If you grew up in the Inland Empire, you know the drill: people talk about the beach cities, L.A., Orange County, yada yada yada — as if nothing exciting ever happens east of the 57. Well, guess what? The 2025 MLB Draft just flipped that whole narrative upside down, because Corona High School didn’t just show up… they broke baseball history.
Yep. Not one, not two, not even three — FOUR Corona High baseball players got drafted this year. That’s not a typo. That’s a full-blown roster of pros. At this point, the school should probably change its mascot to the “Corona Big Leaguers.”
Let’s talk about this insanity for a second.
Seth Hernandez went 6th overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates — which means he’s about to get paid enough to buy, like, all of Dos Lagos. Then Billy Carlson, his high school teammate, goes 10th overall to the White Sox. That’s right — two kids who shared a dugout are now both Top-10 MLB picks. That has never happened before. You know the odds of that? Basically the same as finding an empty table at Miguel’s Jr. on Taco Tuesday.
Then, because apparently the baseball gods were bored, Corona’s Brady Ebel jumped into the mix at pick No. 32 to the Milwaukee Brewers. That made three first-rounders from the same high school — something that’s literally never happened in MLB draft history. And just when you thought that was it, along comes Ethin Bingaman, who got picked up by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 20th round. Four dudes. One high school. One absolutely mind-blowing story.
You could practically hear the collective gasp from scouts across the country. “Where is this school again?” they asked, frantically Googling “Corona High baseball program” like it was a new cryptocurrency.
But if you’re from the Inland Empire, you’re not surprised. You know this region breeds grinders. It’s hot, it’s dusty, and half your summer practices feel like survival training — but it builds dogs. You don’t get four MLB draft picks by accident. You get them because your kids grow up taking batting practice in 105-degree heat and eating carne asada fries afterward for recovery.
The real MVP here might actually be the Corona High coaching staff. Whatever’s in the Gatorade over there, bottle it up and sell it. MLB teams would line up for that stuff. The Panthers weren’t just good — they were a full-on traveling circus of future pros. Baseball America even called them “one of the most talented high school teams ever.” Which is the fancy way of saying, “these guys made everyone else look like they were playing wiffle ball.”
Let’s also give some love to the Inland Empire itself. For years, we’ve been the overlooked cousin in the SoCal sports scene. But look around — the IE is cranking out major-league talent left and right. Shohei Ohtani might live in Newport, but apparently the next generation of baseball stars are being built right here off the 91 freeway.
This story isn’t just about four kids making it — it’s about the region finally getting its respect. Corona High just put the IE on every MLB scout’s GPS. From here on out, when people talk about baseball hotbeds, they better mention the Inland Empire right next to Miami, Houston, and L.A. Because we’ve got the receipts now.
So to Seth, Billy, Brady, and Ethin — congrats, fellas. You’ve made history, made your city proud, and probably made your senior prom chaperones say, “I knew those kids were special.”
And to the rest of us locals: next time someone tries to clown the IE, just smile and say, “Cool story. How many MLB players has your high school produced this year?”
Because around here, the answer is four — and that’s just ridiculous.
