Local ballplayer represents Pahrump baseball on national scale
The Pahrump community is brimming with an ample amount of talent in sports.
Pahrump Valley High School’s class of 2028 slugger CJ Nelson is no stranger to the moniker.
The incoming sophomore recently returned from Kansas City, Missouri where he was selected to represent Pahrump and Las Vegas in the Prep Baseball KC World Series.
Arriving as the first player from the Vegas Valley to represent the Top Tier Select travel ball program on a national stage, Nelson didn’t back down from some of the best-in-his-age-group competition in the country.
“I couldn’t be prouder of CJ. He was the first Vegas Valley kid to receive the rare opportunity to represent Top Tier on our national team and he took full advantage of that,” Las Vegas Top Tier program director Patrick Flowers said.
Deciding to take the scenic route, Nelson drove from Pahrump to Kansas City with his mother and sister.
“The drive was pretty good. There were a lot of rivers and greenery so it was very peaceful,” Nelson said. “The city was really cool and peaceful as well. Competition out there was great because it made you see the best version of yourself.”
Running from July 24 through 27, the tournament couldn’t have gone any better for Top Tier’s squad as the 15u program went 5-1 before dropping the championship game to the Inevitable A’s National 15u team 6-3.
Nelson played a pivotal role in the team’s advancement to the finals. In 14 at-bats, the big lefty posted a .429 batting average (6-14) with five RBI’s, four runs and two walks.
Nelson was also caught flashing some leather at first base on a couple of sharp line-drives.
“Being able to represent my grad class and Pahrump was awesome,” Nelson said. “It meant a lot because as a small town, we don’t get a lot of recognition.”
During the regular season school year, Nelson was having some trouble deep in the counts but has since improved his strikeout rate and is finding himself on base more often.
“I definitely feel my game has improved across the board, not only on the field, but off of it,” Nelson said. “I thank all my coaches for that, especially Coach Flowers.”
With plans to kick up competition in September, the program plans on holding workouts throughout August.
The Top Tier program will be hosting a Top Tier Scout Day event on Aug. 16 that will feature a pro-style workout format including professional video, VALD, Blast Motion and TrackMan data collection. Participants are set to receive a complete Prep Baseball player profile including picture, video, metrics and reports.
Top performers will be eligible for an invite-only Prep Baseball showcase, including the West Coast Games in Southern California Oct. 4-6.
“He represented Top Tier Las Vegas and our region very well, but more importantly, he represented himself first,” Flowers said. “CJ’s performance this weekend opened doors for others.”
Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.
