By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

The weather may have been cool, but the action was hot at the first day of USA Baseball’s 2015 National High School Invitational. The event brings in 16 of the country’s best teams for a single-elimination tournament—though teams are guaranteed four games—to give a program national bragging rights for a year. It’s a major attraction for amateur baseball and the scouts show up en masse. This year’s crop is a little lighter when it comes to draft talent, but it’s still loaded with talent overall when you consider the depth and underclassmen. More than 60 participants at this year’s event are currently committed to Division I programs, 45 of which are in the ACC, Pac 12 or SEC.

The biggest story of the first round was Loyalsock HS, PA, getting the upset win over Horizon HS, AZ. Horizon is one of the country’s best programs overall. The Huskies are state contenders nearly every year and their head coach, Eric Kibler, is a Team USA veteran. The Lancers have won back-to-back state championships in Pennsylvania, but hadn’t been on a field prior to arriving at the NHSI. Loyalsock came ready to play though and jumped out to an early 6-0 lead through two innings and held on for the 7-4 win.