Greatest Texas High School Baseball Players of All Time
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They don't only play football in Texas. The state that's known for its gridiron greatness is much more than just a one-sport show. Some legendary high school baseball players have also come from Texas.
The Lone Star State has been pumping out prep phenoms for as long as any state in the United States, and the lineup of players is as impressive as you'll see from any state.
These are the greatest Texas high school baseball players of all time.
15. Luken Baker
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High school: Oak Ridge High School (Conroe, Texas)
Position: First base/right-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 2015
Bottom line: Oak Ridge High's Luken Baker was named Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2015 after the 6-foot-5, 255-pound two-way prospect went 12-0 with a 1.02 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 82 innings while batting .448 with eight home runs.
Baker was projected as a first- or second-round pick out of high school but emailed teams telling them not to pick him. He played collegiately for TCU, where he became a full-time first baseman and was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2016 before injuries ended his next two seasons.
Baker was picked No. 75 overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018 and has been in the minor leagues for the last five years.
14. Courtney Hawkins
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High school: Mary Carroll High School (Corpus Christi, Texas)
Position: Outfield/right-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 2012
Bottom line: Mary Carroll High's Courtney Hawkins seemed like the perfect MLB outfield prospect when he was named Texas Gatorade Player of the Year in 2012. He was 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds with a .412 batting average, 11 home runs, 37 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 34 games.
Hawkins passed on playing college baseball at the University of Texas after the Chicago White Sox selected him at No. 13 overall in the 2012 MLB draft. Hawkins was ranked as the franchise's No. 1 minor league prospect in 2013 but never broke through to the MLB ranks.
He was released by the White Sox in 2018 and has spent the last four years bouncing between the minors and Independent League baseball.
13. Kyle Muller
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High school: Jesuit College Prep (Dallas, Texas)
Position: Left-handed pitcher/outfield
Graduation year: 2016
Bottom line: Kyle Muller was the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2016 at Jesuit College Prep after he went 8-0 with a 0.46 ERA, 133 strikeouts along with batting .396 with 15 home runs and 56 RBI. He also set the national record that year with 24 strikeouts in a row.
Muller committed to play college baseball for Texas but went pro after he was picked No. 44 overall by the Atlanta Braves. He made his MLB debut in June 2021 and went 2-4 as a rookie, with a 4.17 ERA and 37 strikeouts. He was the Opening Day starter for the Oakland A's in 2023.
12. John Danks
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High school: Round Rock High School (Round Rock, Texas)
Position: Left-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 2003
Bottom line: John Danks racked up some amazing numbers as a senior at Round Rock High in 2003, going 10-3 with a 1.61 ERA and 173 strikeouts over a whopping 100 innings on the way to being named Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, USA Today All-American and ABCA/Rawlings All-American.
Danks was drafted No. 9 overall by the Texas Rangers and was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 2006, where he played 10 seasons, including three seasons alongside younger brother Jordan Danks, an outfielder and the 2005 Texas Gatorade Player of the year.
11. Jon Peters
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High school: Brenham High School (Brenham, Texas)
Position: Right-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 1989
Bottom line: Before Bryce Harper, there was Brenham High pitcher Jon Peters — the first high school baseball player featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated (with the headline "SUPERKID") after he won a national record 53 consecutive games from 1986 to 1989.
Peters was the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year in 1989 with his streak, which also included 23 shutouts and five no-hitters. The pressure of becoming a national phenomenon proved too much for Peters, who later disclosed he'd tried to commit suicide the night before he broke the national record for consecutive wins.
Peters pitched at Texas A&M and Blinn College before shoulder problems ended his baseball career and he slid into a long spiral of alcoholism and drug addiction. In 2019, Peters told Sports Illustrated he's been sober since 2010.
10. Jason Stokes
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High school: Coppell High School (Coppell, Texas)
Position: Infield
Graduation year: 2000
Bottom line: Jason Stokes was named Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2000 when the Coppell High superstar set the national single-season record with 25 home runs.
Stokes was selected in the second round of the 2000 MLB draft by the Florida Marlins and seemed destined for greatness after he was named The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year and Topps Minor League Player of the Year in 2002.
It wasn't meant to be. Injuries forced Stokes to retire in 2007 before he ever played in the majors. He returned briefly to the minors in 2010, then stepped away from the game again.
9. Todd Van Poppel
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High school: Martin High School (Arlington, Texas)
Position: Right-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 1990
Bottom line: In the pantheon of the most celebrated high school athletes of all time, Martin High pitcher Todd Van Poppel is among the creme de la creme.
Van Poppel was a phenom who went 11-3 with a 0.70 ERA and 170 strikeouts as a senior in 1990, when he was named USA Today High School Player of the Year and Gatorade National Player of the Year.
When the Atlanta Braves informed Van Poppel they wanted to take him No. 1 overall in the 1990 MLB draft, he told them not to bother because he wouldn't sign with them. The franchise selected Hall of Fame shortstop Chipper Jones instead.
Van Poppel went No. 14 to the Oakland Athletics and spent the next 15 years bouncing back and forth between the minors and the majors. He played his last MLB season in 2004, finishing his career with a 40-52 record, 5.58 ERA and 770 strikeouts.
8. Homer Bailey
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High school: La Grange High School (La Grange, Texas)
Position: Right-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 2004
Bottom line: La Grange High pitcher Homer Bailey went 15-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 92 innings as a senior in 2004, when he was named USA Today High School Player of the Year and Baseball America High School Player of the Year.
Bailey was selected No. 7 overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2004 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 2007. Bailey pitched 14 seasons in the majors and threw two no-hitters, in 2012 and 2013, and finished his career with an 81-86 career record, 4.77 ERA and 1,157 strikeouts.
7. Josh Bell
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High school: Jesuit College Prep (Dallas, Texas)
Position: Outfield
Graduation year: 2011
Bottom line: Jesuit College Prep's Josh Bell set a record with a $5 million signing bonus from the Pittsburgh Pirates after he was named Texas Gatorade Player of the Year in 2011. It was the most money for any player taken outside of the first round.
Bell made his MLB debut with the Pirates in 2016, moved to first base was selected to his first MLB All-Star Game in 2019, which was the same year he had career-bests with a .277 batting average, 37 home runs and 116 RBI.
Bell signed with the Washington Nationals in 2021 for $4.8 million for a one-year contract, then received a $10 million, one-year contract in 2022. He was with the Cleveland Guardians in 2023.
6. Scott Kazmir
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High school: Cypress Falls High School (Houston, Texas)
Position: Left-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 2002
Bottom line: Cypress Falls High pitcher Scott Kazmir had one of the most amazing stretches for any high school pitcher ever as a senior in 2002, when he threw four consecutive no-hitters, a one-hitter and another no-hitter over a six-game stretch.
Kazmir was named Baseball America High School Player of the Year, ABCA/Rawlings All-American and USA Today High School All-American that year before he was drafted No. 15 overall by the New York Mets.
Kazmir made his MLB debut in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and was one of the most dominant pitchers in the majors for a stretch before injuries forced him to miss all of the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
He attempted a comeback in 2021 and briefly appeared for the San Francisco Giants.
5. Clayton Kershaw
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High school: Highland Park High School (Dallas, Texas)
Position: Left-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 2006
Bottom line: Highland Park High pitcher Clayton Kershaw swept the Gatorade National Player of the Year and Baseball American High School Player of the Year Awards as a senior in 2006, when he went 13-0 with a 0.77 ERA and 139 strikeouts in just 64 innings.
Kershaw was committed to pitch for Texas A&M but turned pro after the Los Angeles Dodgers selected him No. 7 overall and he received a $2.3 million signing bonus, which was the franchise record at the time.
Kershaw made his MLB debut in 2008 and has carved out a career as one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history. He was named National League Most Valuable Player in 2014, is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and helped lead the Dodgers to a World Series championship in 2020.
At the conclusion of the 2022 season, Kershaw had racked up $268.3 million in career earnings.
4. Nolan Ryan
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High school: Alvin High School (Alvin, Texas)
Position: Right-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 1965
Bottom line: New York Mets scout Red Murff first began scouting Nolan Ryan when he was a sophomore at Alvin High in 1963, when Murff heard rumors there was a pitcher that some opponents refused to bat against for fear of their own personal safety.
In this case, the rumors were true. Ryan also had a tendency to run through catchers because he would inevitably break a bone in their hands with a pitch. Murff said that Ryan had "the best arm I've seen in my life" in his scouting report, and the Mets drafted him in the 12th round of the 1965 MLB draft, after he registered 244 strikeouts as a senior.
Ryan pitched 27 years in the majors and still owns the MLB career record with seven no-hitters. He's also one of the most intimidating pitchers of all time. We know his reign of terror started in high school thanks to Murff, who left a written record dictating the absolute fear a young Ryan put in opponents.
3. Josh Beckett
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High school: Spring High School (Spring, Texas)
Position: Right-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 1999
Bottom line: Josh Beckett was a two-time Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, two-time USA Today All-American and the USA Today High School Player of the Year as a senior at Spring High in 1999.
Beckett was selected No. 2 overall by the Florida Marlins in the 1999 MLB draft and led the franchise to a World Series championship in 2003, when he was also named World Series MVP.
Beckett pitched 14 seasons in the majors and won another World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2007, when he was named ALCS MVP. He finished his MLB career with a 138-108 record and 3.88 ERA.
2. Bobby Witt Jr.
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High school: Colleyville Heritage High School (Colleyville, Texas)
Position: Shortstop/right-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 2019
Bottom line: Colleyville Heritage High's Bobby Witt Jr. was one of the more promising prospects to come out of the amateur ranks — high school or college — in recent memory.
Witt was named Gatorade National Player of the Year and Baseball America National Player of the Year in 2019 after he batted .515 with 15 home runs, 54 RBI and 17 stolen bases his senior year.
The Kansas City Royals selected Witt at No. 2 overall in 2019 and gave him a $7.79 million signing bonus. The son of former MLB pitcher Bobby Witt was named USA Today Minor League Player of the Year and Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year in 2021 and has been in the majors with the Royals since 2022.
1. David Clyde
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High school: Westchester High School (Houston, Texas)
Position: Left-handed pitcher
Graduation year: 1973
Bottom line: Few prospects in baseball history have been treated with the revered status of Westchester High's David Clyde.
As a senior, Clyde went 18-0 with five no-hitters and gave up only three earned runs in 148 innings while setting 14 national records.
He was selected No. 1 overall by the Texas Rangers in the 1973 MLB draft and given the largest signing bonus in history to that point — $125,000. Eager to cash in on their young pitcher's fame in his home state, Clyde's first start was in the majors, which he won. But the Rangers sped up his development, and he got injured from overuse.
Clyde only played five seasons in the majors, going 18-33 with a 4.63 ERA.