High School Baseball: Wild week ahead in Florida could provide major shakeup for MaxPreps Top 25

The MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball rankings could drastically different next week thanks to a number of big games pitting some of the top teams in the nation, all of them from Florida.

No. 2 Jesuit (Tampa) has a tough slate as it takes on Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.) and No. 6 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). The Ascenders, meanwhile, take on small-school powerhouse Canterbury prior to the Jesuit matchup. No. 4 Stoneman Douglas, meanwhile, tangles with No. 12 Calvary Christian Academy in one week.

Those matchups will have heavy influence on the rankings in the coming week, as will the final two matchups between No. 1 Buford (Ga.) and No. 25 Winder-Barrow. Although the Bulldogs lost the first game to the top-ranked Wolves, they will likely throw All-American Brady House in one of the final two games of the three-game series providing Buford's toughest test so far this season.

Dropped out: Sam Houston (Lake Charles, La.), Pioneer (Mission, Texas), Braddock (Miami, Fla.).



Game of the Week: Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) 6, Pinnacle, 5. The Huskies rallied from a 5-3 deficit with two runs in the top of the seventh and then scored the winning run in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly.

Player of the Week: Jay Dill, Baylor. Dill homered four times in five wins for Baylor and drove in 12 runs.

Recruit Watch: Braden Montgomery, Madison Central. The All-America candidate had a double, triple and home run in one game last week and also picked up a pitching win.

Game to Watch: Buford vs. Winder-Barrow. Although Buford defeated Winder-Barrow in their first matchup on Monday, the Bulldogs got to Wolves' starter Dylan Lesko for four runs on five hits. Winder-Barrow is likely to give No. 1 Buford its toughest test for the remainder of the regular season.
MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball rankings

1. Buford (Ga.)
Record: 26-0 | Last week: 1
Results: Def. Brookwood, 8-1; def. Winder-Barrow, 8-4.
Stats: Dylan Lesko had three hits and Riley Stanford had a home run against Brookwood. Lesko also struck out seven to get the win over Winder-Barrow.
Next: Wed./Fri. vs. Winder-Barrow

2. Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 19-1 | Last week: 2
Results: Def. Tampa Catholic, 6-1; def. Lakeland, 8-0; def. Jefferson, 8-2.
Stats: Dominic Castellano struck out nine against Tampa Catholic. Jake Kulikowski and Bradke Lohry each homered against Jefferson.
Next: Fri. vs. Calvary Christian

3. Madison Central (Madison, Miss.)
Record: 22-0 | Last week: 3
Results: Def. Warren Central, 16-3, 13-2. def. Clinton, 11-3.
Stats: Braden Montgomery had a double, triple and home run and Hunter Hines added a home run in the first game. Montgomery also had a triple in the second game. Montgomery had three hits and got the win against Clinton.
Next: Fri./Sat. vs. Clinton



4. Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
Record: 20-1 | Last week: 4
Results: Def. Westminster Academy, 9-1, def. American Heritage, 11-1.
Stats: Roman Anthony had two home runs against Westminster and one against American Heritage.
Next: April 21 vs. Calvary Christian Academy.

5. Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)
Record: 9-1 | Last week: 5
Results: Def. Brophy College Prep, 14-7; def. Pinnacle, 6-5.
Stats: Roch Cholowsky and Gavin Turley each hit a double and a home run against Brophy College Prep. Josh Tiedemann had two doubles against Pinnacle and Brock Selvidge struck out 12.
Next: Wed. vs. Liberty (Peoria); Fri. vs. Desert Ridge (Mesa).

6. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Record: 21-2 | Last week: 7
Results: Def. Central Pointe Christian Academy, 7-0; def. Inspiration Academy, 7-3.
Stats: Stone Russell hit a home run against Central Pointe. Jackson Ferris struck out seven in the win. Mason Albright struck out 12 against Inspiration.
Next: April 19 vs. Canterbury; April 20 vs. Jesuit.

7. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 28-2 | Last week: 8
Results: Def. Acadiana, 10-3; def. Comeaux, 6-0; def. Anacoco, 1-0; def. Comeaux, 6-0.
Stats: Gavin Guidry struck out eight against Acadiana.
Next: Thur./Sat. vs. Lafayette.

8. Lake Travis (Austin, Texas)
Record: 24-2-2 | Last week: 11
Results: Def. Del Valle, 4-0, 10-3; def. Bowie, 7-3.
Stats: Ethan Calder struck out 13 in the first game and he had a double in the second game. He also got the win with eight strikeouts against Bowie.
Next: Fri. vs. Bowie.

9. St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
Record: 8-0 | Last week: 13
Results: Def. Brother Rice, 15-1; def. University Liggett, 12-6
Stats: Ciaran Caughey had 10 strikeouts and Ike Irish hit a home run against Brother Rice. Irish also hit a home run against University and Nolan Schubart had a double and a home run.
Next: Wed. vs. Divine Child (DH).



10. Friendswood (Friendswood, Texas)
Record: 20-0 | Last week: 14
Results: Def. Lee (Baytown), 12-0.
Next: Fri. vs. Manvel.

11. Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Record: 19-1 | Last week: 15
Results: Def. West, 7-0, 7-1; def. Knoxville Catholic, 8-6. def. Lenoir City, 3-2.
Stats: Hudson Seiglar homered and Parker Evans had two doubles in the first game and Bryce Burkey went 3-for-4 with a double in the second game against West.
Next: Wed. vs. Heritage.

12. Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Record: 16-3-1 | Last week: 6
Results: Tied Trinity Christian Academy, 4-4; lost to Doral Academy, 5-4; def. Braddock, 6-0.
Stats: Rene Lastres and Alex Ulloa each hit a home run in the 10-inning tie against Trinity Christian.
Next: Fri. vs. Bolles; Sat. vs. St.Johns Country Day.

13. Reagan (San Antonio, Texas)
Record: 24-3 | Last week: 16
Results: Def. MacArthur 11-0 and Madison, 11-1; def. Clark, 8-0.
Stats: Stayton Ankrom had a grand slam against Madison and Hogan Heller also homered. Jacob Burcham had a double and a home run against Clark.
Next: Fri. vs. Brandeis.

14. Thousand Oaks (Calif.)
Record: 8-0 | Last week: 17
Results: Did not play
Next: Thur. vs. Newbury Park.

15. Hewitt-Trussville (Trussville, Ala.)
Record: 25-2 | Last week: 18
Results: Def. Gadsden City, 5-1. def. Vestavia Hills, 9-1.
Next: Thur. vs. Vestavia Hills



16. Auburn (Ala.)
Record: 25-2 | Last week: 19
Results: Def. Carrollton, 11-1.
Stats: Ryan Austin and Riley Austin each hit a home run and Will Turner had two doubles against Carrollton.
Next: Wed./Thur. vs. Smiths Station.

17. Carrollton (Ga.)
Record: 25-2 | Last week: 9
Results: lost to Auburn, 11-1; def. Alexander, 12-1; def. Norcross, 10-3. def. Alexander, 8-3; def. East Paulding, 8-1.
Stats: Eli Runyan hit a home run against got the win against Alexander. He added a double and triple against Norcross. Colton Cosper and Samuel Simpson each hit home runs against Alexander.
Next: Fri. vs. East Paulding.

18. Bryant (Ark.)
Record: 16-1 | Last week: 21
Results: def. Conway, 6-4.
Stats: Ryan Riggs had a home run and three RBI in the win.
Next: Fri. vs. Northside.

19. Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Record: 12-2 | Last week: 22
Results: Def. McMinn County, 9-0; def. Christian Academy of Knoxville, 3-0; def. Silverdale Academy, 8-2; def Chattanooga Christian, 13-0, 17-1.
Stats: Henry Godbout hit two home runs and Jay Dill had one against McMinn County. Daniel Corona had two doubles against CAK. Corona, Dill and Hunter Herndon all hit one out against Silverdale. Corona and Dill both hit a home run against Chattanooga Christian in the first game and Dill, Godbout and Carson Yates each hit one out in the second game.
Next: Thur. vs. Chattanooga Christian.

20. Rancho Bernardo (San Diego, Calif.)
Record: 11-0 | Last week: NR
Results: Def. LaJolla, 3-0; def. Torrey Pines, 12-0.
Stats: Trent Abel had three hits and a home run against Torrey Pines.
Next: Wed. vs. Carlsbad; Fri. vs. Sage Creek.

21. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)
Record: 9-1 | Last week: NR
Results: Def. Birmingham, 6-2; def. Damien, 10-1; def. Harvard-Westlake, 9-5.
Stats: Casey Borba had two doubles against Harvard-Westlake. 
Next: Wed. vs. Redondo Union



22. Fort Zumwalt West (O'Fallon, Mo.)
Record: 16-1 | Last week: NR
Results: Def. Fort Zumwalt South, 10-3; def. Vianney, 6-5; def. Troy Buchanan, 8-1.
Next: Wed. vs. Troy Buchanan.

23. Seymour (Tenn.)
Record: 22-1 | Last week: 20
Results: Def. William Blount, 9-4; lost to Maryville, 7-3; def. Heritage, 5-3; def. Roane County, 16-2; def. Tennessee, 4-3.
Stats: Adam Quincy went 3-for-4 with a double against William Blount. AJ Berry had two doubles against Roane County.
Next: Sat. at Grace Christian Academy

24. Gregory-Portland (Portland, Texas)
Record: 23-2-1 | Last week: 12
Results: Def. Moody, 4-2; lost to Carroll, 10-0. lost to Veterans Memorial, 2-0.
Stats: Malachi Lott had a double and got the pitching win against Moody.
Next: Fri. vs. Flour Bluff; Sat. vs. Victoria West.

25. Winder-Barrow (Winder, Ga.)
Record: 19-2 | Last week: 23
Results: Def. Mountain View, 8-3; lost to Buford, 8-4.
Stats: Brady House had a home run against Mountain View and two doubles against Buford.
Next: Wed./Fri. vs. Buford.