Two standout pitchers from Harvard-Westlake High School, Justin Kirchner and James Venick, have been selected for Phase One of the 18U National Team Training Camp scheduled for the summer of 2025, a testament to their rapid rise in the competitive world of amateur baseball.
Guiding them is Coach Jared Halpert, whose dual role as Harvard-Westlake’s head coach and USA Baseball national team mentor has long emphasized the value of confronting pressure and thriving within it.
Under Halpert’s tutelage, the duo has taken extra swings in Los Angeles, refining their mechanics while contributing to the school’s Mission League championship and earning national camp invitations.
A Legacy of Excellence
The program’s recent track record includes multiple Mission League titles, two CIF Southern Section Division I crowns, and a No. 1 ranking by Baseball America in 2014, underscoring a culture that consistently produces top‑tier talent.
Halpert’s roster of alumni reads like a who’s who of modern baseball, featuring first‑round MLB Draft picks such as Pete Crow‑Armstrong, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito and Bryce Rainer, all of whom credit his demanding standards for their development.
James Tronstein, a 2024 graduate and two‑time 15U National Team alum, narrowly missed the final roster despite a stellar senior season in which he batted .531 with 10 home runs and earned California’s Gatorade State Player of the Year honor.
Looking Ahead
Invited to the National High School Invitational in Cary, North Carolina — an elite showcase hosted by USA Baseball since 2012 — Kirchner and Venick will now aim to return for Phase Two of the camp in August, seeking further exposure and refinement.
Halpert’s counsel to camp participants is simple: absorb every lesson from elite coaches and peers, grow as a player and a person, and remember that the experience itself holds intrinsic value, regardless of the final roster outcome.