Over the last few seasons, there have been plenty of elite prep baseball prospects living in close proximity to each other. Heck, last year, Dylan Bundy of Owasso (Okla.) and Archie Bradley of Broken Arrow (Okla.) competed against each other for both a state championship and to see who would be the first prep pitcher off the board.

Next year, you won’t have to venture any farther than Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) to see arguably the two top pitchers in high school in senior right-hander Lucas Giolito and senior left-hander Max Fried, who will be high school teammates for the first time this upcoming season.

The 6-foot-4 Fried was one of the top hurlers in the Golden State at Montclair Prep (Van Nuys, Calif.), but he was forced to transfer after his school decided to discontinue all its sports last summer.

“It was really hard on me,” said Fried. “But coach LaCour, Lucas and the teammates have helped make that transition much easier.”

“Max is a great kid who has made a seamless transition to us” Harvard-Westlake head coach Matthew LaCour said. “He’s a great athlete and his work ethic is off the charts. You wouldn’t even be able to tell he hasn’t been here the whole time when he interacts with the boys. He’s really blended into the fabric of our team”

This summer, Fried participated in the Perfect Game All-American Classic and at the Area Code Baseball Games.

“That was probably my favorite event of the summer,” Fried said of ACG. “It taught me how to stay composed on the mound, not to try to do too much and just relax.”

As for next year, the goal for Fried is simple — win sectionals and then take his talents — along with Giolito — to UCLA….

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