PRIME NO. 1: ARCHER RIGHT ON TARGET

1. Archer Horn

St. Ignatius Prep - senior - shortstop

The Skinny: Baseball and failure go hand in hand. And yet, at the age of 18, Archer Horn has never really experienced true baseball failure. Sure, he's lost some heart-breaking games at St. Ignatius Prep, but he's never had a prolonged slump or dealt with a case of the yips. "I guess I haven't had a ton of adversity when it comes to performance," said the recent St. Ignatius Prep grad who is the 2026 Prime Player of the Year. "What's held me back in the past has been getting stressed out over little things. ... I've learned to put things in perspective, and I'm still dealing with that, but I've gotten a lot better with things like that." Horn worked out at the Major League Baseball Combine in Arizona in late June. He was one of the 335 athletes invited to run, hit and take grounders in front of pro baseball's brain trust ahead of the MLB Draft, which will take place during baseball's All-Star Break in July. In addition to the physical workouts, he also met with each team for a brief interview. He was asked about family background, the other sports he played growing up and, yes, what kind of adversity he has faced. "I've done a bunch of those interviews," said Horn, who has hired Scott Boras to be his agent. It's all part of the process and in the coming weeks, Horn is likely to have a life-changing decision to make: whether to accept a baseball scholarship to Stanford University or go directly into professional baseball. "I haven't made a decision," he said. "Both options, playing at Stanford or getting drafted and going right into professional baseball are great. I'm excited to see which of the two works out best." Conventional wisdom would indicate that getting him to go directly into pro ball would require an early-round selection and a big signing bonus. Boras has a reputation for negotiating big deals. MLB currently has Horn ranked as the 47th best prospect in the draft, but that rating will fluctuate as draft day gets closer. Horn is shooting up some draft boards – ESPN has him at No. 30 – and there is speculation he could jump into the first round. And as this college-or-pro drama unfolds, Horn has been assigned to a collegiate team in Oregon, where he's learning what it takes to play baseball every day. "We play six or seven games a week and I get one day of rest," he said. "That's a big difference between playing twice a week in high school. I'm learning how to conserve my energy, how to warm up properly and how to play that much baseball. It's easy to be locked in seven innings twice a week." Horn made it look easy at times. He was a dangerous leadoff hitter, a kid who could hit for power or kill the opposition with his speed. The Wildcats were knocked out of the CCS-Division I tournament in the opening round by Jake Escalante and the Soquel Knights, but that couldn't put a damper on Horn's senior-season experience. "This year was the most fun I've ever had playing high school baseball," he said. "Our team really bonded. I'll take that any day of the week."

Season Highlight: On April 14, St. Ignatius scored 10 runs against Saint Francis – a team that gave up 26 earned runs all season – in a statement game victory. "We always thought for us to have a shot at league, we had to win at least one game against those guys," said Horn, who had four hits, including a home run and a double, in the victory. "We went out and we hit well. We had a mindset in that game to just go out there and pound the ball." Horn led off the game with a fly ball to right field that just kept carrying until right fielder Tanner Wall ran out of room. It hit off the fence at Higgins Field and shot back toward the infield. Horn, who broke out of the box hard, was rounding second and thinking he had a triple. "I was surprised when (coach Brian Pollzzie) sent me home." Horn's inside-the-park home run set the tone for St. Ignatius Prep's big day.

The Numbers Tell the Story: Horn had 28 hits and 26 walks for a .576 on-base percentage. He had a slugging percentage of .826 and an OPS of 1.402.

Eye-Popping Stat: Horn struck out just eight times in 99 plate appearances.