Video: Potential No. 1 draft pick Hunter GreeneWatch highlights of the Notre Dame pitcher in action.
Already the No. 1 high school baseball recruit in the nation and a potential No. 1 overall Major League Baseball draft pick in June,
Hunter Greene of
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) joined an even more exclusive group this week – he became just the 12th high school athlete to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
SI presents the question, "Baseball's LeBron, or the new Babe?" about Greene, calling him the "the star baseball needs."
Greene's star has been on the rise faster than his 102 mph fastball, taking over as the No. 1 player in the Class of 2017 due to his pitching ability. Like Babe Ruth, however, Greene also excels in the field and has three home runs this season. That total includes a game-winning grand slam in the first game of the season.
Sports Illustrated first put a high school athlete on its cover in 1966, honoring future Purdue basketball standout Rick Mount. Greene is just the third baseball player honored. Jon Peters of Brenham (Texas) was the first in 1989 while Bryce Harper of Las Vegas was the other in 2009. Like Greene, Harper was also compared to LeBron James in his cover story, being listed as "The Chosen One" – the same title given to James in his 2002 cover shot.
High school baseball fans might not see much more of Greene on the mound this year, according to reports by his coach in this
MaxPreps story by Mitch Stephens.
