PVHS Baseball represents the Vegas vallley with Top Tier program

Created in Chicago in 2004, the Top Tier Baseball program has been churning out high school baseball prospects across the country like no other.

With 140 players that have gone pro and over 4,500 NCAA scholarships offered throughout the program’s history, Top Tier’s program expanded into the Las Vegas area in November of last year.

Making it the 18th state that the program now operates in, six of our local Pahrump Valley High School athletes, including Tony Whitney, Vinny Whitney, Kayne Horibe, Dominik Wilson, Cody Fried and CJ Nelson, have been representing the Vegas Valley.

“I joined the program because I was looking for a team that I could play with some of my teammates and get exposure,” Wilson said. “It’s been a great experience so far getting more chemistry established. I’ve been mainly working on my pitching and hitting to prepare myself for this year’s season.”

Top Tier’s Las Vegas director, Patrick Flowers, said that the move to Vegas wasn’t easy but has been in the works for a long time.

“I worked for Top Tier back home in Chicago as a coach and I knew that our CEO, Todd Fine, had eyes for Vegas for a very long time, there just wasn’t anybody out here that he wanted to trust with getting it going,” Flowers said. “When I was relocating out here to Pahrump with my wife about a year and a half ago, we got in a conversation about it, and we decided to pull the trigger. We’re very conscious of making sure the players get ample time in the shade and ample time to get hydrated, while also checking all the boxes they need to in their pregame.”

Growing up in Bridgeport, Chicago, Flowers played high school baseball and immediately following high school became a firefighter in the western suburbs.

“I will always love every day that I spent on the job as a public servant. I loved helping people, but I’m doing that here as well,” Flowers said. “You know, my wife says all time she’s incredibly supportive of me and she knows this is like my other half and what completes me. So to be out here, working for these guys, teaching them and helping create opportunities for them was absolutely well worth it.”

Hosting tryouts over the last winter, Top Tier began its play in January and will wrap up their 18-and-under travel ball season in mid-July.

“Vegas baseball is a little different than Midwest baseball. I mean, not only seasonally with the climate, but the schedules year-round are a little different. The structure of high school baseball is slightly different than the Midwest as well,” Flowers said. “High school baseball takes priority here over club baseball, whereas it’s the other way around back where I’m from. Running Top Tier in Las Vegas and trying to bring what Top Tier accomplished back in Chicago and all over the country here to Vegas is what got me off my couch and back onto a baseball field.”

According to Flowers, everyone in the program has done a fantastic job in buying into the culture and he expects the team only to grow stronger and more competitive into the next travel ball year.

“There’s a ton of talent in Pahrump, they just needed opportunities. They needed structure and opportunities, and they’re getting it and they love it. I mean, they’re great kids. They work hard,” Flowers said. “You got some really good ball players in that group. Kane is going to do big things, whether it’s in baseball or football. Tony Whitney and Vinny Whitney are great leaders and great ballplayers. And even our freshman here, CJ Nelson, is a good ballplayer. He’s a freshman, so he’s got freshman tendencies, but he’s very talented.”

When asked about his experience with the program so far, Top Tier shortstop Tony Whitney had nothing but praise and respect for the organization.

“What made me join Top Tier this summer was because of the coaches and players around me. It’s been really great improving my game while still getting to play with the boys and keep our team chemistry intact,” Whitney said. “I’ve been trying to work on being a leader so I can help our high school team to state next year and also put on some more muscle weight.”

Competing this year in Prospect Wire tournaments in Arizona and California, the program anticipates wrapping up the season with a Perfect Game showcase in the WWBA National Championship, the world’s largest baseball scouting showcase.

Two weeks ago the team played in Mesa, Arizona at Sloan Park, home of the Chicago Cubs spring training facility.

“That’s the way to do it, right? These are high school juniors and seniors, mostly upperclassmen. These are guys that are at the end of their runway in the recruiting window, and they need to be in front of the right eyes. So we have to go where those eyes are. And that happens to be Arizona,” Flowers said.

When sitting down with two-way player Kayne Horibe, Kayne said his experience with the organization has been great.

“Joining Top Tier’s program was a decision for me to get more looks by colleges,” Horibe said. “It’s obviously not the same as high school ball but we are building more and more chemistry as we continue to play together. I’ve been focusing on my hitting and pitching and even though I had a decent year, I still have so much more left in the tank.”

Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.