MaxPreps Top 25 national high school baseball rankings

It didn't take long for a new team to emerge at the top of the Xcellent 25 Baseball Rankings.

Owasso (Okla.) takes over the top spot in the rankings after preseason No. 1 Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) dropped a pair of games during the first two weeks of its season. The Mavericks lost to Coral Gables and Cocunut Creek, and are 7-2 on the season. Archbishop McCarthy drops to No. 9 in this week's first regular season installment of the Xcellent 25.

See the 2014 Preseason Top 100 National Baseball Rankings

Owasso, meanwhile, has yet to play a game as it had its opener cancelled on Monday. The Rams sport a 36-game win streak and are the defending 6A state champions in Oklahoma. Owasso also finished the 2013 season ranked No. 2 in the Xcellent 25.



It was a rough first two weeks for several top-five teams in the Xcellent 25. No. 3 Cypress Ranch (Houston) has a loss to Klein on its schedule while No. 4 Venice (Fla.) lost its season opener to Lakewood Ranch. No. 5 Milton (Ga.) dropped a pair, including a 4-2 loss to Huntsville, a team it could meet again in the National High School Invitational later this month.

Three teams on the move include Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) and Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.). Barbe won its first four games in impressive fashion at the Sulphur Tournament while American Heritage is 7-0 heading into a Friday contest with Archbishop McCarthy. Buchanan is 6-0 against some of the top competition in the Fresno area.

Only two teams dropped out of the Xcellent 25 from the preseason rankings. They were Flower Mound (Texas) and Lake Brantley (Altamonte Springs, Fla.). They were replaced by O'Connor (Phoenix) and Westminster Christian (St. Louis).

1. (Preseason 2) Owasso (Okla.), 0-0
The Rams move up to No. 1 and have a 36-game win streak at stake when they open the regular season this week.

2. (6) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 4-0
Barbe opened the season with four straight wins at the Sulphur Tournament, including a 12-0 victory over West Monroe, the team that ousted the Buccaneers from last year's Class 5A state playoffs. Barbe also defeated Tioga 13-3, Jennings 14-2 and Neville 3-1.

3. (14) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 7-0
The Patriots make a big move up to No. 14 after an impressive start to the season that includes double-digit run totals in four of their wins. American Heritage plays Dillard tonight and has a big matchup with Archbishop McCarthy on Friday.



4. (15) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 6-0
The Bears are off to a strong start after going 6-0 in the Coca Cola Classic. Saturday's semifinal game against Redwood was cancelled, however, and the champion has yet to be crowned. Buchanan plays Rocklin on Thursday.

5. (7) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 0-0
Opens season today vs. Westlake at Eaton tournament.

6. (8) Roberson (Asheville, N.C.), 1-0
Roberson opened the season with a close win over West Henderson, 4-3, last week. It will play Erwin today.

7. (11) Gainesville (Ga.), 1-0
Potential first-round draft pick Michael Gettys tossed a shutout and struck out 11 in leading the Red Elephants to an 8-0 win over North Gwinnett in their season opener.

8. (12) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 1-0
The Lancers have a brutal early season schedule, but got off on the right foot with a 4-3 win over Palo Alto on Saturday. St. Francis will play Campolindo (Moraga, Calif.) today, followed by games against Elk Grove on March 8, De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) on March 11 and Pacific Grove on March 15.

9. (1) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 8-1
The Mavericks fell from their spot at No. 1 after falling to undefeated Coral Gables 8-3. The Mavericks could rebound this weekend with a win over American Heritage.



10. (9) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 0-0
Opens season March 20 vs. O'Connor at Coach Bob Invitational in Arizona.

11. (10) Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati), 0-0
Opens season March 22 vs. Centerville.

12. (28) The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.), 8-0
One of the top small schools in the country, The First Academy is off to a tremendous start with wins over much larger squads from Sarasota and Lakeland.

13. (16) DeSoto Central (Southaven, Miss.), 2-0
DeSoto Central opened its season on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Center HIll, 11-1 and 11-2. Austin Riley threw four innings and struck out eight in the 11-2 victory and also went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double.

14. (4) Venice (Fla.), 5-1
After opening the season with a 5-3 loss to Lakewood Ranch, the Indians appear back on track with five wins in a row, including three by shutout. Big test looms on Friday with Jesuit (Tampa) coming to town.

15. (3) Cypress Ranch (Houston), 7-1-1
Cypress Ranch lost once to Klein at the Cypress Falls Tournament and had a tie with San Angelo Central at the Fort Bend Tournament. Over the weekend it defeated Fort Bend Travis, Ridget Point and Memorial (Houston).



16. (20) Moody (Corpus Christi, Texas), 7-1
Moody slipped up last week with a 5-3 loss to Milby, but bounced back by winning its own tournament over the weekend with wins over Sharyland and Carroll (Corpus Christi) along the way.

17. (23) Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), 1-0
Parkview opened the season with a 5-3 win over Collins Hill. It has two tough games this week against Marist and Lassiter.

18. (13) Blue Valley West (Stilwell, Kan.), 0-0
Opens season April 1 vs. Blue Valley Southwest.

19. (19) Hanover (Mechanicsville, Va.), 0-0
Opens season March 7 vs. Lake Taylor.

20. (20) Mount Carmel (Chicago), 0-0
Opens season March 27 vs. Brooks College Prep.

21. (21) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 0-0
Opens season March 11 vs. La Costa Canyon.



22. (22) ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 0-0
Opens season March 11 vs. Rangeview.

23. (39) O'Connor (Phoenix), 3-0
Corey Wilson and Jake Hatfield combined on a five-inning shutout in a 10-0 win over Kofa. The Eagles also picked up wins over Williams Field and Corona del Sol to begin the season.

24. (26) Westminster Christian (St. Louis), 0-0
Opens season March 25 vs. Parkway North.

25. (5) Milton (Ga.), 3-2
Milton struggled in its first week, losing to Peachtree Ridge 4-3 and also falling in an out-of-state battle with Huntsville (Ala.), 4-2. The Eagles picked up a 3-2 win over Redan in a game featuring two teams that won state titles last year.

Dropped Out: No. 17 Flower Mound (Texas), No. 18 Lake Brantley (Altamonte Springs, Fla.)