What's the best high school baseball league in the nation?

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Last year's No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft played high school ball at JSerra in the Trinity League.

Baseball coaches and players across the country make claims that the league they play in is the "toughest." Members of the Trinity League in Southern California, however, have the numbers to back up those claims.

Using the MaxPreps computer rankings from the 2017 season, the Trinity League, which is located in Orange County and is part of the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section, has the highest average team rating in the nation at 22.88.

That number is determined by taking the final team rating for each team in the league, adding it up and dividing by the number of teams in the league. This provides the league with an average team rating.

The Trinity League does not necessarily have a number of teams ranked high in the MaxPreps computer rankings. After all, St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) is the highest rated team yet it ranked only No. 84 in the country last year. The key for the Trinity League, however, is its consistency. Five of the teams in the league are ranked among the top 37 in the state and those same five are ranked among the top 286 teams in the country.



Chicago Catholic Blue comes in second in the national league rankings with an average team rating of 22.43. The Illinois conference has all seven of its members ranked among the top 55 in the state and three are ranked among the top seven. Unlike the Trinity League, however, only three are ranked among the top 300 in the nation.

California has four of the nation's top leagues. The Grossmont Hills League in the San Diego Section joins the Trinity League along with the Big VIII in the Southern Section and the Tri-River League. Louisiana had two leagues, or districts as they are called in that state, in the 5A District 4 and 5A District 3. Other leagues included the Region 4-7A from Georgia, the Desert Valley from Arizona and 6A District 5 from Texas.

The rankings list each team in the league with that team's 2017 rating, state ranking and national ranking.

1. Trinity League — Average team rating: 22.88

St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 26.3
2017 State Ranking: 11
2017 National Ranking: 84

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 26.2
2017 State Ranking: 13
2017 National Ranking: 87

Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 24.2
2017 State Ranking: 21
2017 National Ranking: 167



JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 23.2
2017 State Ranking: 25
2017 National Ranking: 220

Servite (Anaheim, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 22.4
2017 State Ranking: 37
2017 National Ranking: 286

Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 15.0
2017 State Ranking: 163
2017 National Ranking: 1499

2. Chicago Catholic Blue — 22.43

St. Laurence (Burbank, Ill.)
2017 Rating: 29.0
2017 State Ranking: 2
2017 National Ranking: 27

Brother Rice (Chicago)
2017 Rating: 26.6
2017 State Ranking: 3
2017 National Ranking: 69

St. Rita (Chicago)
2017 Rating: 25.7
2017 State Ranking: 7
2017 National Ranking: 104



Chicago Mt. Carmel (Chicago)
2017 Rating: 21.5
2017 State Ranking: 15
2017 National Ranking: 365

Providence Catholic (New Lenox, Ill.)
2017 Rating: 19.0
2017 State Ranking: 30
2017 National Ranking: 670

Loyola Academy (Wilmette, Ill.)
2017 Rating: 18.3
2017 State Ranking: 39
2017 National Ranking: 778

Marmion (Aurora, Ill.)
2017 Rating: 16.9
2017 State Ranking: 55
2017 National Ranking: 1038

3. Desert Valley — 22.03

Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
2017 Rating: 27.0
2017 State Ranking: 2
2017 National Ranking: 62

Pinnacle (Phoenix)
2017 Rating: 26.6
2017 State Ranking: 3
2017 National Ranking: 68



O'Connor (Phoenix)
2017 Rating: 22.8
2017 State Ranking: 7
2017 National Ranking: 251

Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.)
2017 Rating: 22.0
2017 State Ranking: 9
2017 National Ranking: 323

Boulder Creek (Anthem, Ariz.)
2017 Rating: 18.0
2017 State Ranking: 21
2017 National Ranking: 840

Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
2017 Rating: 15.8
2017 State Ranking: 28
2017 National Ranking: 1280
4. Region 4-7A — 20.87

Walton (Marietta, Ga.)
2017 Rating: 27.4
2017 State Ranking: 6
2017 National Ranking: 54

Etowah (Woodstock, Ga.)
2017 Rating: 26.3
2017 State Ranking: 8
2017 National Ranking: 82



Lassiter (Marietta, Ga.)
2017 Rating: 25.2
2017 State Ranking: 10
2017 National Ranking: 119

Woodstock (Ga.)
2017 Rating: 22.5
2017 State Ranking: 17
2017 National Ranking: 268

Roswell (Ga.)
2017 Rating: 15.6
2017 State Ranking: 56
2017 National Ranking: 1315

Cherokee (Canton, Ga.)
2017 Rating: 8.2
2017 State Ranking: 155
2017 National Ranking: 4107


5. 5A District 3 — 20.01

Sam Houston (Lake Charles, La.)
2017 Rating: 28.2
2017 State Ranking: 2
2017 National Ranking: 34

Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
2017 Rating: 25.8
2017 State Ranking: 4
2017 National Ranking: 97



Acadiana (Lafayette, La.)
2017 Rating: 22.8
2017 State Ranking: 9
2017 National Ranking: 255

Sulphur (La.)
2017 Rating: 22.5
2017 State Ranking: 11
2017 National Ranking: 275

New Iberia (La.)
2017 Rating: 16.5
2017 State Ranking: 35
2017 National Ranking: 1115

Lafayette (La.)
2017 Rating: 14.3
2017 State Ranking: 53
2017 National Ranking: 1705

Comeaux (Lafayette, La.)
2017 Rating: 10.0
2017 State Ranking: 82
2017 National Ranking: 3306

6. Grossmont Hills — 19.96

Santana (Calif.)
2017 Rating: 24.9
2017 State Ranking: 17
2017 National Ranking: 128



Helix (La Mesa, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 24.4
2017 State Ranking: 18
2017 National Ranking: 153

Grossmont (El Cajon, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 22.6
2017 State Ranking: 32
2017 National Ranking: 261

Granite Hills (El Cajon, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 18.3
2017 State Ranking: 105
2017 National Ranking: 786

El Capitan (Lakeside, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 9.6
2017 State Ranking: 334
2017 National Ranking: 3460
7. 6A District 5 — 19.95

Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
2017 Rating: 27.3
2017 State Ranking: 7
2017 National Ranking: 55

Flower Mound (Texas)
2017 Rating: 26.3
2017 State Ranking: 11
2017 National Ranking: 83

Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas)
2017 Rating: 26.0
2017 State Ranking: 12
2017 National Ranking: 93



Hebron (Carrollton, Texas)
2017 Rating: 18.2
2017 State Ranking: 83
2017 National Ranking: 797

Lewisville (Texas)
2017 Rating: 17.5
2017 State Ranking: 92
2017 National Ranking: 908

Byron Nelson (Trophy Club, Texas)
2017 Rating: 16.5
2017 State Ranking: 119
2017 National Ranking: 1113

Trinity (Euless, Texas)
2017 Rating: 14.8
2017 State Ranking: 153
2017 National Ranking: 1533

Bell (Hurst, Texas)
2017 Rating: 13.0
2017 State Ranking: 206
2017 National Ranking: 2112

8. Big VIII — 19.88

Corona (Calif.)
2017 Rating: 26.2
2017 State Ranking: 12
2017 National Ranking: 86



Santiago (Corona, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 23.4
2017 State Ranking: 22
2017 National Ranking: 203

King (Riverside, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 20.4
2017 State Ranking: 69
2017 National Ranking: 482

Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 19.9
2017 State Ranking: 76
2017 National Ranking: 545

Norco (Calif.)
2017 Rating: 18.7
2017 State Ranking: 95
2017 National Ranking: 708

Centennial (Corona, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 10.7
2017 State Ranking: 295
2017 National Ranking: 2996

9. Tri-River League — 19.27

Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 28.9
2017 State Ranking: 5
2017 National Ranking: 30



Clovis (Calif.)
2017 Rating: 26.3
2017 State Ranking: 10
2017 National Ranking: 80

Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 19.7
2017 State Ranking: 81
2017 National Ranking: 584

Clovis North (Fresno, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 19.4
2017 State Ranking: 83
2017 National Ranking: 609

Central (Fresno, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 11.3
2017 State Ranking: 279
2017 National Ranking: 2747

Clovis East (Clovis, Calif.)
2017 Rating: 10.0
2017 State Ranking: 323
2017 National Ranking: 3294

10. 5A District 4 — 18.97

Central (Baton Rouge, La.)
2017 Rating: 26.1
2017 State Ranking: 3
2017 National Ranking: 90



Zachary (La.)
2017 Rating: 25.3
2017 State Ranking: 6
2017 National Ranking: 118

Live Oak (Watson, La.)
2017 Rating: 20.3
2017 State Ranking: 14
2017 National Ranking: 507

Denham Springs (La.)
2017 Rating: 18.2
2017 State Ranking: 26
2017 National Ranking: 800

Walker (La.)
2017 Rating: 15.4
2017 State Ranking: 42
2017 National Ranking: 1374

Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.)
2017 Rating: 8.5
2017 State Ranking: 98
2017 National Ranking: 3994