Nationally-ranked high school baseball powerhouse
Corona (Calif.) could make history in the 2025 MLB Draft by becoming the first prep team to have three players selected in the first round. The Panthers, No. 6 in this week's MaxPreps Top 25, are also projected to become the first to have two players picked in the top 10.
Since the MLB Draft began in 1965, 15 pairs of high school teammates have been taken in the first round of the same draft during their graduation year.
The most decorated duo came out of
Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) in 2012 with future All-Stars Max Fried going with the No. 7 pick and Lucas Giolito No. 16.
Corona opened in 1896 and has never had a first-round pick. Five Panthers have played in MLB spanning from Jesse Hill, who debuted to 1935 with the New York Yankees, to Joe Kelly, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This year Corona is projected to have
Seth Hernandez,
Billy Carlson and
Brady Ebel drafted in the first round. Hernandez and Carlson are projected to be selected in the top 10.
The Panthers (24-2) feature more than a dozen Division I commits and is looking to defend its Southern Section title.
Hernandez is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound right-handed pitcher who is approaching 100 on the radar gun. The Vanderbilt commit is a consensus top-five projected pick and could be the first high school right-handed pitcher to ever be selected first overall. He has allowed just one earned run in 37.1 innings of work for a 0.19 earned run average.
Carlson can also dominate on the mound but his future is at shortstop. The Tennessee pledge is batting .370 and has smashed six home runs with four doubles for the Panthers. Carlson is a consensus top 10 pick, with more than half of the mock drafts having him get drafted No. 6 overall.
Then there is LSU commit Ebel, who primarily plays third for Corona but projects to be drafted as a shortstop. The 6-4, 195-pounder has a gun for an arm and bats .346. Mocks project him to be drafted anywhere from No. 6 to No. 40, which falls in first-round range since this year's opening round includes 43 picks.
Ebel also comes from a baseball pedigree as his father Dino is a two-time World Series champion third base coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Another player who will likely hear his name called after the first round this year is Auburn commit
Ethin Bingaman. Listed at 6-1 and 207 pounds, Bingaman has a 1.36 ERA on the mound and a .322 average in the batter's box.
The Panthers could have a pair of first-round picks again in 2026 as
Anthony Murphy and Brady's brother
Trey Ebel are two of the nation's top juniors.
Read on for a look at every high school duo to be drafted in the first round.
1972
Mike Ondina
Selection: 12th
Signing bonus: $52,000
Highest minor league level: AAA
Jerry Manuel
Selection: 20th
Signing bonus: $48,000
MLB summary: Played five seasons and appeared in the 1981 NLCS. Won 704 games as manager of the White Sox and Mets between 1998-2010. Has a 1997 World Series ring as the bench coach of the Florida Marlins.
1997
Michael Cuddyer
Selection: 9th
Signing bonus: $1,850,000
MLB summary: Played 15 years and hit 197 career home runs. Two-time All-Star was the 2013 National League batting champ with a .331 batting average.
John Curtice
Selection: 17th
Signing bonus: $975,000
Highest minor league level: A+
2000
Matt Wheatland
Selection: 8th
Signing bonus: $2,150,000
Highest minor league level: A
Scott Heard
Selection: 25th
Signing bonus: $1,475,000
Highest minor league level reached: A+
2001
Alan Horne
Selection: 27th
Signing bonus: Didn't sign, went to college and was drafted again in 11th round of the 2005 MLB Draft.
Highest minor league level reached: AAA
Jeff Mathis
Selection: 33rd
Signing bonus: $850,000
MLB summary: Played 17 seasons and had 526 career hits. Went 8-15 with five doubles in the 2009 postseason, which included an appearance in the ALCS with the Angels.
Seminole (Fla.)Casey Kotchman
Selection: 13th
Signing bonus: $2,075,000
MLB summary: Played 10 years and hit 71 career home runs. Played in the 2005 ALCS.
Bryan Bass
Selection: 31st
Signing bonus: $1,150,000
Highest minor league level reached: AA
2002
Clint Everts
Selection: 5th
Signing bonus: $2,500,000
Highest minor league level: AAA
Scott Kazmir
Selection: 15th
Signing bonus: $2,150,000
MLB summary: Won 108 career games across 13 seasons and was a three-time All-Star. Was the 2007 American League strikeout leader. Started two games for Tampa Bay in the 2008 World Series.
2004
Billy Butler
Selection: 14th
Signing bonus: $1,450,000
MLB summary: Played 10 years and hit 147 career home runs. Was an All-Star in 2012 and played in the 2014 World Series with Kansas City
Eric Hurley
Selection: 30th
Signing bonus: $1,050,000
MLB summary: Started five games with Texas in 2008 and went 1-2 with a 5.47 earned run average.
2006
Chris Marrero
Selection: 15th
Signing bonus: $1,625,000
MLB summary: Appeared in 54 games over three seasons with two teams.
Adrian Cardenas
Selection: 37th
Signing bonus: $925,000
MLB summary: Played in 45 games for the 2012 Cubs.
Kasey Kiker
Selection: 12th
Signing bonus: $1,600,000
Highest minor league level: AA
Cory Rasmus
Selection: 38th
Signing bonus: $900,000
MLB summary: Won four games with stints in four seasons between the Braves and Angels.
2007
Josh Smoker
Selection: 31st
Signing bonus: $1,000,000
MLB summary: Pitched in 82 games over three seasons.
Charlie Culberson
Selection: 51st
Signing bonus: $607,500
MLB summary: Played 11 seasons and hit a home run in the 2017 World Series with the Dodgers.
Chatsworth (Calif.)Mike Moustakas
Selection: 2nd
Signing bonus: $4,000,000
MLB summary: hit 215 home runs over 13 years. Won the 2015 World Series with the Royals.
Matt Dominquez
Selection: 12th
Signing bonus: $1,800,000
MLB summary: Hit 42 home runs over five seasons.
2010
McKinney (Texas)Zach Lee
Selection: 28th
Signing bonus: $5,250,000
Career summary: Was given the third highest signing bonus in the draft to give up his football commitment to play quarterback at LSU. Played in four MLB games.
Matt Lipka
Selection: 35th
Signing bonus: $800,000
Highest minor league level: AAA
2012
Max Fried
Selection: 7th
Signing bonus: $3,000,000
MLB summary: Is in his ninth season and first as a Yankee. The two-time All-Star won Game 6 of the 2021 World Series Series as a member of Atlanta, who won the championship.
Lucas Giolito
Selection: 16th
Signing bonus: $2,925,000
MLB summary: Won 62 games in eight years. Signed with Boston in 2024 but hasn't played with the Red Sox yet due to injury. Was an All-Star in 2019 and pitched a no-hitter in 2020.
Olympia (Orlando, Fla.)Jesse Winker
Selection: 49th
Signing bonus: $1,000,000
MLB summary: Currently plays for the Mets where he appeared in the 2024 NLCS. Has 96 career home runs and was an All-Star in 2021.
Walker Weickel
Selection: 55th
Signing bonus: $2,000,000
Highest minor league level: AA
2015
Kyle Tucker
Selection: 5th
Signing bonus: $4,000,000
MLB summary: On the Cubs following a 7-year run with the Astros where he won a World Series. The three-time All-Star has 132 career bombs
Jake Woodford
Selection: 39th
Signing bonus: $1,800,000
MLB summary: Won 10 games in 89 games over five years. Currently in the Yankees minor league system.
