Orange County high school baseball products shine for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2026 World Series

Nathaniel Martinez
One of the entrances to American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Quick look: Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers, closing pitcher Trevor Megill, center fielder Garrett Mitchell and infielder Joey Ortiz all attended high school in Orange County before leading the Brewers to the franchise’s second World Series appearance.

The Los Angeles Dodgers may be out of the picture, but four players with Orange County ties are still making headlines in the postseason, this time with the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers swept the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series last week and have since taken a commanding 3-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. With Milwaukee now one win away from its first championship in franchise history, local baseball fans have a few extra reasons to tune in.

First baseman Jake Bauers was born in Newport Beach and attended Marina High School in Huntington Beach, where he helped lead the Vikings to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 finals in 2013. Coincidentally, the championship game was played at Dodger Stadium — the same venue where Bauers would later be named NLCS MVP after helping Milwaukee eliminate the Dodgers.

Closing pitcher Trevor Megill also played at Marina High, briefly sharing the field with Bauers before graduating early and continuing his career at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He later sealed Milwaukee’s 3-2 victory in Game 1 of the World Series by striking out Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca with two runners in scoring position.

An inside look at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. A slide can be seen in the background, where the team's mascot takes a ride after every Brewers home run.
An inside look at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. A slide can be seen in the background, where the team’s mascot takes a ride after every Brewers home run.

Center fielder Garrett Mitchell was born in Orange and starred at Orange Lutheran High School before playing college baseball at UCLA. His solo home run in Game 4 of the NLCS broke a tie and helped propel Milwaukee to a series-clinching victory.

Infielder Joey Ortiz rounds out the local group after playing at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove. After a slow start to the season at shortstop, a midseason move to third base helped spark a turnaround at the plate. He raised his batting average from .207 to .270 over his final 58 games of the regular season.

With the Dodgers out of the picture and the Los Angeles Angels still looking for a breakthrough, Orange County baseball fans have at least four reasons to cheer for the Brewers. Milwaukee needs just one more win to finish the job, with Game 4 scheduled for Tuesday night in Tampa Bay.