Preseason All-American Baseball Team

While the MaxPreps Preseason All-American Baseball Team, is a mythical squad, many of the members on the team have actually been teammates.

Of the 30 players on the 2012 team, 11 played on Team USA 18U, which won the gold medal in the Pan-American Games in Columbia in the fall. Meanwhile, eight players were members of the East roster at the Perfect Game All-American Classic in August and 10 played for the West squad.

At the Under Armour All-American Game in Chicago, five players participated on the American team and three played for the National team.

So even though the 30 members of the team are scattered all across the country, they are all very familiar with each other.

And now's your chance to become familiar with them. Here is the MaxPreps Preseason All-American Baseball Team.

MaxPreps Preseason All-American Baseball Team

P - Kayden Porter, Spanish Fork (Spanish Fork, Utah)
The Gatorade State Player of the Year, Porter led Spanish Fork to the 4A state championship with a 9-1 record and a 2.14 ERA. He struck out 85 batters in just 59 innings pitched and also batted .570 with 50 RBIs, nine doubles and 14 home runs.

P - Lance McCullers, Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)

The MaxPreps Freshman of the Year in 2009, McCullers was the Hillsborough County Pitcher of the Year as a junior last season while going 5-2 on the mound for the Florida Class 4A state runners-up. He also had 70 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched while batting .422 with 10 doubles and seven home runs.

P - Troy Conyers, El Capitan (Lakeside, Calif.)
The San Diego Section Player of the Year, Conyers was also a member of Team USA 18U this summer. He had a 7-0 record at El Capitan last season with 85 strikeouts and a 0.21 ERA in 67.1 innings pitched. Also a solid hitter, he batted .408 with 27 runs, 41 RBIs, 17 doubles and seven home runs.

P - Lucas Giolito, Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)
Giolito has emerged as one of the top high school pitching prospects for the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He was named the Los Angeles Daily News Player of the Year as a junior while going 9-1 with 78 strikeouts and a 1.00 ERA in 70.1 innings pitched.

P - Carson Kelly, Westview (Portland, Ore.)
A member of Team USA 18U, Kelly was the Oregon Class 6A State Player of the Year in 2011 after posting a 9-1 record with a 1.64 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched. He was also a threat at the plate with a .473 batting average, 14 home runs and 51 RBIs.

P - Keegan Thompson, Cullman (Ala.)
The Gatorade State Player of the Year in Alabama as a sophomore, Thompson posted big numbers as he batted .433 with 59 runs, 15 doubles, 17 home runs and 66 RBIs. He was also one of the state's top pitchers with a 9-2 record, a 1.70 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 83 innings pitched.

P - Hunter Virant, Camarillo (Calif.)
An All-Ventura County selection, Virant went 6-1 at Camarillo with a 1.54 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. He also batted .456 with 15 RBIs and two home runs. He retired 33 straight batters at one point during the season and had a perfect game. He played for Team USA 18U this summer.

P - Taylore Cherry, Butler (Vandalia, Ohio)
One of the tallest pitchers in the country, the 6-foot-9 Cherry signed a letter of intent to play at North Carolina next season. The Gatorade State Player of the Year, Cherry was 6-1 on the mound with a 1.38 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 56 innings pitched.

P - Max Fried, Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)
After Montclair Prep closed its doors, Fried landed at Harvard-Westlake, where he will team with Lucas Giolito to create the most potent 1-2 pitching combo in the nation. Fried went 7-3 with a 1.31 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched last season while earning all-area honors by the Los Angeles Daily News.

P - Ty Hensley, Edmond Santa Fe (Edmond, Okla.)
Hidden in the shadows last year behind fellow Oklahoma hurlers Archie Bradley of Broken Arrow and Dylan Bundy of Owasso, Hensley rates as a top prospect thanks to a 94 mph fastball. He played in the Under Armour All-American Game and had a stellar junior season, going 6-0 with a 2.26 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 31 innings.

C - Nelson Rodriguez, Washington (New York City)
A member of Team USA 18U and a participant in the Perfect Game All-American Game, Rodriguez was the New York Daily News City Player of the Year after helping Washington win the city championship. He batted .500 with 21 RBIs, 20 runs and three home runs during PSAL play.

C - Christin Stewart, Providence Christian Academy (Lilburn, Ga.)
The Gwinnett County Co-MVP along with Parkview's Matt Olson, Stewart was one of the top home run hitters in the country with 26 round trippers. He also batted .500 with 70 RBIs and 65 runs scored.

C - Jeremy Martinez, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
An All-Orange County selection by the Orange County Register and a member of Team USA 18U, Martinez batted .388 with 22 runs, 32 RBIs, seven doubles and four home runs last year as a sophomore.

1B - Matt Olson, Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)
Olson played in the Under Armour All-American Game and helped lead Parkview to the Georgia AAAAA state championship. He was the Gatorade State Player of the Year thanks to a .460 batting average, 17 home runs and 50 RBIs.

1B - Keon Barnum, King (Tampa, Fla.)
An All-Suncoast selection by the Tampa Tribune, Barnum batted .491 with six home runs and 27 RBIs. He also played in the Perfect Game All-American classic and is rated as the No. 1 first base prospect in the nation by Perfect Game.

1B - Ryan Ripken, Gilman (Baltimore)
Son of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., the Gilman first baseman earned a spot in the Under Armour All-American Game after batting . 353 with 23 RBIs last season. Has committed to play at South Carolina.

IF - Addison Russell, Pace (Fla.)
A dominant player at Pace since his freshman year, Russell helped lead Pace to state title as a sophomore and he was the Pensacola All-Area Player of the Year as a junior. He batted .516 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs last season.

IF - David Thompson, Westminster Christian (Miami)
{VIDEO_2e45ee0b-affb-4c87-910b-8d29c39fedc2,floatRightWithBar}The all-time leading home run hitter in Florida, Thompson earned all-county honors by the Miami Herald after batting .533 with 50 RBIs and 18 home runs. He is also one of the state's top quarterbacks.

IF - Gavin Cecchini, Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
The Gatorade State Player of the Year and a member of the Class 5A All-State Team, Cecchini was a standout on Team USA 18U and batted .532 with 44 runs, 13 doubles, 11 home runs and 45 RBIs during the season for Barbe.

IF - Alex Bregman, Albuquerque Academy (N.M.)
The State Player of the Year, Bregman broke the state record for home runs with 19 while batting .678. He was a member of Team USA 18U this summer.

IF - Rio Ruiz, Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.)
A member of the All-Southland Team by the Los Angeles Times, Ruiz led Bishop Amat to a Southern Section championship. He was the Southern Section Division IV player of the Year while batting .455 with 29 runs, 35 RBIs, 14 doubles, two triples and three home runs.

IF - Trey Williams, Valencia (Calif.)
A two-time all-area player by the Los Angeles Daily News, Williams also participated in the Perfect Game All-American Classic in August. He hit nine home runs last year, giving him 24 in his career, and batted .345 with 20 RBIs, 28 runs and a .762 slugging percentage.

OF - Courtney Hawkins, Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas)
A member of Carroll's state championship team as a sophomore, Hawkins hopes to lead Carroll back to the state championship game as a senior. He was a member of Team USA 18U this summer and was a Class 5A all-state pick last season in Texas. He batted .422 and also had a pitching record of 10-2.

OF - Anthony Alford, Petal (Miss.)
One of the top football players in the country, Alford also shines on the diamond where he led Petal to a state championship as a junior. He was a member of the Clarion Ledger all-state team after batting .451 with 25 RBIs, 30 runs, five doubles and four home runs.

OF - Albert Amora, Mater Academy Charter (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.)
Amora has been a member of Team USA since 2007 and he excelled in the outfield this summer while leading Team USA to the gold medal in the 18U division in Columbia.

OF - Byron Buxton, Appling County (Baxley, Ga.)
One of the top football players in the state of Georgia, Buxton has risen to become one of the top baseball prospects in the country with several mock drafts already predicting the five-tool outfielder will go early in the first round.

OF - Nick Williams, Ball (Galveston, Texas)
Like Buxton, Williams is considered one of the top high school outfield prospects in the country. He batted .537 with 30 RBIs, eight doubles and 13 home runs last year for Ball. Williams played in the Perfect Game All-American Classic and is a veteran of the Area Code Games as well.

OF - Jesse Winker, Olympia (Orlando, Fla.)
A member of the Orlando Sentinel All-Central Florida team, Winker batted .509 with 31 RBI and seven home runs for Olympia. He was also a member of the Perfect Game All-American Classic.

AP - Jameis Winston, Hueytown (Ala.)
An outfield and pitching prospect, Winston is a two-time all-state player in Alabama and ranks as one of the nation's top football prospects as well. He batted .370 last season and was 7-2 on the mound.

AP - Joey Gallo, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
The Nevada Class 4A state player of the year, Gallo had a monster junior season with 25 home runs, 64 runs scored, 78 RBIs and a .471 batting average. He played in the Perfect Game All-American Game and was a member of Team USA 18U.