Baseball: The arrival of Hagen Danner adds to buzz about Huntington Beach

The preseason No. 1 team in high school baseball in Southern California next spring could be Huntington Beach, which upset Santa Ana Mater Dei in the opening round of this past season’s Southern Section Division 1 playoffs and returns most of its key players.

And arriving for the first day of classes will be highly touted freshman Hagen Danner, the top player from the 2011 Little League champions from Ocean View.

Danner is 6 feet 1 and destined to play catcher for Huntington Beach. He already has a scholarship offer from UCLA without having played in a single high school game.

He has played for Huntington Beach this summer, and Coach Benji Medure said, “He’s pretty poised. He plays relaxed even though he’s not a high school kid yet. I think he’s going to be good.”

Danner will be reunited with his former Little League teammate, Logan Poulesen, who started at third base as a freshman for the Oilers and was one of the best players in the Sunset League.

Another former Ocean View player set to make it to high school this fall is pitcher Nick Pratto, who will attend Mater Dei and is considered one of the best freshmen in the Southland. He’s playing on the USA 15U national team.

Eric.sondheimer@latimes.com