MaxPreps 2015 Northern California Preseason Baseball Top 25 Rankings

The high school baseball season is here, and the power-packed sections include the Central Coast, the North Coast and the Sac-Joaquin with draft prospects and college commits everywhere.


1. College Park (Pleasant Hill) 27-3 Last season
Section: North Coast
League: Diablo Valley
Update: A dominating pitching staff makes this one of the top teams in the country, headed by draft prospect Joe DeMers (12-2 last season) and Chris Brown (11-1), a UC Davis commit. Other returners include IF Willie MacIver and outfielders Nick Oar (Stanford), Trevor Larnach (Oregon State) and Jeffrey Mitchell (Cal). Big early game is against No. 3 De La Salle.

2. Elk Grove 27-6
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The longtime SJS powers have the most experienced team in veteran coach Jeff Carlson's storied career, including infielders Nick Madrigal (Oregon State), Carlos Moseley, Brooks Day and Dylan Carlson (Fullerton), son of the coach. The pitching staff is strong with Chris Martin, Ty Madrigal and Austin Del Chiaro. An early big game is against No. 3 De La Salle.

3. De La Salle (Concord) 21-7
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The defending NCS Division I champions return ace Justin Hooper (UCLA), OF Michael McAdoo (UC Santa Barbara), C Andrew Schatz and infielders Myles Coston, Blake Ogburn and Kevin Sandri. An early big game is against No. 2 Elk Grove.



4. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 24-7
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: Five starters return from the defending league champions, headed by ace Kris Bubic (Stanford). Other leaders include infielders 1B Tommy Hudson, Brooks Allen and Max Werner and C/OF Joe Cahn.

5. Saint Francis (Mountain View) 26-5
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: The Lancers reside in one of the most competitive leagues in the state, and they have averaged 25 wins over the past six seasons with a title in 2013. Infielders Conor Thane (St. Mary's), Andrew Martinez (UCLA) and Giuseppe Benedetti are joined by catcher Kevin Glajchen and pitcher Andrew Carter as key returners.

6. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 18-10
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Update: Realigned from the Delta League, the Trojans are a team of talent and tradition, headed by a 1-2 staff of Ryan Sullivan (Fresno State) and Kyle Lucke (UC San Diego). The hitters include Logan Denholm (UC Davis) and Jake Hathaway (San Francisco), Tyson Solis and Chris Roppolo.

7. San Ramon Valley (Danville) 20-8
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: Battle-tested in one of the best leagues in Northern California, the Wolves reached the NCS Division I finals last season, falling to rival De La Salle. There is a lot of experience in the infield with Nick Poirier, Alex Tsuruda (BYU) and Ryan Weisenberg (Georgetown).

8. Jesuit (Carmichael) 15-10-1
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The longtime powers under coach Joe Potulny just missed out on the playoffs last season, a rarity. The Marauders are led by versatile star Tanner Dodson (Cal) and utility Darren Baker, son of former Giants manager Dusty Baker. Chris Loeb (Oregon State) is out with an arm/shoulder injury.

9. Valley Christian (San Jose) 22-11
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: The Warriors are always in the mix in the WCAL, perhaps the toughest league in all of NorCal, or right there with the Delta League in Sacramento. The bats include Keenan Brigman (UOP), Dalton Craig (Navy) and Kyle Marinconz (Cal Poly).



10. Franklin (Elk Grove) 20-11
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: A playoff factor in the SJS since the program was founded by Mike Cody, now an assistant coach to Brian Kilby, the Wildcats feature one of the state's top infielders in Hank LoForte (Fullerton), a four-year starter and lead-off man. Damien Chavez at 2B makes for a strong infield.

11. St. Mary's (Stockton) 21-15
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Tri-County
Update: Longtime powers in the SJS, the Rams made a smooth transition from coach Pete Pijl to Rob Slena. The INF is strong with Cade Peters (Air Force) and Ripken Reyes (Cal) and the OF is anchored by Jarron Silva (UCLA).

12. San Benito (Hollister) 22-7
Section: Central Coast
League: Monterey Bay
Update: The Haybalers lost to Mitty 4-3 in the CCS Open Division playoffs and expect a return and better results behind returning hitters Zackry Moeller and Junior Rodriguez.

13. Campolindo (Moraga) 20-5
Section: North Coast
League: Diablo Foothill
Update: The Cougars are a power in all sports, winning a CIF State Bowl in football with Adam Remotto, now the catcher here, and doing well in basketball. Max Flower (Cal) can pitch and play outfield and INF Connor McNally (Utah) and OF Ben Skinner (Harvard) are leaders.

14. Davis 22-13-1
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The defending SJS Division I champions are in the same league with ranked Elk Grove, Jesuit, Franklin and Pleasant Grove. Kris Prince is the new ace and few players in the state are better leaders and talents than SS Ryan Kreidler (UCLA).

15. Leland (San Jose) 23-9
Section: Central Coast
League: Mount Hamilton Athletic
Update: The defending CCS Open champions expect another run behind C Brendt Citta (San Jose State), Kevin Cance and Josh Wells. The new ace is Jake Dermer.



16. Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose) 26-8
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: The Bells hail from the power-packed WCAL with rivals such as Saint Francis, Mitty, Valley Christian and Serra. The sluggers are Nick Bellafronto (Stanford) and John Helmers. The new ace is Sid Iyer.

17. Casa Grande (Petaluma) 16-11
Section: North Coast
League: North Bay
Update: The Gauchos reached the NCS D-III playoffs last season again and expect another title run. The bats include Chris Joaquim (Cal) and Spencer Torkelson (ASU) and the aces are Jon Christy and Eric Parnow.

18. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 21-5
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: New coach Rusty McLain is a familiar old face in the region, having won championships at Rio Americano and Elk Grove in years past. Dalton Gomez is the ace. The league features rivals Elk Grove, Franklin, Davis and Jesuit, all NorCal ranked.

19. Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 16-9
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The Dons won NCS titles in 2010 and 2013 and like their chances at another run behind hitters Jake McIntosh and Steven Nice. The EBAL also includes De La Salle and San Ramon Valley.

20. Serra (San Mateo) 16-12
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: The Padres have a strong hitting lineup that features Angelo Bortolin (Loyola Marymount), James Outman (Sacramento State) and Christopher Papapietro (UOP).

21. Vintage (Napa)
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Monticello Empire
Update: Expected to battle rival Vacaville for league honors, the Crushers should return to the SJS Division I playoffs behind ace Aaron Shortridge.



22. Rocklin 18-13
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Update: A longtime SJS Division II power, the Thunder have moved up seamlessly into D-I under founding program coach Roc Murray. The experience is headed by A.J. Sauer, Dylan Smethurst and Gage Sorenson. The SFL is headed by NorCal ranked Oak Ridge.

23. Milpitas 16-11-1
Section: Central Coast
League: DeAnza
Update: Not just a football school as the Trojans expect another run in the CCS Division I playoffs. The staff includes Miguel Gonzalez, Sid Navales, and Dareon Lopez.

24. Granite Bay 15-12
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Update: The longtime SJS Division II powers are just as formidable in the D-1 races now under founding program coach Pat Esposito. Leading players include P Nick Frank and OF Jordan Vujovich.

25. Heritage (Brentwood) 16-9
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Update: The Patriots reached the NCS Division I playoffs last season and expect a return behind leading hitters Kevin Milam and Jake Cruce and pitchers Lorenzo Gomez and Matt Pulos.

Watch The Bee Preps Show on the top baseball teams and players in the Sac-Joaquin Section

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. He co-hosts with Mike Finnerty the weekly Bee Preps Show that airs on ComcastSportsNet California and can be found on sacbee.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD and through facebook.com/sacbeepreps.