2024 Preseason Underclass All-American Teams

Image credit: Dean Moss (Courtesy USA Baseball)

The next wave of talent in high school baseball is ready to take a step forward this spring.

While scouts across the game are focused on the top prospects in the 2024 class, there’s already plenty of excitement building for the 2025 and 2026 classes.

In addition to our Preseason High School All-American teams, Baseball America is excited to announce our Preseason Underclass All-American teams, drawing from the top players in the 2025 class and beyond. The players honored here are based on a blend of major league potential and present ability taking on-field performance into account. It’s not strictly a list of the top ranked prospects, but there should be plenty of high draft picks and future college stars on these teams. The teams are heavily built around 2025 players, with a select group of players in the 2026 class as well.

A pair of 2025 players—shortstop Ethan Holliday and outfielder Dean Moss—are first-team Underclass All-Americans who also earned spots on BA’s All-American teams that are primarily 2024 players. Holliday made the first team, while Moss landed on the third team.

LSU leads the way with six Preseason Underclass All-American recruits committed to play for the Tigers. Vanderbilt has four commits on the teams, while TCU, Mississippi and Oregon State each have three commits.

Players listed with an asterisk (*) are in the 2026 class.

First Team

Pos.	Player	School	Committed
C	Trent Grindlinger	Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS	Mississippi State
INF	Ethan Holliday	Stillwater (Okla.) HS	Oklahoma State
INF	Coy James	Davie County HS, Mocksville, N.C.	Mississippi
INF	Brady Ebel	Corona (Calif.) HS	LSU
INF	Kayson Cunningham	Johnson HS, San Antonio, Tex.	Texas Tech
OF	Dean Moss	IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.	LSU
OF	Sean Gamble	IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.	Vanderbilt
OF	Brock Sell	Tokay HS, Lodi, Calif.	Stanford
UT	Xavier Neyens	Mount Vernon (Wash.) HS	Oregon State
P	Seth Hernandez	Corona (Calif.) HS	Vanderbilt
P	Marcos Paz	Hebron HS, Carrollton, Tex.	LSU
P	Josh Hammond	Westchester Country Day HS, High Point, N.C.	Wake Forest
P	Justice De Jong	Poly Prep Country Day HS, Brooklyn, N.Y.	Duke
P	Tyler Baird	William Amos Hough HS, Cornelius, N.C.	Vanderbilt

Second Team

C	Omar Serna	Lutheran South Academy, Houston, Tex.	LSU
INF	Grady Emerson*	Argyle HS, Flower Mound, Tex.	TCU
INF	Lucas Franco	Cinco Ranch HS, Katy, Tex.	TCU
INF	Josh Gibbs	Forsyth Central HS, Cumming, Ga.	Georgia
INF	Quentin Young	Oaks Christian HS, Westlake Village, Calif.	LSU
OF	Ty Peeples	Franklin County HS, Carnesville, Ga.	Georgia
OF	Josiah Hartshorn	Orange (Calif.) Lutheran HS, Calif.	Texas A&M
OF	Cannon Goldin	Buford (Ga.) HS	Mississippi
UT	Kruz Schoolcraft	Sunset HS, Portland, Ore.	Uncommitted
P	Vaughn Neckar	Vista Murrieta (Calif.) HS	LSU
P	Angel Cervantes	Warren HS, Downey, Calif.	UCLA
P	Marcelo Harsch	Seton Hall Prep HS, West Orange, N.J.	Wake Forest
P	River Hamilton	Sam Barlow HS, Gresham, Ore.	Oregon State
P	Jack McKernan	Ridge Point HS, Missouri City, Tex.	Texas

Third Team

C	Jaden Fauske	Nazareth Academy HS, La Grange Park, Ill.	Louisville
INF	Alex Harrington*	Cathedral Catholic HS, San Diego, Calif.	Stanford
INF	Sebastian Norman	Glendale HS, Springfield, Mo.	Oklahoma State
INF	Billy Carlson	Corona (Calif.) HS	Vanderbilt
INF	Ty Thompson	TNXL Academy, Ocoee, Fla.	Tennessee
OF	Everett Johnson	Wayne Country Day HS, Goldsboro, N.C.	North Carolina State
OF	Bryden Bull	Las Vegas (Nev.) HS	Mississippi
OF	Micah Matthews	Turner Ashby HS, Bridgewater, Va.	Uncommitted
UT	Mason Pike	Puyallup (Wash.) HS	Oregon State
P	Trey Rangel*	The Colony (Tex.) HS	Uncommitted
P	Jack Bauer	Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.	Virginia
P	Landon Harmon	East Union Attendance Center HS, Blue Springs, Miss.	Mississippi State
P	Aiden Barrientes	Katy (Tex.) HS	TCU
P	Carson Brumbaugh	Sante Fe HS, Edmond, Okla.	Tennessee

FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

Trent Grindlinger, C, Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS

Grindlinger has a big 6-foot-3 frame for a catcher and projects to stay behind the plate. His strong arm helps him control the running game, while offensively he makes frequent contact with the strength to drive the ball for impact as well. 

Ethan Holliday, INF, Stillwater (Okla.) HS

Being the son of seven time all-star Matt Holliday and the brother of the No. 1 prospect in baseball (Orioles shortstop Jackson Holliday) has added to Ethan’s fame, but he’s the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 class because of his talent. He has a polished lefthanded swing, an outstanding eye for the strike zone, a mature offensive approach to use the whole field and the chance to grow into 30-plus home run power. 

Coy James, INF, Davie County HS, Mocksville, N.C.

James was outstanding from wire to wire in 2023, starting with a big spring season, an outstanding summer and then playing shortstop for Team USA at the U-18 World Cup as a 16-year-old with mostly 2024 teammates. He’s a high baseball IQ player and one of the best hitters in the country.

Brady Ebel, INF, Corona (Calif.) HS

Ebel is one of the youngest players in the 2025 class, but his game exudes polish beyond his years, especially at the plate. He’s 6-foot-3 with a pretty lefthanded swing that’s fast, compact and adjustable, which along with his discerning eye for the strike zone and big power potential makes him a dangerous offensive threat.

Kayson Cunningham, INF, Johnson HS, San Antonio, Tex.

Arguably the best pure hitter in the country for 2025, Cunningham will rarely swing and miss. Whether he’s facing high velocity or a good offspeed pitch, Cunningham consistently barrels balls throughout any part of the strike zone, using a short, efficient swing from the left side to consistently get on base at a high clip.

Dean Moss, OF, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.

As an underclassman at powerhouse IMG Academy last spring, Moss consistently stood out as one of the best players on the field. In the summer, he played up against 2024s with the Canes National 17U team—one of the top travel teams in the country—and he again dominated. His combination of strike-zone discipline, bat speed, feel for the barrel and power make him a potential high draft pick in 2025.

Sean Gamble, OF, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.

With experience in the infield and outfield, Gamble has impressive athleticism and tools with his power and speed. After a huge high school season last year, Gamble will have plenty of scouts watching him again this spring at IMG Academy, with huge bat speed from the left side that enables him to do damage to all fields.

Brock Sell, OF, Tokay HS, Lodi, Calif.

Sell has been a top-50 prospect in the 2025 class for the past year, but he jumped to another gear last fall at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla. He has the speed and athleticism to play a premium position in center field, while his feel for hitting from the left side and growing power make him a high on-base threat at the top of a lineup.

Xavier Neyens, UT, Mount Vernon (Wash.) HS

Neyens is one of the most dangerous power hitters in the country. He’s a 6-foot-4 masher from the left side who has a patient approach and could end up with plus-plus raw power. His strong arm is a weapon on the left side of the infield at third base as well as on the mound. 

Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona (Calif.) HS

Hernandez was the top-ranked pitcher in the 2025 class a year ago and he has done nothing to relinquish that status. An athletic strike-thrower up to 96 mph with an elite changeup for his age and a hard, tight-spinning curveball, Hernandez piles up strikeouts, overmatches hitters and checks all the boxes scouts want to see in a pitcher his age. 

Marcos Paz, RHP, Hebron HS, Carrollton, Tex.

Few pitchers in the country generate the swing-and-miss numbers that Paz does. He has an outstanding three-pitch mix, starting with a fastball that he can dial up to 95 mph, along with a slider that piles up whiffs and a changeup that he uses to elicit empty swings as well. 

Josh Hammond, RHP, Westchester Country Day HS, High Point, N.C.

Scouts love athletic pitchers with power stuff who throw strikes and miss a ton of bats, and there aren’t many pitchers in the 2025 class who can rack up swing-and-miss like Hammond. His fastball has touched 95 mph, his slider flashes plus and he has shown feel for a changeup as well, putting him in the elite tier of pitchers for the 2025 draft.

Justice De Jong, RHP, Poly Prep Country Day HS, Brooklyn, N.Y.

De Jong will still be 17 when the 2025 draft arrives, with a mix of stuff and pitchability that makes him one of the top arms in the class. A two-way player who also has impressive righthanded power, De Jong is a strike-thrower with a fastball that has been up to 93 mph and a curveball that has tight rotation to help him put away hitters. 

Tyler Baird, RHP, William Amos Hough HS, Cornelius, N.C.

A 6-foot-4 righthander with more physical projection remaining, Baird is already up to 94 mph. He misses a lot of bats with his changeup, while his slider shape improved as well, giving him a high-upside starter look.