CORONA — Without a single high school plate appearance or an inning pitched, professional scouts and college coaches already knew Seth Hernandez was the best player around.
This past season simply confirmed it.
Hernandez was home-schooled and did not play for a high school team as a freshman or sophomore. But he made the transition this season and led Corona’s baseball team in home runs, RBIs, wins and innings pitched. He helped the No. 1-seeded Panthers claim the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship and now has been selected the IE Varsity Baseball Player of the Year.
“It was my first high school season, so obviously there was a little bit of nerves going on trying to prove myself to these high school kids, but I think I did a great job of it,” said Hernandez, who went 9-0 in 56 innings pitched and also hit nine home runs with 34 RBIs during the 2024 season.
Hernandez handled the pressure and delivered time and again for the Panthers, who won the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C. in April, completed a perfect 15-0 Big VIII League season and then won the program’s first section title since 1998.
“Being a public school in California and being ranked preseason No. 1, there’s going to be pressure there and there’s going to be a target on our back, but I think we were a super-talented group and super close since the beginning, so I don’t think anything got to us,” Hernandez said. “There was always going to be ups-and-downs, but I think we handled everything well.
“We had a good mindset about it,, and I don’t think the pressure really got to us at all. Obviously, the season we had was unbelievable and we’re super blessed to have had the year that we had.”
One of the nation’s top-rated high school players, Hernandez paired with senior left-hander Ethan Schiefelbein — last year’s IE Varsity Player of the Year — to create a dominant one-two combination at the top of the rotation.
“I kind of went under his belt as far as doing his throwing program ahead of the season and (Ethan) is an awesome kid,” Hernandez said. “He knows so much about the game, and I’d say we’re the best pitchers in California. I’d tell him that all the time. I learned so much from him. I couldn’t have asked for a better pitcher to be with.”
While Schiefelbein is committed to UCLA as the Major League Baseball amateur draft approaches, Hernandez is training privately in Corona ahead of a busy summer that includes the Area Code Games and commitments to USA Baseball.
“It’s going to be a fun summer,” Hernandez said. “It’s my last year of summer ball, so that (stinks), but I have to have fun with it and keep working hard.”
Hernandez verbally committed to Vanderbilt last summer.
“That’s my dream school. I love their stadium, love their uniforms and love the coaches there,” he said. “Ever since I was a kid, probably 8 years old, telling my dad while we were watching the College World Series, ‘Dad, I want to go to ‘Vandy!’”
But first he will return to help the Panthers defend that CIF-SS Division 1 title next season.
“We want to be even better, and I think the goal is to keep competing and to keep grinding to get better,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
— DENNIS POPE
IE VARSITY COACH OF THE YEAR
Al Leyva, Colony
Leyva is a veteran baseball coach who in his second season at the helm guided the Titans to the best season in program history. Colony ended the campaign with a 26-7-1 record, which matched the program’s win total from the previous five years combined. The Titans lost their first three Palomares League games but won the next 12 contests to place second, the program’s best finish since making the move from the Mt. Baldy League. That second-place finish also secured Colony’s first trip to the postseason in 12 years. Colony’s win streak reached 19 games late in the season as the Titans captured the CIF Southern Section’s Division 6 championship. The Titans outscored the competition 44-12 en route to winning the first section championship in program history.
— ERIC-PAUL JOHNSON
IE VARSITY FIRST TEAM
P: Brody Buoncristiani, Chino Hills, So.
P: Jude Favela, San Dimas, Sr.
P: Kade Finazzo, Citrus Valley, Sr.
P: Ethan Schiefelbein, Corona, Sr.
P: Caleb Trugman, Ayala, So.
C: Connor Rangel, Colony, Sr.
C: Joshua Springer, Corona, Sr.
IF: Ethin Bingaman, Arrowhead Christian, Jr.
IF: Billy Carlson, Corona, Jr.
IF: Ayden Harrison, Paloma Valley, Sr.
IF: Landon White, San Dimas, Sr.
IF: Landon Young, Aquinas, Sr.
OF: Hunter Meyer, Los Osos, Jr.
OF: Anthony Murphy, Corona, So.
OF: Nikko Paoletto, Damien, Sr.
UT: Braylon Doughty, Chaparral, Sr.
UT: Seth Hernandez, Corona, Jr. (Player of the Year)
UT: Vaughn Neckar, Vista Murrieta, Jr.
IE VARSITY SECOND TEAM
P: Nathan Chavez, Arlington, Sr.
P: Cash Dabbs, Redlands East Valley, Jr.
P: Steven Gonzalez, Colony, Jr.
P: Taden Krogsgaard, Temecula Valley, So.
P: Timmy LaChappa, Hemet, Sr.
C: Dylan Fien, Great Oak, Sr.
IF: Matthew Bernath, Centennial, Sr.
IF: R.J. Holmes, Vista Murrieta, Jr.
IF: Wyatt Mohler, Los Osos, So.
IF: Dylan Seward, Norco, Fr.
IF: Diego Vasquez, Bonita Sr.
OF: Matthew Bline, Citrus Valley, Jr.
OF: Logan Clear, Santiago, Sr.
OF: Wes Hickey, Yucaipa, Sr.
OF: C.J. Moran, Murrieta Mesa, Sr.
UT: Dylan Harrison, Summit, Jr.
UT: Michael Malki, Centennial, Sr.
UT: Chapman Weber, Paloma Valley, Sr.
