.

Featuring five teams ranked among the top 30 in the nation by MaxPreps, the NHSI is the No. 1 tournament in MaxPreps' ranking of the top five tournaments in the country. Scheduled for March 23-26 in Cary, N.C., the NHSI figures to weigh heavily in determining the national champion at the end of the season.


1. National High School Invitational
Huntington Beach (Calif.), the preseason No. 2 team in the Xcellent 100, is the favorite in this year's tournament, which is in its fifth season. However there are a number of quality teams in the mix. Preseason No. 15 Walton (Marietta, Ga.) is also participating along with No. 19 Houston (Germantown, Tenn.), No. 21 Poly Prep Country Day (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and No. 26 Liberty Christian (Lynchburg, Va.). Previous tournament champions Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.) also return.

2. Boras Classic
Since the winners of the north and the south portions of this tournament meet in a championship game, we are including this tournament as one entity this year. The south portion of the tournament includes three teams playing at the NHSI - Huntington Beach, Mater Dei and Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.). Other top Southern California teams include South Hills (West Covina), El Camino Real (Woodland Hills), La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad), Orange Lutheran, JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano), Bishop Amat (La Puente) and Damien (La Verne). The north tournament includes Elk Grove, Los Gatos, Saint Francis (Mountain View), Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), Clovis West (Fresno) and Stockdale (Bakersfield). The event begins with the north tournament on March 21-22 in Sacramento while the south tournament plays March 29-April 1 at Mater Dei and JSerra high schools.

3. Perfect Game Showdown
Set for March 10-12 in Cartersville, Georgia, the Perfect Game Showdown features the No. 1-ranked team from last year, Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) along with last week's No. 1 team in Oxford (Miss.). The tournament also includes some of the top teams from the south, including Buford (Ga.), Cartersville (Ga.), Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.).

4. IMG Academy National Classic
The Ascenders are hosting a pair of tournaments with some of the top teams from all across the country. Included in the tournament on March 21-24 are powerhouses Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), Cullman (Ala.), Rockledge (Fla.), Christian Brothers (Memphis, Tenn.) and Mosley (Lynn Haven, Fla.). In the tournament on March 29-April 1, teams include Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.), St. John's (Washington, D.C.), Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), IMG Academy, Windermere Prep (Fla.), Lexington Catholic (Ky.) and Roberson (Asheville, N.C.).

5. San Diego Lions Tournament
Host to 128 teams, the San Diego Lions Tournament might be the largest tournament in the country. The Classic Division is particularly competitive this year with Oregon state favorite West Linn and defending Los Angeles City Section champion El Camino Real joining San Diego-based powerhouses Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), Poway (Calif.), Grossmont (El Cajon, Calif.) and Cathedral Catholic (San Diego). The tournament runs March 21-24.