IMG Academy favorite at National High School Invitational baseball tournament

Although the National High School Invitational is played on the East Coast in Cary (N.C.), the tournament has been dominated by the teams from the West Coast.

Set to get underway Wednesday morning with eight games, the NHSI annually features some of the top high school baseball programs in the nation.
Of the seven champions the tournament has crowned since 2012, six have come from California, specifically Orange County. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) won the first two events (2012, 2013), San Clemente won in 2015, Huntington Beach (Calif.) claimed the title in 2016 and Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) has won the past two years.

Four teams from Southern California have made the 3,000-mile trek across country to play in this year's NHSI. Two-time defending champion Orange Lutheran returns along with Huntington Beach, La Mirada (Calif.) and Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.).

But none of the four SoCal teams enter the tournament as the favorite. That honor goes to IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), the undefeated No. 1 team in the country, according to the MaxPreps Top 25 National Rankings.

Here's a look at the teams and players to watch in this year's tournament.

The Favorite

A team needs a deep pitching staff to win the NHSI and that trait has been the backbone of this year's IMG Academy team. With 12 shutouts in 14 games, the Ascenders have a 0.08 ERA with one earned run allowed on the season. The staff has 104-to-25 strikeout to walk ratio and opponents are batting .144 against the Ascenders.

Brennan Malone, the No. 2-ranked right-handed pitcher in the Class of 2019 by Perfect Game, leads the staff with a 5-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 35 strikeouts and five walks. Kendall Williams has a 3-0 record, including a no-hitter, with a 0.35 ERA and 21 strikeouts.

The offense has an All-American candidate in Rece Hinds, who is batting .324. However, Will Bartlett has been the leader with a .444 average, 19 RBI and three home runs.

The Defending Champ

Orange Lutheran might have been the favorite coming into the tournament based on its two prior performances in the NHSI, but the Lancers are coming off a consolation championship performance at the Boras Classic South when they lost to Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) in the first round before winning their next three.

Nevertheless, Orange Lutheran entered last year's tournament with a 4-2 record and went on to win the NHSI thanks to a deep pitching staff. The Lancers have a similar staff this year and actually have more pitchers with at least three wins than IMG Academy. Max Rajcic and Evan Adolphus are both 3-0, while Christian Rodriguez is 3-1. Opponents are only batting .153 and the staff ERA is an impressive 1.17.

The Darkhorse

One team that comes into the tournament as an unknown is Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.), which has not played an official game and opens its regular season against Desert Oasis (Las Vegas) in the first round of the NHSI.

However, Delbarton has played seven exhibition games and is undefeated in those contests. The Green Wave have one of the top pitchers in the country in Jack Leiter, son of former MLB pitcher Al Leiter. Jack Leiter has thrown just once in the preseason, striking out eight in five innings.

Delbarton also has one of the top infield prospects in the country in Anthony Volpe. He ranks No. 9 among infielders in the Class of 2019 by Perfect Game.

Upset Watch

While IMG Academy is the clear favorite in the tournament, they didn't get any favors for their first round draw. Facing La Mirada at 5 p.m. Wednesday, the Ascenders could square off against Jared Jones, the No. 2-ranked right-handed pitcher in the Class of 2020 by Perfect Game.

Jones went 6.2 innings against Huntington Beach in the first round of the Boras Classic South tournament and allowed one run on four hits with eight strikeouts. The Ascenders likely will counter with Brennan Malone, thus creating one of the best pitching duels of the 2019 season.
Ranked Teams

The NHSI features six teams ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25. Besides IMG Academy at No. 1, there is Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.) at No. 11, Christian Brothers (St. Louis) at No. 14, Orange Lutheran at No. 17, Huntington Beach at No. 19 and Harvard-Westlake at No. 20.

First Round Matchups — Wednesday

Hagerty (Oviedo, Fla.) vs. Christian Brothers (St. Louis), 9:30 a.m.
Hendersonville (Tenn.) vs. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 10:30 a.m.
Monsignor Pace (Miami) vs. Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), 11:30 a.m.
Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.) vs. Desert Oasis (Las Vegas), 1:30 p.m.
South Forsyth (Cumming, Ga.) vs. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 2:30 p.m.
Marist (Chicago) vs. Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.), 3:30 p.m.
La Mirada (Calif.) vs. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), 5 p.m.
Northwest Guilford (Greensboro, N.C.) vs. Huntington Beach (Calif.), 5 p.m.

All-Pre-Tournament Team

P — Brennan Malone, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
P — Jack Leiter, Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.)
P — Jared Jones, La Mirada (Calif.)
P — Kendall Williams, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
C — Darius Perry, La Mirada (Calif.)
1B — Josh Hahn, Huntington Beach (Calif.)
MIF — C.J. Abrams, Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.)
MIF — Rece Hinds, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
3B — Josh Rivera, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
OF — Riley Greene, Hagerty (Oviedo, Fla.)
OF — Jason Hodges, Marist (Chicago)
OF — Pete Crow-Armstrong, Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Caliif.)