White Sox first-rounder Billy Carlson is used to playing in the spotlight

Over the last two years, few high school baseball programs have garnered more attention than the Corona (Calif.) Panthers. California state champions in 2024, the Panthers came into this season with a chance to make history as the first high school program to have more than two players selected in the first round.

At the center of all of that success was shortstop Billy Carlson, a local kid who not only led the Panthers on the field but also recruited several of his teammates into the program. Now, he’ll be working to bring similar success to the Chicago White Sox as their first-round pick.

Coming off that state title in 2024, the Panthers finished the 2025 regular season ranked first in the state but lost in a CIF Southern California semifinal upset to St. John Bosco. It was a disappointing ending for Carlson, but overall it was a dream four years for him and the program, which he helped bring to prominence.

A Corona native who spent all four of his high school years at the school, Carlson became a recruiter for the program, helping to convince Seth Hernandez — the consensus top high school pitcher in this year’s draft and the No. 6 selection— to transfer to Corona for his final two years at the school. Two other 2025 draft prospects, Brady Ebel and Ethin Bingaman, also transferred into the program. With several more high-profile prospects in the pipeline, the Corona program should continue to be in the national conversation even after this season.

“It was a lot of attention but it was good for the city of Corona and for the high school,” Carlson said at the MLB Draft Combine in June. “Hopefully Corona has a lot of good years coming ahead.”

Carlson came into the season as one of the top high school shortstop prospects in the class. Scouts kept a close eye on him all season, but he had the benefit of not being the only player on his team that scouts were coming out to see.

“It’s been cool to lean on them if it gets sometimes overwhelming, because it can be,” he said. “Every single practice, there’s at least one scout there with eyes on you. So there’s never not eyes on you. I think it’s helpful to have four other guys going through it with you. I could see how it can get really overwhelming if it’s just you by yourself, kind of going through that.”

That said, Carlson and his Corona teammates used the attention as way to keep themselves sharp throughout the season. He lived up to the all of the preseason expectations, hitting .365 with six homers and 34 RBI in 31 games as a senior.

“We kind of enjoyed the attention. We kind of thrived off of it,” he said. “If anything, it helped us because you’re always playing with something on the line.”

Like many star high school shortstops, Carlson was a two-way player, using his plus arm strength on the mound as well as from the six-hole. He showed major-league potential as a pitcher, hitting 97 mph with his fastball, but is adamant that his future is on the dirt.

Offensively, Carlson hit for average and got on base at an above-average clip his last two seasons at Corona, and he showed enough in-game power that he projects “to get to 20-plus homers if he can shorten up his swing enough to make consistent contact,” according to The Athletic’s MLB Draft expert Keith Law.

On Law’s final top 100 draft prospect Big Board, Carlson ranked 11th. Among high school position players, he ranked fourth. Carlson has a college commitment to Tennessee, but he’s not likely to get to Rocky Top.

“I think (professional baseball) is the next big step in my career,” he said.

Whether it’s in professional baseball or at Tennessee, Carlson is excited to take advantage of the training and coaching resources at those advanced levels. Though the 6-foot-1 Carlson spends a lot of time off the field working on his conditioning, he isn’t looking to break any lifting records at the weight rack.

“If having big legs was the key to hitting bombs, I’d probably be last in line for that,” Carlson joked.

His work in the weight room is more intentional, focused on core strength and flexibility.

“I like to tell teams this, that I’m like a greyhound dog. I’m not really like a pit bull so training like a pit bull isn’t too smart for me. I think that could ruin what makes me good,” he said.

That core strength and flexibility has helped him become a plus defender at shortstop, so advanced that he had a stranglehold on the position at Corona even with Ebel — another top shortstop prospect — on the Panthers’ roster. Law called Carlson “a wizard on defense, with great instincts, range in both directions, and excellent hands, along with at least a 70 arm (on the 20-80 scouting scale).”

“I feel like if you are doing good training, it’s going to show up on the field,” Carlson said.

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