Boras Baseball Classic Of Arizona Announces Field Of 16 Teams

Image credit: Scott Boras (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Getty Images)

The Boras Foundation announced the 16-team field that will compete in the 2019 Boras Baseball Classic of Arizona — the third year of the event that stemmed from the original Boras Classic in California.

The tournament, which is set to begin on March 13, 2019 at host schools Corona del Sol High in Tempe, Ariz., and Arcadia High in Phoenix, will bring together 16 teams from the Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Nevada to crown a “Southwest championship” team.

The full field of teams is listed below and includes two teams who finished on Baseball America’s Top 50 High School Rankings to end the 2018 season — No. 4 Mountain Vista and No. 20 Nogales.

• Arcadia HS, Phoenix
• Basic HS, Henderson, Nevada
• Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas
• Chaparral HS, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Corona del Sol HS, Tempe, Ariz.
• Cottonwood HS, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Hamilton HS, Chandler, Ariz.
• Horizon HS, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Legend HS, Parker, Col.
• Liberty HS, Peoria, Ariz.
• Mesquite HS, Gilbert, Ariz.
• Mountain Pointe HS, Phoenix
• Mountain Ridge HS, Glendale, Ariz.
• Mountain Vista HS, Highlands Ranch, Col.
• Nogales (Ariz.) HS
• Verrado HS, Buckeye, Ariz.

“With the third Arizona Classic set, we are looking forward to our strongest field yet,” foundation director Scott Boras said in a press release.

“This year’s lineup features top talent from four states and is sure to be one of the best years in Classic history. Being able to offer a platform for these athletes to showcase their talents to collegiate coaches and MLB scouts is why we created this tournament, and we are excited to host 10 new teams.”

Basic and Bishop Gorman are both traditional powers in Nevada, with the former entering the tournament for the third year as a two-time Boras Classic of Arizona champion, while the latter is responsible for recent draft picks such as Joey Gallo and Cadyn Grenier.

Chaparral has had 25 players selected in the draft since 2000 and notable alumni include Chance Adams, Ike Davis, Paul Konerko as well as Austin, Cody and Dustin Yount—who are all related to Hall of Famer Robin Yount. Corona del Sol is coming off of a 22-win season and will bring five Division I commits to the tournament, while Cottonwood returns a large bulk of a 25-win club that made a deep run in the Utah 5A state playoffs.

Hamilton produced Dodgers star Cody Bellinger, won back-to-back Arizona 6A state titles in 2016 and 2017 and is a consistent powerhouse in the state, while Horizon has produced several big leaguers including Tuffy Gosewisch and Tommy Joseph.

Legend, Liberty and Mountain Pointe all return to the tournament after having participated in previous years, while Mountain Vista joins the fold after a 26-1 season that culminated in the Colorado 5A state championship and top-five finish in BA’s High School Top 50. Mountain Ridge recently produced 2018 first round pick Matthew Liberatore and is coming off of a 21-win season and runner-up finish in the Arizona 6A state tournament. 

Nogales went 31-5 and won the Arizona 4A state tournament, while Verrado is coming off of a 27-5 season and runner-up finish in the Arizona 5A state tournament.