Even though they both had played on a similar stage before, Apex’s Corey Thompson and Green Hope’s Eric Brady admitted to having butterflies when they stepped onto the field for last weekend’s USA Baseball Tournament of the Stars at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.

“Oh absolutely. Big butterflies,” Thompson said. “Your first and last at-bat, you definitely feel it the most.” But, of course, their excitement was for good reason.

The two local stars were among the 144 players chosen to represent eight youth baseball groups participating in the tournament. All of them were competing for the chance to be invited to try out for the 18U National Team later this summer.

Brady, who played for the USA Stars, and Thompson, who played for PONY, were joined by high school players from all over the United States for the six-day tournament, hoping to secure a tryout shot and impress the scouts in attendance.

Though neither made the final cut, both looked back on the experience fondly.

“It’s unexplainable, being out there with all the scouts. If you succeed against these people you know you will go far,” Brady said. “Meeting all the new players and getting my name out there to all the scouts … being out in that atmosphere was awesome.”

This marked the third time Thompson has played in the tournament, while Brady played in a similar 16U tournament last summer.

This year, Brady’s USA Stars team finished sixth, while Thompson’s PONY team finished fourth.

Brady counted his game in the USA Stars’ 3-2 win over Babe Ruth on Thursday as his top outing, as he notched an RBI and made key defensive plays to help spur his team’s victory.

Thompson, meanwhile said his best game was his team’s 8-5 win over American Legion on Thursday, where he was pleased with the defensive effort he showed at third base.

“My defense was the best [aspect] of my week, for sure,” Thompson said.

A big part of the experience for both Brady and Thompson was the chance to host a player from another state. Thompson’s family was joined for the week by Nick Berhel, who visited Cary from Benicia, Calif., and played with Thompson on the PONY team.

“It was like having a brother. We got close here at the end of the week,” Thompson said, joking that the Golden State native was taken aback at how many trees there are in North Carolina.

Thompson was also able to compare baseball notes with his temporary roommate from the opposite coast. “What he faces and what I face are two different worlds, competitionwise,” Thompson said.

Brady’s family also hosted a player. He got to spend time with teammate Louis Head from Katy, Texas, who is heading to play baseball at Texas Tech this fall.

In fact, what Brady called the most memorable part of the week was seeing Head earn an invite for the national trials. “Hopefully, down the road, we’ll see him out there and hopefully in the majors,” Brady said.

Brady still has a year left at Green Hope, and Thompson’s next stop will be in Greenville as he heads to play baseball for East Carolina next year.

Playing in a tournament of this magnitude for three years certainly has taught him a thing or two that he can use as he starts a new chapter with the Pirates.

Thompson said that playing against such top competition has helped him see where he can improve on discipline at the plate, boost his speed and get better reads on the ball.

“I have played against 144 of the best baseball players in the country, and knowing I’ll see them again in college, it’ll be fun,” Thompson said. “Seeing the pitching I saw, it helped me a lot this past week.”