MaxPreps Southern California Top 25 baseball rankings

Some rankings use potential. Some use rosters.

These MaxPreps Southern California Baseball Rankings will use a little bit of everything to determine which teams from the southern part of the state are worthy of being in the Top 25.

A loaded roster isn't enough. Wins and losses on the field mean a lot here, and that is why you will see the order here differ from the Xcellent 25 or the rankings of local media like the Los Angeles Times and U-T San Diego. Also, the rankings will reflect week-to-week wins and losses.

To begin things, Granite Hills is our top pick for Southern California, which for the purposes of the rankings includes the San Diego, Southern, Los Angeles City and Central sections. Granite Hills is lower than some of the other SoCal teams in the Xcellent 25 but we feel its win over Cathedral Catholic tells a story.

The MaxPreps Freeman Rankings will add another element to the rankings. The Freeman Rankings, done by computer, will come out some time in mid-to late April.

MaxPreps Southern California Baseball Rankings

1. Granite Hills (El Cajon), 9-1
Differing from the Xcellent 25, we think the Eagles are the top team in the area right now. The most recent Xcellent 25 shows three Southern California teams ahead of Granite Hills, ranked 17th. We beg to differ. The Eagles lost 6-2 to Rancho Bernardo to open the season, and now have run off nine straight victories, including a 4-0 shutout of Cathedral Catholic and a 1-0 win over Rancho Bernardo to avenge that sole loss. A 10-1 victory over Chaminade (West Hills) opened the San Diego Lions tourney Monday and games against Vista and Coronado await, plus one TBA before Monday's date with Valhalla.

2. Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 6-1 (5-0 Trinity League)
The Monarchs are ranked 14th in the Xcellent 25 and are headed to the National High School Invitational for Wednesday's opener against Tullahoma (Tenn.). Three more games will follow at the prestigious event. Mater Dei's sole loss was 1-0 to St. Mary's of Stockton, which has a poor record but has played a brutal schedule, yet avenged it in the second half of a doubleheader. Mater Dei also has a nice 7-0 win over Orange Lutheran.

3. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 7-1
The Dons are the highest-ranked SoCal team in the Xcellent 25, sitting sixth behind the pitching of Stephen Gonsalves. Their 4-0 loss to Granite Hills is the major stumbling point, and we agree with the San Diego Union Tribune that Granite Hills deserves a higher rank. However, they have a huge chance to move up this week at the NHSI, which begins Wednesday against Grayson (Loganville, Ga.).

4. Buchanan (Clovis), 12-0-1 (3-0 Tri-Rivers League)
The Central Section has a beast in the Bears, ranked ninth in the Xcellent 25. They will play in the Boras Baseball Classic beginning Tuesday against Rio Americano (Sacramento) and will seek to stay undefeated. Jack Wheeless is 5-0 already, and the lone blemish on their schedule is a season-opening tie with Hoover (Fresno). Buchanan has outscored opponents 114-20 since that game, including a 1-0 triumph over Central (Fresno).

5. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City), 9-2 (2-2 Mission League)
The Wolverines are headed back to the NHSI, where they will face Eustis (Fla.) Wednesday. They just can't seem to beat the same team twice yet, as Harvard-Westlake lost the second half of back-to-backs against Loyola and Crespi this season. They have shutouts over Valencia and Chaminade and have only yielded 18 runs in 11 contests this season, an indicator that this team can still climb higher.

6. Canyon (Anaheim), 7-1 (2-1 Century League)
The Comanches split with El Dorado this past week, winning 6-2 and losing 2-1. An 8-2 triumph over Fountain Valley earlier this year is a big plus. One game with El Modena and two with Brea-Olinda await this week. Canyon has been finding ways to win close games, something that can only help as the season continues. The Los Angeles Times ranks Canyon behind Fountain Valley but the Orange County Register has them flip-flopped. We agree with the OC Register.

7. Fountain Valley, 9-1 (3-0 Century League)
The loss to Canyon doesn't hurt too much, and victories over Cypress (5-4) and El Toro (5-0) are a big help for the Barons. Edison and Marina are on the schedule this week in Sunset League play.

8. Bonita (La Verne), 9-1 (2-0 Hacienda League)
A 6-5 win over Cypress and the top billing in the D-III coaches rankings have the Bearcats feeling good. They will head to Wilson (Long Beach) and the Anaheim Lions tournament coming up. Their only loss is 6-1 to South Hills. They have allowed 23 runs in 10 contests thus far.

9. Cypress, 7-3
A doubleheader sweep of El Toro and a triumph over Long Beach Poly helped start the season with a five-game winning streak. Now things have become tougher, with the Centurions losing three of five, inlcuding to Bonita.

10. Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 7-2
The Broncos began their season with a 6-2 victory over Granite Hills and hung tough in a 1-0 loss in the rematch. Rancho Bernardo also beat Rancho Buena Vista 9-2 before dropping the rematch 3-2. They are showing they can beat great teams and then stay close in losses in the rematches. They are in the San Diego Lions Tournament.

11. El Toro (Lake Forest), 7-4 (3-0 South Coast League)
The Chargers have lost twice to Cypress, and also fell to Fountain Valley and Long Beach Poly. They have a 4-0 shutout of Capistrano Valley on their resume, and will face Tesoro and Chaminade this week. El Toro is ranked 11th by the LA Times and fourth by the OC Register, but coaches poll has them 10th in Division I.

12. Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo), 10-3 (1-1 South Coast League)
The Cougars suffered a brutal 10-0 loss to Marina in the first half of a doubleheader about two weeks ago but bounced back in the nightcap with an 11-6 victory. That 10-0 loss is pretty glaring right now, though the Times and OC Register have the Cougars at fourth and fifth, respectively, while the coaches poll has them sixth in D-I. They have a 4-0 loss to El Toro and an 8-5 setback to Long Beach Poly along with a 3-2 victory over Orange Lutheran.

13. St. Augustine (San Diego), 10-0
What a year it has been at St. Augustine. The basketball team won a state title and the baseball team is undefeated. They haven't faced the top of the heap but they are winning and playing great baseball. The Saints are in the San Diego Lions Tournament and took care of Roosevelt (Los Angeles) 12-3 in the opener. They are averaging more than eight runs per game. We could see this team climbing higher quickly.

14. Nogales (La Puente), 11-0 (1-0 Valle Vista League)
The difficult schedule may not be there, but the Nobles have been perfect this season. They are ranked No. 7 by the Times and are No. 2 in the D-IV coaches poll. Finding ways to win in high school baseball is extremely admirable. They swept a doubleheader from Duarte over the weekend and before that took a tight 2-1 victory over Baldwin Park. On Monday, they begin the Century Tournament against Segerstrom.

15. Chaminade (West Hills), 7-3 (1-1 Mission League)
Chaminade is ranked lower than Agoura in the coaches and LA Times polls, maybe due to some blowout losses. We think the Eagles are still worthy of being ahead of Agoura, as they won 7-3 earlier this year in a battle between the two. The Eagles have been blasted 11-0 by Harvard-Westlake and 10-1 by Granite Hills, plus they split a doubleheader with Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks). They are 14th in the LA Times rankings and ninth in the D-I coaches poll.

16. Agoura, 8-3 (4-0 Marmonte League)
The Chargers lost to Chaminade 7-3 and suffered a tight 2-1 setback to Quartz Hill and also lost 1-0 to West (Torrance) this season. They do own an 8-1 victory over Lakewood last week, the top team in the Long Beach Press-Telegram's rankings, and also have swept Royal and Newbury Park in league doubleheaders. The Times has Agoura fifth overall and the coaches poll has it seventh in D-I. Tyler Cohen is off to a great start with a .486 average and 11 runs scored.

17. Serra (Gardena), 10-3
The Cavaliers are heating up, winning five straight behind a 54-13 scoring margin. The roster is full of talent and should improve. A trip to the Anaheim Lions Tournament will give a great indicator of where Serra should end up. Losses to Mira Costa, Aliso Niguel and Downey have hurt their standing thus far, but the LA Times has the Cavaliers at 17th and they are the No. 2 D-III team in the coaches rankings.

18. Orange Lutheran, 8-4 (3-2 Trinity League)
The Lancers may have lost 7-0 to Mater Dei but at least they can say they swept St. Mary's (Stockton) in a doubleheader, something Mater Dei wasn't able to do. Still, the Lancers are not at the Monarchs' level. They are, however, pretty good, evidenced by No. 12 rankings by the LA Times and a No. 7 spot by the OC Register. Orange Lutheran has lost 3-2 to Capistrano Valley and 2-1 to Servite and 3-2 to Palm Desert, so its record could certainly be much better with a break here or there. Four games at the Hard 9 National Classic await, a chance to get some big wins.

19. Redlands East Valley, 11-1-1 (1-0 Citrus Belt League)
Redlands High won't be happy about this one, but even though REV lost to Redlands, we have the Wildcats ahead of the Terriers. Why? REV is ranked ninth by the LA Times, the loss to Redlands was tied at three entering the final inning before Redlands scored six times, and two stud pitchers in Matt Garcia (20 2/3 scoreless innings) and David Barela (a 0.85 ERA in 24 2/3 innings). The rematch with Redlands is Thursday.

20. Redlands, 8-2 (1-0 Citrus Belt League)
The LA Times left out Redlands. And time will tell whether that is the right call. But their win over Redlands East Valley is enough to make it in these rankings, not to mention a No. 1 coaches ranking in Division II. Redlands beat a very good Clovis team from the Central Section earlier this year, 2-1. Jimmy Walker has 16 RBIs already.

21. Valencia, 8-3 (3-1 Foothill League)
The Vikings' 1-0 loss to Harvard-Westlake doesn't look bad one bit, and a 4-3 setback to Saugus isn't terrible, either. A 9-1 win over Oaks Christian (ranked No. 1 in the D-IV coaches poll) is nice, as is an 8-5 win over West Ranch in league play. A tournament matchup with Agoura awaits. Valencia is No. 5 in the D-I coaches poll.

22. Quartz Hill, 8-5
This is a team that's taking on the nation's best, so some losses are to be expected. The Rebels went to the Coach Bob National Invitational and lost 10-0 to Edmond Santa Fe (Okla.), 3-1 to O'Connor (Phoenix) and 7-6 to Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas). Crespi and Saugus have nipped Quartz Hill as well. Still, this team is No. 22 in the LA Times rankings and fourth in the D-III coaches poll, and has wins over Loyola and Agoura.

23. Vista Murrieta (Murrieta), 7-3 (2-1 Southwestern League)
The Broncos have tight losses to Canyon and El Dorado, plus wins over San Clemente and Murrieta Valley. And they are ranked No. 15 by the LA Times behind Tyler Russell, who has a 0.65 ERA in 32 1/3 innings pitched to go with 26 strikeouts. They have Murrieta Mesa and then Oaks Christian next on the schedule.

24. South Hills (West Covina), 7-2 (2-1 Sierra League)
The Huskies split with Northview earlier this year so what gets them in over Northview is a 6-1 victory over Bonita earlier this year. An 8-7 loss to Charter Oak makes them iffy for the rankings but they have enough to stay in for now. They will be heading to the Anaheim Lions Tournament so the Huskies will get a good test next week.

25. Clovis North (Fresno), 13-3 (2-1 Tri-Rivers League)
These Broncos from the Central Section are the pick right now, but it looks like a well-balanced group among the CIFCS big schools. Clovis North gets the nod with an earlier win over Bullard, which beat Clovis and hung tough with Buchanan, and a 7-0 triumph over Redlands. Clovis North did lose to Clovis (4-3) and Bakersfield (2-1), so this spot is definitely in flux. The Fresno Easter Classic is going on right now.