MaxPreps 2015 Preseason Baseball Top 10 Rankings: No. 10 Winter Haven

VIDEO: Winter Haven Blue Devils
A look at the No. 10 team heading into the spring.


Former Toronto Blue Jays catcher Pat Borders is one of only four individuals in the world to win a World Series championship and an Olympic Gold Medal. In 2015, he'd like to add a Florida Class 6A state championship to that list.

Borders has reason to be excited. Although he loses his top pitcher from last year, Borders returns every position player along with three other pitchers who saw time on the mound. That kind of experience makes Winter Haven the favorite to win the Class 6A state championship in 2015 and it also puts the Blue Devils at No. 10 in the MaxPreps Preseason Baseball Top 10 Rankings.

MaxPreps is counting down the top 10 teams in the Xcellent 25 Preseason National Baseball Rankings. The countdown concludes with a look at the top 100 teams in the country on Feb. 24.



See the Top 10 teams landing page here

View gallery of Winter Haven preseason photo shoot by photographer Marc Estrada

School size: Florida Class 6A


Enrollment: 1,870


2014 finish: 25-6, Class 6A runnerup


Head coach: Pat Borders




Career record: 55-14


Years at school: 4


Notable MLB players:

Charlie Manning (2008)

Jordan Shafer (2009-14)



No. of starters returning: 9



Top losses:

Trenton Gantt, 13-1, 1.67 ERA

Key returners:

Riley Johnson, C/IF, Senior

Michael Diaz, RHP/DH/1B, Senior

Luis Morales, SS, Senior, .402 batting average (39 for 97), 22 RBIs, 13 doubles, 1 home run.



Josh Olechnowicz, 1B, Senior, .333 batting average (29 for 87), 20 RBIs, 8 doubles, 1 home run.

Tobias Myers, 3B/RHP, Junior, .375 batting average (33 for 88), 23 RBIs, 10 doubles, 1 home run.

Rouglas Odor, CF, Junior, .429 batting average (36 for 84), 29 runs.

Casey Thomas, RHP, Junior, .337 batting average (28 for 83), 19 RBI, 9 doubles, 2 home runs, 3-1 pitching record.

Hunter Barberree, LHP, Senior, 2-1 pitching record, 3.20 ERA.

Dustin Baber, RHP, Junior, 2-1 pitching record, 4.14 ERA. Toughest game: The Blue Devils had a tough one right out of the gate with a matchup against Jesuit (Tampa) in the Jesuit Preseason Tournament. Winter Haven will also face the defending state champion Tigers on March 25 at home.



Local outlook: Winter Haven expects to get strong competition from Haines City and Lake Gibson. Haines City went 23-7 last season, which included a 13-0 win over Winter Haven. Lake Gibson went 14-12 and also posted a win over the Blue Devils.

Overall outlook: The Blue Devils are the likely favorite in Class 6A due to the high number of returning starters. However, perennial favorite Venice can't be counted out and defending champion Mater Academy Charter is also in the mix.

Pitching: The one name missing from the 2015 Winter Haven roster is an important one. Pitcher Trenton Gantt went 13-1 as a senior last year and had the most important win of the season: a 3-0 shutout win over returning state champion Venice in the Class 6A semifinals.

Winter Haven will try to replace Gantt with a trio of pitchers who saw action on the mound last year. Casey Thomas, a junior, was one of the team's top offensive players last year, but he also posted a 3-1 record on the mound. Meanwhile, Barberee and Baber, both juniors, each went 2-1. Diaz, a senior who did not have an official decision last year in five starts, also returns.

Defense: The defense behind the pitching should be solid with every fielder returning. Olechnowicz (Sr., .333 in 2014) is back at first base while Brant Howell (Jr., .319) returns at second base, Myers (Jr., .375) is back at third base and Morales (Sr., .402) is back at shortstop.

The outfield is equally solid with returning starters Odor (Jr., .429), Thomas (Jr., .337) and Brice Giles (Jr., .268) all back.



Winter Haven is also solid behind the plate, with Johnson returning from a junior season when he batted .389.

Coach quote: "We expect to make a deep run into the playoffs and compete for a state title." - Assistant coach Ryan Abrams