MaxPreps 2015 Nevada preseason baseball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard

1. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
2014 finish: 25-5
Head coach: Gino DiMaria

The Gaels lost Nick Day as head coach last season. He went 133-23 as a head coach and earned a No. 1 national ranking by USA Today in 2012. Gino DiMaria, a longtime summer baseball coach in Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Sun, replaces Day. He inherits a team that has not won a state title the past two seasons after winning five in a row between 2008-12. However, the Gaels begin the season with a roster very capable of winning a state title. All-American candidate Cadyn Grenier (.500, 27 RBIs) anchors the defense at shortstop while Brandon Wulff (.478, 12 home runs) leads the outfield. The Gaels have a veteran staff led by Jack Little (3-1), sophomore Matt Mitchell (7-1), Alex Perron (4-1) and Chase Maddux (1-0), son of MLB Hall of Famer Greg Maddux.

View last season's Nevada baseball rankings, presented by the Army National Guard

2. Cimarron-Memorial (Las Vegas)
2014 finish: 20-10
Head coach: Mike Hubel



The Spartans did not reach the state playoffs last year, but they do have one of the deepest returning pitching staffs of any team in Nevada. Larry Quaney returns after going 5-2 with a 2.59 ERA last year while sophomore Noah Parker went 3-0 and seniors Tyler Giovinco and Niko Decolati had three and two wins respectively. The offense also looks solid with seven returning players with over 50 at-bats last year. Decolati batted .414 with eight home runs while outfielder Adam Mitchell batted .408 with 38 RBIs. Trevor Lippard also had a strong junior season, batting .436.

View last season's Nevada baseball playoff brackets

3. Liberty (Henderson)
2014 finish: 30-5
Head coach: Nick Didier

The defending Division I state champions will miss league MVP Jesse Keiser, who has graduated, but the Patriots have at least four other players who earned all-league honors. Nick Rush, a catcher, earned All-Sunrise Region second team honors while first baseman Justin Lutes and outfielder Preston Pavlica made the All-Southeast League second team.

View last season's Nevada baseball stat leaders

4. Centennial (Las Vegas)
2014 finish: 25-10
Head coach: Charles Cerrone



The Bulldogs reached the Division I state championship game, but fell to Liberty and finished second in the state. Cooper Powell, the Gatorade State Player of the Year, has graduated, but Travis Stevens (.340) returns along with junior Hayden Grant (.320). Centennial has won at least 20 games in five of the past seven seasons.

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5. Faith Lutheran (Las Vegas)
2014 finish: 29-5
Head coach: Blair Neagle

The Crusaders have won back-to-back Class 1A state championships and have won over 28 games in each of the past two years. Although state MVP Erich Uelmen has graduated, Faith Lutheran returns several starters from last year, including juniors Josh Harmonay and Zach Trageton, along with senior Greg Sylvester.