Los Angeles
Each professional draft brings its own wave of storylines to the league it touches. The most prominent narrative of the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday in Atlanta might very well trace back to Southern California. More specifically, to Corona.
Corona High has a chance to make history as the first high school to produce three first-round picks in the same draft.
The centerpiece of that potential milestone has been owning the Panthers’ mound for the past two seasons. Seth Hernandez has turned heads since his junior year, and the 19-year-old right-handed pitcher is regarded as the premier prep arm in the country.
“He wasn’t just one of the best pitchers in the country, but one of the best baseball players,” Corona baseball coach Andy Wise said. “I call him the best baseball player I’ve ever been around.”
The Vanderbilt commit is projected to be a top-three pick on Sunday by MiLB and is widely regarded as the top right-handed arm in the draft. As a junior, he earned National High School Invitational MVP honors after throwing a complete-game shutout to lead the Panthers to the title.
During his senior year, he finished 9-1 with a 0.39 ERA, 105 strikeouts and just seven walks over 53⅓ innings for a Corona team that finished 28-3 after an upset loss to eventual champion St. John Bosco in the CIF-SS Division I semifinals.
A future Cy Young Award hopeful walking the halls of a public high school, Hernandez has drawn attention from radar gun-toting major league scouts for years. It’s not enough for him.
His trajectory is still ascending, improvement still paramount.
“He’s still trying to get better – even though he’s number one on everyone’s list,” Wise said. “It’s always, ‘What’s next?’ I asked him that, and he told me: better command. It’s just a great athlete trying to be a little more consistent with his body.”
Hernandez’s teammate, shortstop Billy Carlson, is also a top-10 projection. The 19-year-old Tennessee commit has rocketed up draft boards over the past two seasons, turning heads with his proficiency at the plate.
As a senior, Carlson hit .365 with a .517 on-base percentage, six home runs, and a .647 slugging clip – steady proof of the power and discipline behind his rise. He’s projected to go seventh overall.
The home-schooled Hernandez arrived at Corona already touted, transferring in ahead of his junior year with scouts watching.
Carlson had to do it a different way. Not a natural-born phenom like Hernandez, Carlson’s path wasn’t as cleanly paved from the beginning, but he forged his own way and now has put his name near his teammate’s on mock drafts. Considered an elite infield arm, he threw in the mid-90s on the mound and projects as a plus defender who has shown above-average speed.
“(Carlson) was a freshman who spent some time on the freshman team here,” Wise said. “It’s not like he walked in and demanded anything. He worked hard and believed in what we were doing, and his development went through the roof, and he’s turned himself into what he is today.”
The youngest of the trio – 17-year-old Brady Ebel – has the longest shot at the first round but is firmly expected to be selected sometime on the first day (rounds 1-3). Ebel, now projected 64th by MiLB, is lauded as a walking offensive spark.
The son of Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel, baseball runs in his veins. At the plate, he has the best power potential of the three.
Wise said struggling with expanded high school strike zones limited Ebel to just two home runs this season. But his hitting projects as more explosive at higher levels, where consistent zones should give him the confidence to swing for the fences.
The LSU commit, who transferred to Corona after two years at Etiwanda High, finished his senior season hitting .341 with a .504 on-base percentage, 31 hits, 27 runs, and 17 RBIs. Now, he’s bringing his promise and professional pedigree to the next level.
Years spent around L.A.’s baseball elite with his father have helped shape him off the field into the kind of player he hopes to become on it.
“(Ebel is) a young man, and he’s just so professional,” Wise said. “He is an absolute professional baseball player, without a doubt. I’ve been around a lot of pro guys. I’ve been in locker rooms. Brady is as professional as just about anybody I’ve come across as a 17-year-old kid.”
All three players, and the rest of their Corona teammates, have thrived on pressure all year. Wise has seen the media circus follow the team since before the season started and had to manage the expectations for a squad that was favored in every game it played.
“They love to do this,” Wise said. “They want the top competition because they feel that they’re the best. So they love to play against the best.”
On Sunday, all three Corona players figure to hear their names called for an opportunity to do just that – take another step in their journey toward playing against the absolute best.
While they’re the headliners, they are not the only ones from the Southern California region who could hear their names called on Sunday. Here are other players from the area who are projected to be selected during the first three rounds.
(All rankings are according to MiLB Prospects rankings.)
No.22: 3B Gavin Fien (Great Oak High)
Last season: .358 avg., 34 hits, 24 runs, 5 HRs, 16 RBIs
The younger brother of Dylan Fein, a switch-hitting catcher from the same Temecula high school who got an over-slot deal in the seventh round from the A’s in 2024, Gavin Fien is slated to be an early Day One selection.
The Texas commit is lauded as one of the best hitters in the draft class. He won MLB Develops MVP honors at MLB’s High School All-American Game with two hits and two RBIs and batted .400 for Team USA in the 18U World Cup qualifier in Panama.
No. 37: 3B/OF Quentin Young (Oaks Christian High)
Last season: .381 avg, 32 hits, 32 runs, 14 HRs, 34 RBIs
The 6-foot-6, 225-pound slugger out of Camarillo has baseball in his blood. He’s the nephew of former big-leaguers Dmitri and Delmon Young.
The 18-year-old LSU commit was supposed to be in the 2026 class but reclassified to join the draft a year earlier. He displayed his considerable power stroke at events like USA Baseball’s 18U team and MLB’s High School All-American Game.
No. 40: RHP Anthony Eyanson (Lakewood High/LSU)
Last season: 108 innings, 12-2 record, 3.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 152 Ks, 36 BBs
After spending two years at UC San Diego, the Long Beach native took his talents to the Bayou. He had a slow start before a strong second half to rank third in NCAA Division I in wins and strikeouts to help the Tigers win another College World Series title last month.
The 20-year-old is projected as a potential No. 3 starter but could also end up a reliever in the big leagues.
No. 49: RHP Angel Cervantes (Warren High)
Last season: 106 innings, 7-3 record, 1.59 ERA, 106 Ks
Cervantes could become the first Warren player selected in the first two rounds in more than a decade. The 18-year-old UCLA commit turned heads last summer at the prestigious Area Code Games, where he struck out eight batters over three perfect innings.
The 6-2 right-hander features a fastball in the low 90s and mixes in a sharp changeup that keeps hitters off balance. Scouts also like his curveball and slider, with more development expected as he matures.
No. 60: INF Dean Curley (Northview High/Tennessee)
Last season: .315 avg., 76 hits, 67 runs, 14 HRs, 51 RBIs
Curley stood out at Tennessee as the only freshman in the Volunteers’ 2024 lineup. The 6-3, 218-pound right-hander helped lead Tennessee to its first national championship, homering three times in the NCAA tournament and hitting .500 in the CWS championship series.
The Pomona native offers solid power and a strong arm, though some inconsistency at the plate and in the field this season led Tennessee to try him at multiple infield positions. Despite that, he remains one of the top sophomore-eligible talents in this year’s draft.
No. 71: RHP Zach Strickland (Maranatha High)
Last season: 48 innings, 6-1 record, 0.58 ERA, 86 Ks
The right-hander from Pasadena has steadily risen through the ranks, highlighted by strong performances at the 2023 Area Code Games and several summer showcases. The 6-2 UCLA commit can dial his fastball up to 95 mph and complements it with a slider and changeup that project well.
Strickland’s command and pitch mix make him a promising candidate to be the first Maranatha player drafted since 2017.
MLB DRAFT
When: Sunday, 3 p.m. (Rounds 1-3); Monday, 8:30 a.m. (Rounds 4-20)
Where: Atlanta
How to watch: Sunday (ESPN, MLB Network); Monday (MLB.com)
