MaxPreps Top 50 national high school baseball rankings

Upsets were the norm last week and they created havoc in the MaxPreps Xcellent 50 National Baseball Rankings.

Thirteen new teams joined the national rankings this week as upsets in Arkansas, Ohio, California and particularly Texas caused a major overhaul of the Xcellent 50. Nowhere was that more evident than in the Lone Star State, where five of the top six teams in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 5A state rankings lost and were eliminated from the postseason. Additionally, the No. 1 team in the Class 4A rankings, Cleburne, was also eliminated.

In Ohio, unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Walsh Jesuit saw its season come to an early end with a loss to Hudson in the district playoffs. Likewise in California, St. Francis lost to Bellarmine, a team it had defeated three times during the regular season, in the second round of the playoffs.

Although it can't be described as too much of an upset, previously unranked Bryant defeated defending champion Fayetteville to win the Arkansas state championship.



Barbe, the Louisiana 5A state champion and the current No. 1 team in the country, got some good news in its quest to end the season ranked No. 1 in the country. Lambert, the No. 2 team in the rankings, split its first two games against Milton in the Georgia 6A state championship series. Lambert and Milton played Monday to determine the state champion. Only a clean sweep of Milton would have given Lambert the edge in the battle for the No. 1 national ranking.


1. (Last week 1) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 39-2
Louisiana Class 5A state champion. Season over.

2. (2) Lambert (Suwanee, Ga.), 35-2
Lambert split its first two games with Milton in the Class 6A state finals, winning the opener 2-1 and losing in the second game 5-1. JD Dutka had a pair of doubles in the win and also went seven innings for the victory. The two teams played Monday for the championship.

3. (4) Puyallup (Wash.), 26-0
The Vikings reached the final four by defeating Edmonds-Woodway 1-0 in their playoff opener and then Gonzaga Prep 2-0 in the second round. Lane Griffin threw a four-hit shutout in the win over Edmonds-Woodway, striking out five. Against Gonzaga Prep, Luke Heimlich gave up three hits with seven strikeouts.

4. (5) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 28-3
Rancho Bernardo won three times last week, beating Canyon Crest Academy 5-0 and 6-0 and also topping Westview 8-1. Casey Henderson had a home run in the 5-0 win.

5. (6) Clovis (Calif.), 32-5
Alan Crowley hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead Clovis to a 3-2 win over Buchanan for the CIF Central Section Division I championship. The title is the seventh in school history.



6. (8) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 30-3
Ryan Nolcheff went 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI to lead Hamilton to an 8-4 win over Mesquite for the Arizona Division I state championship.

7. (18) Sumter (S.C.), 28-2-1
Philip Watcher struck out 12 and allowed just four hits in beating Northwestern (Rock Hill) in the South Carolina Class 4A state championship game. Sumter has won three state titles since 2006.

8. (21) Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 31-2-1
The Warriors defeated Rochester Adams 10-0 and 12-5, and Gross Pointe University Liggett 15-0 last week.

9. (20) Cosby (Midlothian, Va.), 18-0
Riley Wilson struck out nine batters while Chandler Pearlman was 2-for-3 with three RBIs in a 12-1 win over Monacan.

10. (NR) Bryant (Ark.), 33-2
Blaine Knight shut out Fayetteville 10-0 as he gave up just four hits and struck out five in going the distance. Dalton Holt went 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and four runs scored.

11. (9) Fayetteville (Ark.), 30-4
Fayetteville lost to Bryant 10-0 in Class 7A state championship game.



12. (15) Stillwater (Okla.), 32-4
Oklahoma Class 6A state champion. Season over.

13. (23) Lee's Summit West (Mo.), 27-3
West won the district championship by beating Belton 8-4 in the semifinals and Raymore-Peculiar 10-3 in the finals. Monte Harrison had a triple and a double in the win.

14. (17) Spanish Fort (Ala.), 40-6
Alabama Class 5A state champion. Season over.

15. (24) Norco (Calif.), 25-2
Norco opened the Division I playoffs with a 15-5 win over Canyon (Anaheim). Cody Covington and Cole Young each hit home runs in the win.

16. (28) Pearland (Texas), 36-5
Pearland advanced by defeating Cy-Fair in two straight, 2-1 and 3-2. Tyler Kimball had an RBI double in the first game while Connor Wong was 2-for-3 with a triple in the second game.

17. (29) American (Hialeah, Fla.), 27-6
Florida Class 7A state champion. Season over.



18. (30) South Dade (Homestead, Fla.), 22-7
Florida Class 8A state champion. Season over.

19. (31) Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), 23-2
Season over.

20. (NR) Milton (Ga.), 28-8
Milton is one game away from repeating as the Class 6A state champion after beating Lambert 5-1 in the second game of their three-game series. Alex Schnell got the win as he gave up one run on three hits with nine strikeouts. Milton lost the first game of the championship series, 2-1.

21. (NR) Providence (Charlotte, N.C.), 26-4
Matt Ball shut out Ardrey Kell 3-0 with six strikeouts and two walks to put Providence in the final four.

22. (12) Ardrey Kell (Charlotte, N.C.), 28-3
Ardrey Kell lost to Providence 3-0 in the state playoffs and was eliminated.

23. (NR) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), 32-8
Marcus advanced to the regional final against rival Flower Mound with a 5-1, 4-5, 11-0 win over Midland.



24. (NR) Flower Mound (Texas), 30-11-2
Flower Mound eliminated Carroll (Southlake) with a 6-4, 2-4, 8-7 win. Flower Mound scored the winning run in the final game on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh.

25. (NR) Eagle Pass (Texas), 23-10
Eagle Pass stunned Carroll (Corpus Christi), which was ranked No. 1 in the state by the Texas Baseball Coaches Association entering the game. The two teams played a single game with Eagle Pass winning 2-1. Carlos Barrera drove in the deciding run with a double.

Next 25

26. (NR) Brazoswood (Clute, Texas), 27-11
Brazoswood eliminated Langham Creek 6-1, 2-4, 2-1 to advance to the regional finals against Pearland.

27. (26) Sacred Heart-Griffin (Springfield, Ill.), 32-2
Sacred Heart-Griffin won three games last week, defeating Taylorville 11-1 and 12-0, and beat Quincy 12-1.

28. (35) Flora (Columbia, S.C.), 27-4
Flora defeated Hartsville 8-7 and 9-3 for its third-straight South Carolina 3A state championship.

29. (36) North Florida Christian (Tallahassee, Fla.), 26-4
Florida Class 3A state champion. Season over.



30. (25) St. Rita (Chicago), 31-4
St. Rita went 3-1 last week. It beat Downers Grove South 7-6, St. Laurence 14-7 and Providence Catholic 10-4, but it lost to Joliet Catholic 2-0.

31. (NR) Stone Bridge (Ashburn, Va.), 19-1
Stone Bridge is ranked No. 1 in the Washington D.C. area by the Washington Post.

32. (22) Sterling Heights Stevenson (Mich.), 30-2
Stevenson split its two games with Grand Blanc, losing 7-3 and winning 13-5. Stevenson also beat Dakota 10-5 and 7-0 in a doubleheader last week.

33. (NR) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 25-6
Jesuit won the Class 5A state championship with a 5-2 win over Clay.

34. (37) Great Oak (Temecula, Calif.), 22-6
Great Oak opened the Southern Section Division 2 playoffs with a 12-3 win over Tustin.

35. (3) Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), 26-1
The Warriors were eliminated from postseason play with an 8-3 loss to Hudson in the district playoffs. Walsh Jesuit had won 26 games in a row to start the season.



36. (11) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 25-5
After beating Bellarmine three times during the regular season, St. Francis saw its season come to an end with a 2-0 loss to the Bells in the second round of the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs.

37. (13) Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas), 35-4
Carroll's season ended with a 2-1 loss to Eagle Pass.

38. (14) O'Connor (Helotes, Texas), 32-3
Season over.

39. (16) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 31-6
Carroll's season came to an end on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh in an 8-7 loss to Flower Mound.

40. (7) Langham Creek (Houston), 29-5
The Lobos lost in three games to Brazoswood 1-6, 4-2 and 1-2.

41. (19) Freeman (Richmond, Va.), 18-1
Freeman lost its first game of the season, 6-3 to Hanover.



42. (NR) Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.), 25-2
SHP is ranked No. 1 in the tri-state area by MSG Varsity.

43. (39) Olympia (Orlando, Fla.), 25-3
Season over.

44. (40) Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.), 38-4
Oklahoma Class 5A state champion. Season over.

45. (44) Greenway (Phoenix, Ariz.), 28-4
Arizona Division II state champion. Season over.

46. (46) New Hope (Columbus, Miss.), 32-4
New Hope defeated West Jones 11-0 in the third game to claim the Mississippi 5A state championship for the second-straight year.

47. (47) Indianapolis Cathedral, 21-3
Cathedral defeated Brebeuf 3-1 last week and will begin the sectional playoffs this week.



48. (NR) St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.), 31-5
Louisiana 4A state champions. Season over.

49. (NR) Oak Grove (Hattiesburg, Miss.), 27-6
Mississippi 6A state champions. Season over.

50. (NR) La Cueva (Albuquerque, N.M.), 26-3
New Mexico Class 5A state champions. Season over.

Dropped Out: No. 10 Alexander (Laredo, Texas), No. 27 Bishop Eustace (Pennsauken, N.J.), No. 32 Rockledge (Fla.), No. 33 Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), No. 34 Clay (Green Cove Springs, Fla.), No. 38 Mosley (Lynn Haven, Fla.), No. 41 Christian Brothers (Memphis, Tenn.), No. 42 Cleburne (Texas), No. 43 Medina Valley (Castroville, Texas), No. 45 Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), No. 48 St. Laurence (Burbank, Ill.), No. 49 St. John's Jesuit (Toledo, Ohio), No. 50 Rockwall Heath (Texas).