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LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - Two-time Prep Baseball All-American Seth Hernandez of Corona High School has earned the 2025 Prep Baseball California High School Player of the Year award. 

An incredible two-way talent and a Vanderbilt signee, Hernandez dominated on both sides of the ball in his exceptional senior year campaign. The righty was outstanding on the mound, allowing just three earned runs the entire season, and striking out 105 batters in 53.1 innings pitched overall. Hernandez posted a 9-1 record and a 0.39 ERA for a Corona team that went 28-3 with one loss coming to an out of state team. 

Hernandez was equally as good at the plate batting third in the loaded Panther lineup where he slashed .300/.371/.590 in his final year of high school. The right handed hitter had 30 RBI on 30 hits with 17 runs scored, seven home runs and 23 walks. 

Hernandez opened the preseason with a lights out performance back in January against a loaded Oaks Christian team showing off the explosive stuff that will make him a likely top of the first round pick come July. 

From 1/19/25…”After excellent performances at major events this summer through to the Prep Baseball All-America Game, Hernandez solidified himself as one of the top pitchers in the country. With the start he showed elite stuff vs Oaks Christian. The draft prospect has a loose explosive delivery with a high three quarter arm slot, showing fluidity & consistency resulting in strong velocity & consistent control with his pitch mix. First pitch was an electric fastball that clocked in at 94 gradually increasing to 96 as he settled in rhythm. Fastball displayed plus movement with strong late tail and life, followed by his slider (79-81) with above average-plus projection; displayed a snappy break with depth & light sweep covering both plains of the plate. Generated a strikeout with changeup displaying late dive and showed to be a trusted secondary offering in his arsenal. Followed by his lone inning of work, Hernandez had a couple at bats resulting in a RBI double, and a single. Hernandez is widely viewed as the top prep draft prospect in California and possibly the country.”

During one of the most heavily scouted tournaments of the spring, our Prep Baseball staff was on hand as Hernandez dominated the eventual CIF-SS D1 finalists Santa Margarita in impressive fashion. 

From 3/28/25…”The 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-hander has long held the title as the best pitching prospect in the class, and in spite of all the gaudy accolades, has matched and exceeded the expected outcomes with each performance. His most recent supremacy came in the form of 6.1 innings of shutout baseball against one of the nation’s premier programs and lineups with a smattering of big name recruits. The Vanderbilt recruit struck out 13 against just one (questionable) walk while yielding a single hard hit ball (5 total hits) and pummelling the zone to the tune of 72% strikes. Hernandez routinely pitched at 95-98 with a sizzling fastball that played well to the bottom of the zone with late arm side life at times. An ultra-dynamic athlete who moves with fluid assuredness reminiscent of Jean-Claude Van Damme, the full arsenal was on display in this look including a parachute changeup (83-84, 24-2500) that procured nearly double-digit whiffs in the zone and was thrown for a strike at will against a heavily left-handed hitting lineup. Ripping off both a curveball at 78-81 (2700+) and firmer slider at 86-87, the former provided sharp, multi-tier break with plus-potential flashed taking 11/5 shape for a general above average present pitch. The slider, short and late in its firm action, tunneled well next to the fastball which rarely came above the knees. While not (yet) a wipeout offering, the ingredients for morphing into one were clearly present, and it was unhittable late in kill-counts against right-handed hitters. The changeup was the focal point of this outing as Hernandez routinely doubled and tripled up on the pitch (for strikes) which intriguingly held high spin with parachuting drop into the zone. It was an easy above average offering that may have played up higher due to the command, and cheating left-handed hitters struggled to apply contact even when it felt like the whole stadium knew the pitch was coming. The fastball, pulled down at mostly 18 IVB against 12-14 HM (2571 rpm max), was intently moved from black-to-black with more of a propensity to drive to the glove side. Effortlessly loose out of the glove before driving impressively long down the mound, his ability to touch the glove with efficient movement patterns holds near certainty of plus-command on a fastball that will almost definitely jump up in velocity (it was a semi-cool, overcast day).”

Despite his final outing of his high school career ending in his first high school loss in the CIF-SS semifinals to eventual champion St. John Bosco Hernandez had established himself as the best high school pitcher not only in the state, but the country by then. With many draft analysts, including those at Prep Baseball, having Hernandez rated as the best high school pitcher in the country, there’s little doubt that he will be a top of the first round pick, the only question that remains unanswered is, how high will he go come July. 

Past Winners:

2024 - Bryce Rainer (Harvard Westlake)

2023 - Austin Steeves (Casa Grande HS)

2022 - Malcolm Moore (CK McClatchy HS)

2021 - Cameron Butler (Big Valley Christian HS)

2020 - No PoY (COVID)

2019 - Cameron Repetti (Cypress HS)

2018 - Joe Magrisi (Torrey Pines HS)

Upcoming Events

Showcase	State	Date	Location
Sacramento Summer ID	CA	06/10	Franklin High School - Elk Grove, CA
Bakersfield Summer ID	CA	06/18	Bakersfield Christian - Bakersfield, CA
Bay Area Summer ID	CA	07/01	Islanders Field
San Diego Summer ID	CA	07/01	Maranatha Christian High School - San Diego, CA
Central California Summer ID	CA	07/08	Ventura College
Senior Future Games (Class of 2026)	NATIONAL	07/22	LakePoint Sports
Future Games (Class of 2027)	NATIONAL	07/23	LakePoint Sports
Junior Future Games (Class of 2029/30)	NATIONAL	07/24	LakePoint Sports
2025 California State Games (Invite-Only)	CA	07/30	Fullerton College - Fullerton, CA & Fullerton High School
2025 West Coast Super Sophomore Games (Invite-Only)	CA	09/26	University of Oregon / Bushnell University

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