Fort Worth high school baseball star caps career with nation’s top honor
With his high school career over at Fort Worth Christian, the nation’s consensus top prep baseball prospect, Grady Emerson, has been focused on staying in shape by mixing in speed, agility, strength and hitting work.
He may hear his name early in June’s MLB draft, as MLB.com projects he’ll be taken No. 2 overall.
But on Wednesday, he took a detour from his routine, as Fort Worth Christian head coach Rusty Greer surprised him with Gatorade’s National Baseball Player of the Year Award, the highest honor in high school baseball.
“This is a huge honor,” Emerson said. “Obviously, it’s something that people work towards their whole lives. … I’m very proud of it, but obviously, I got to give thanks to everybody who helped me along the journey. … I couldn’t have done this myself.”
Emerson said it’s cool to see his name alongside iconic players such as Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, all former Gatorade National Player of the Year Award winners.
Former teammates, family, friends and a youth baseball team he helps coach arrived at Fort Worth Christian before 7:30 a.m. to prepare for the surprise. They rushed him in celebration as Emerson was about to shake Greer’s hand.
“I left him hanging,” Emerson quipped during the dogpile before proceeding to thank his coach. Greer, a former longtime Texas Ranger, has served as a mentor for him throughout his life.
He was one of many who showed up Wednesday morning to celebrate his accomplishments.
“I think everybody just being here shows the work that was put in and just how much we had to sacrifice since everybody was willing to get up ... on a non-school day in the summer,” Emerson said. “It was a long journey. ... There’s a lot of ups, a lot of downs, but everybody that’s here who supported me did their part, and I’m very thankful for it.”
The 2026 season has been an eventful one for Emerson, who transferred from Argyle. He led Fort Worth Christian to a TAPPS Division II state championship appearance. The Cardinals, after leading 3-0 before a five-hour rain delay, lost 4-3 to Houston Lutheran South.
For his senior season and recognition as a top draft prospect, Emerson was named a semifinalist for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the nation’s top amateur baseball player. He is the second high school player to ever be a semifinalist for the award in its 48-year history, joining Bobby Witt Jr., who played at Colleyville Heritage.
Witt Jr. shares a very similar path as Emerson, as both are Tarrant County shortstops with high draft stock. Witt Jr., after receiving the 2019 Gatorade National Player of the Year Award, was selected No. 2 by the Kansas City Royals in the 2019 MLB draft.
According to Gatorade, past Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year athletes have gone on to combine for four MLB MVP awards, 48 All-Star appearances and 32 MLB first round draft picks.
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