MaxPreps 2017 top 25 National High School Baseball Rankings

Video: Zach Holzhuter's highlights vs. Southlake Carroll
Watch the George Ranch standout from a game played earlier this month.

A pair of Oklahoma teams are making a strong run toward the top of the Xcellent 25 National High School Baseball Rankings.

Shawnee, the two-time Class 5A state champion, and Owasso, a Class 6A powerhouse, are both undefeated on the season and have moved into the top eight. Shawnee jumped four spots from No. 9 to No. 5 thanks to its 9-0 record. Meanwhile, Owasso went from No. 17 to No. 8 behind a 12-0 record and a strong showing in Florida.

North Gwinnett is the highest debuting team at No. 11 with a 15-0 record. Other teams joining the rankings this week include Lake Travis, Cathedral Catholic, Pinnacle, Mater Dei and Spanish Fort.


1. (Last week 1) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 10-0
Daniel Federman went five innings to get the win in a 7-1 victory over rival American Heritage (Plantation). Federman struck out seven and gave up three hits. Adan Fernandez was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer while Yordani Carmona had a double and pitched two shutout innings. The Mavericks also defeated Chiles (Tallahassee) 6-4 and Belen Jesuit (Miami) 4-1 during the week.



2. (2) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 11-0
Carson Olson, Jacob King and Kyle McKenney combined for a no-hitter in a 9-0 win over Central (Fresno) in Tri-Rivers Athletic Conference play. Miguel Ortiz was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs in the win. The Bears have won 24 straight games dating back to last season.

3. (5) Huntington Beach (Calif.), 7-0
The Oilers hit five home runs, including two by Nick Pratto, to knock off Los Alamitos 9-0. Hagen Danner had a home run and a double, while Ben McConnell had a double, triple and a home run. Cory Moore also went yard. Danner picked up the win, going four innings and allowing one hit with seven strikeouts.

4. (6) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 5-1
Besides sweeping Cypress 2-1 and 5-2, Orange Lutheran knocked off NorCal power De La Salle (Concord) 9-4. Garrett Mitchell went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBIs in the 5-2 win. Freshman Christian Rodriguez pitched four innings in the first game against Cypress, striking out six. 5. (9) Shawnee (Okla.), 9-0
Tanner Sparks hit for the cycle in a 15-5 win over Hilldale. He added seven RBIs and also went four innings on the mound with 10 strikeouts. He added a home run and a double and five RBIs in a 3-for-4 effort in a 22-9 win over Norman. Sparks is batting .625 with 27 RBIs and four home runs.

6. (10) Canterbury (Fort Myers, Fla.), 9-0
Tyler Shuck hit a home run and Sam Keating gave up three hits and struck out nine in a 10-0 win over Charlotte (Punta Gorda). Tyler Shuck and Levi Shuck each homered in a 12-1 win over Neumann (Naples). Tyler Shuck went six innings and gave up one hit with eight strikeouts in a 10-0 win over Evangelical Christian (Fort Myers).

7. (16) George Ranch (Richmond, Texas), 17-1
George Ranch sits atop the Texas High School Baseball Class 6A state rankings. The Longhorns won a pair of shutouts last week, beating Alief Hastings (Houston) 3-0 and Dawson (Pearland) 3-0.

8. (17) Owasso (Okla.), 12-0
The Rams made their annual trip to Florida and won their first four games, beating Osceola 7-6, Santa Fe Catholic 5-1, George Jenkins 7-3 and Lake Wales 4-3.

9. (19) Lake Brantley (Altamonte Springs, Fla.), 13-0
The Patriots continue to maintain one of the best records in the state of Florida after beating Wekiva (Apopka) 5-4 and 8-0.



10. (22) Oxford (Miss.), 12-1
The Chargers won the Oxford Spring Break Tournament and posted five wins during the week. They defeated Lafayette (Oxford) 8-4, Water Valley 11-1, Lake Cormorant 11-1, Clinton 6-5, and Briarcrest Christian (Eads) 7-6. Clark Stovall and Ben Bianco both have 15 RBIs on the season for Oxford.

11. (NR) North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.), 15-0
The Bulldogs have won more than 17 games just once in the past seven seasons, yet they are off to a 15-0 start in 2017. Parker Coyne leads the way with a .519 batting average with 19 RBIs and five doubles.

12. (NR) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 10-1-1
The Cavaliers are ranked No. 2 in the state Class 6A rankings by Texas High School Baseball. The only loss is a 7-5 defeat by Coronado (Lubbock) in late February. In district play last week, Lake Travis took three from Buda Hays, winning 4-1, 8-6 and 12-2.

13. (3) South Hills (West Covina, Calif.), 7-1
Following a 3-0 loss to an always strong Bonita (La Verne) program, South Hills rebounded with a 5-2 win over Claremont and a 12-0 win over West Covina. Brandon Dieter had a grand slam in the latter win.

14. (7) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 17-2
The Buccaneers lost early in the week to St. Louis Catholic by a 1-0 margin, but bounced back to beat Mamou 10-0, Anacoco 21-0, Southern Lab (Baton Rouge) 21-1, and Calvary Baptist Academy (Shreveport) 4-2.

15. (NR) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 6-0
The defending Open Division champions in the San Diego Section are off to a perfect start, including a 5-4 win over Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) in 10 innings. Danny Becerra hit a home run in the win.



16. (8) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 5-1
The Broncos topped Ramona 6-4 and Santanna (Santee) 10-3 before falling to Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 5-4 in 10 innings. Tyler Dean has been the top hitter for the Broncos so far, batting .571 with a pair of doubles and a home run.

17. (12) Allatoona (Acworth, Ga.), 13-2
The Buccaneers split their two games with Harrison last week, winning 3-2 and losing 2-1. Allatoona also defeated Sprayberry during the week 8-3. Kyle Jacobsen and David Smith both homered against Sprayberry. Jacobsen is batting .500 (19-for-38) with 18 RBIs, four doubles and two home runs.

18. (NR) Pinnacle (Phoenix), 13-1
The Pioneers won the Horizon National Invitational with a 3-2 win over Stillwater (Okla.). Pinnacle also has a win over Hamilton (Chandler) on March 8.

19. (13) Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 13-1-1
Horizon knocked off defending Colorado Class 5A state champion Cherokee Trail (Aurora) 5-2 and also beat Canyon Del Oro (Tucson) 9-5 before falling to Stillwater (Okla.) 4-1 in its own tournament. Rebounded to beat Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.) 9-5, and Edmond Santa Fe (Edmond, Okla.) 7-6.

20. (15) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 7-1
The Wolverines opened Mission League play by taking two of three from Alemany (Mission Hills). Won 7-5 and 8-4, but lost 4-0.

21. (NR) Spanish Fort (Ala.), 17-1
The Toros have won nine in a row since their lone loss of the season. Spanish Fort has quality wins over the likes of McGill-Toolen, Auburn, Fairhope and Thompson.



22. (NR) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 6-1
The Monarchs have solid wins over Damien, Esperanza and now De La Salle (Concord) after an 8-0 win last week. Only loss is to a strong Beckman (Irvine) team. Mater Dei faces a tough test this week against El Toro (Lake Forest).

23. (11) De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 5-2
The Spartans made their trip to Southern California and dropped a 9-4 game to Orange Lutheran (Orange) and an 8-0 contest to Mater Dei (Santa Ana). De La Salle did manage a 5-2 win over JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano).

24. (14) Oak Grove (Hattiesburg, Miss.), 12-1
Oak Grove suffered its first loss, falling to South Jones (Ellisville) 6-4. It also defeated Centereville Academy 8-3 and Columbia Academy 8-1.

25. (18) Columbus (Miami), 11-1
Although Columbus dropped a 1-0 contest to Braddock (Miami) for its first loss of the season, it also defeated Ferguson (Miami) 3-2 and American (Hialeah) 3-1 last week.

Dropped out: No. 4 Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.), No. 20 Venice (Fla.), No. 23 Basic (Henderson, Nev.), No. 21 Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), No. 24. Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.), No. 25 JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)