Chatsworth High's baseball team was picked Wednesday to compete for a de-facto state championship.
The Boras Corporation announced final brackets for its first annual Boras Baseball Classic of California. The 32-team invitational pits 16 of baseball’s best high school teams from Northern California against 16 of the best baseball programs from Southern California, to ultimately name a de-facto state champion.
Winners of the southern and northern California brackets respectively will meet in a fictional state championship game to be held April 13, at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. The northern California bracket will be played at the Daniel McAuliffe Memorial Ballpark in Sacramento, beginning March 25, and continuing until March 29. JSerra Catholic High School and Mater Dei High School will share hosting duties for the southern California bracket, being played April 1 through April 5.
The 32 invited high schools participating in the tournament will each receive a $1,000 donation from the Boras Corporation; there is no entry fee. Each team is guaranteed a minimum of four games, with a fifth game for the two schools that reach the highly anticipated state championship game.
“The primary objective of the Boras Baseball Classic is to give back to youth baseball. We want to provide outstanding high school teams a chance to participate in an elite competition, while at the same time giving them a world-class venue to showcase their talent in front of collegiate-level coaches and professional scouts,” said Scott Boras, founder and CEO of the Boras Corporation.
The Boras Corporation plans to hold the elite event annually, with potential different invitees year by year, culminating in a championship game that crowns the winner de-facto California state champion.
For this inaugural year, the Southern California tournament of 16 includes: JSerra, Mater Dei, Bishop Amat, Canyon (Anaheim), Chaminade, Chatsworth, El Camino Real, El Toro, Great Oak, Hart, Lakewood, Loyola, Oaks Christian, Santiago of Corona, Vista Murrieta and West Ranch High Schools. The Northern California field is made up of: Elk Grove, Buchanan, Castro Valley, Dougherty Valley, Del Oro, Deer Valley, Excel Academy, Foothill of Palo Cedro, Oakridge, Pioneer, Pleasant Grove, Rio Americano, Rocklin, Rodriguez, Stockdale and Yuba City High Schools.
Boras Baseball Classic tournament brackets may be viewed in their entirety at the Boras Classic website, borasclassic.com.
