MaxPreps Top 25 national high school baseball rankings

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The National High School Invitational will play a role in determining positions in next week's Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard, as four teams in this week's rankings will be competing.

No. 10 Walton, No. 12 Liberty Christian, No. 19 Flanagan and No. 21 Houston are all participating in the NHSI, which begins Wednesday in Cary, N.C. All four teams will look to improve their standing in the rankings with strong performances.

One team looking for a strong performance at the NHSI to get back into the rankings is Huntington Beach, which was one of three teams to drop out this week's rankings following losses to JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Marina (Huntington Beach, Calif.). Also dropping out this week were Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.) and Vestavia Hills (Ala.).

Flanagan is one three new teams this week. The other two are Flower Mound and Oxford.

Rankings include only teams that play in states where the baseball season has already begun or will begin in the next two weeks.


1. (last week 1) Coppell (Texas), 16-0
The Cowboys opened District 7-6A play with a pair of wins over Bell. In a 12-1 win, Charles King went five innings and struck out eight for the victory. Chris Burdine gave up just two hits and struck out eight in six innings of a 4-0 victory. Coppell has two big games this week against district rival Carroll (Southlake).

2. (4) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 14-0
The Mavericks outscored their opponents 34-6 last week to stay undefeated. In a 13-5 win over Cypress Bay, Adan Fernandez hit two home runs. Archbishop McCarthy also defeated Stranahan 10-0 and opened the High School Baseball Network March Madness Tournament with an 11-1 win over Mater Academy.

3. (6) Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.), 13-1
The Eagles won three times last week, including a 3-1 win over Port St. Lucie in the first round of the High School Baseball Network March Madness Tournament. Douglas also topped Deerfield Beach 8-2 and Coral Springs 2-0. John McKenna homered against Deerfield Beach while Brandon Kaminer struck out 10 against Coral Springs for the win.

4. (7) Providence (Charlotte, N.C.), 9-0
The Patriots won four times last week, including a key 8-6 win over perennial powerhouse Ardrey Kell (Charlotte). Logan Davidson went 3-for-4 with four RBIs in the victory, including a pair of doubles. Providence also topped East Mecklenburg (Charlotte) 13-3, Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology (Charlotte) 14-0 and Myers Park (Charlotte) 14-12.

5. (8) Rockledge (Fla.), 14-0
Rockledge won three times to stay undefeated. The Raiders topped Cocoa Beach 10-1, Bayside (Palm Bay) 5-0 and Deerfield Beach 9-2.

6. (9) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 10-0
The Bears opened Tri-River Athletic Conference play with a 4-0 win over Central (Fresno) in their only game of the week. Grant Gambrell picked up the win and went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in the victory. Buchanan participates in the Fresno Easter Classic this week.

7. (10) Clovis (Calif.), 11-0
Zac Whittaker threw a complete-game no-hitter in beating Clovis East 1-0 in Clovis' only game of the week. He struck out 13 and walked three in picking up his second career no-hitter. Clovis will compete in the Fresno Easter Classic this week.

8. (11) Madison (Vienna, Va.), 2-0
The Warhawks posted back-to-back 10-0 wins over Hayfield and Yorktown to open their season last week. Noz Honda threw five innings of one-hit ball to beat Yorktown and Matt Favero got the win against Hayfield. Madison plays in the Sarasota Classic this week.

9. (3) JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), 7-1
The Lions split two games with Huntington Beach, winning the first game 9-6 and falling in the second game 9-8. JSerra had just seven hits in the 9-6 victory, but one of them was a grand slam by Lyle Lin. In the second game, Royce Lewis was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Collin Quinn went 6.1 innings and struck out five in a 7-0 win over St. John Bosco (Bellflower) later in the week.

10. (13) Walton (Marietta, Ga.), 11-1
Walton won three more region games last week, beating Wheeler (Marietta) 11-1 and Lassiter (Marietta) 7-2 and 8-2. Christian Furr belted a home run in the win over Wheeler while Zac Kristofak went six innings and struck out six to get the 7-2 win over Lassiter. Jason Rooks hit one out and had three RBIs in the 8-2 win over Lassiter. Walton faces Pope Tuesday and then opens the National High School Invitational against Bingham (Utah) on Wednesday.

11. (14) Orange Lutheran (Calif.), 8-1
The Lancers claimed shutout wins over West Ranch (Valencia) 5-0 and Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) 6-0 last week and then took two from perennial Washington state championship contender Puyallup, 11-2 and 6-2. Aaron Kim hit a home run against Capistrano Valley. Chris Burica went six innings and struck out five in the 11-2 win over Puyallup.

12. (16) Liberty Christian (Lynchburg, Va.), 2-0
The Bulldogs head to the National High School Invitational with a 2-0 record after blanking Steward 8-0 and Benedictine 15-0. Liberty Christian will open with Florence at the NHSI.

13. (17) Katy (Texas), 16-0
The Tigers opened District 6A-19 play with a pair of 11-0 wins over Katy Taylor and Mayde Creek (Katy). Dane Haveman struck out 10 in posting a complete game shutout of Taylor. Against Mayde Creek, Grant Jackman was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

14. (21) Johnson (San Antonio), 13-1
The Jaguars downed San Antonio powerhouse Reagan 14-6 with Dalton Shuffield going 3-for-5 in the win. Shuffield also had three hits, including a double and a triple, in a 7-0 win over Roosevelt (San Antonio).

15. (23) South Caldwell (Hudson, N.C.), 7-0
The Spartans won three times last week, including a pair of conference wins. In a 6-3 win over Hickory, Rian Haire struck out nine in five innings for the victory. South Caldwell also beat West Caldwell (Lenoir) 7-3 and Freedom (Morganton) 4-2.

16. (24) Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), 14-1
The Bobcats won three times in District 6A-17 play last week, beating Cypress Lakes 11-1, and taking two from Cypress Ridge, 6-1 and 8-0.

17. (25) Bryant (Ark.), 4-0
The Hornets defeated White Hall 11-1 in their only game last week. Aaron Orender was 2-for-4 with a triple and a pair of RBIs.

18. (19) Westminster Christian (Miami), 13-2-1
The Warriors tied Killian (Miami) 7-7 last week and also knocked off American Heritage (Plantation) 7-3. Tyler Paige had a home run in the win. Westminster Christian plays in the Sarasota Classic this week.

19. (NR) Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), 13-1
The Falcons head into the National High School Invitational with just one loss on their record, a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Westminster Christian. Last week, Flanagan defeated Cypress Bay (Weston) 4-1 and North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek) 12-7.

20. (5) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 3-1
The Gaels opened the season with three straight wins before dropping the second half of a doubleheader with Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), 6-1. Bishop Gorman defeated Centennial (Las Vegas) 4-2, Legacy (North Las Vegas) 10-0 and Santa Margarita 3-2 before suffering the loss. All-American candidate Beau Capanna went 3-for-4 in the win over Centennial.

21. (12) Houston (Germantown, Tenn.), 3-1
The Mustangs won three straight games to open the season, beating Buckhorn (Ala.) 9-5, Olive Branch (Miss.) 10-0 and Christian Brothers (Memphis, Tenn.) 10-4, before falling to Arlington 7-4. Houston plays in the National High School Invitational this week with a first-round game against Allatoona.

22. (20) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 17-3
The Buccaneers bounced back from a 4-2 loss to Grace Christian (Alexandria, La.) to post four shutout wins: 6-0 over Southern Lab (Baton Rouge), 11-0 over Mamou, 12-0 over Anacoco and 10-0 over Calvary Baptist Academy (Shreveport).

23. (2) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 13-2
The Huskies dropped two games at the Arizona National Invitational Tournament at Horizon, falling to Corona del Sol (Tempe) 9-7 in eight innings. Hamilton also fell to Brophy College Prep (Phoenix), 11-1, but returned the favor with a 4-1 victory. Hamilton actually had a 7-3 win over tournament champion Canyon del Oro (Tucson) and defeated tournament host Horizon (Scottsdale) 4-2. Nick Brueser had a home run against Brophy College Prep for the Huskies' lone round-tripper of the tournament.

24. (NR) Flower Mound (Texas), 10-2
The Jaguars have a win over Cy-Fair the first week of the season. Flower Mound recently defeated Allen 8-2, Lewisville 6-0 and Hebron 5-4. The win over Hebron avenged one of Flower Mound's two losses.

25. (NR) Oak Grove (Hattiesburg, Miss.), 9-0
The Warriors are one of the few undefeated teams in Class 6A in Mississippi with a pair of recent wins over Petal by scores of 6-2 and 5-2.

Dropped out: No. 15 Huntington Beach (Calif.), No. 18 Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), No. 22 Vestavia Hills (Ala.).