MaxPreps top 50 national high school baseball rankings

With all states in the country now playing baseball (at least the ones that sanction the sport), the Xcellent 25 turns 50 this week with 26 new teams added to the list.

Leading the way for the second week in a row, however, is Archbishop McCarthy, which picked up another pair of wins behind solid pitching. The Mavericks are holding off a charging Barbe team that has won 13 in a row. The highest riser this week is Temecula Valley, which entered the rankings at No. 20 after winning the Boras Classic in Southern California.

One team to keep an eye on is Lambert, which won the USA Baseball Classic in Tennessee with impressive wins over Christian Brothers (Memphis, Tenn.) and Fayetteville (Ark.). Lambert is undefeated at 18-0.


1. (Last week 1) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 19-1
The Mavericks got strong pitching last week to register a pair of wins. In a 3-1 win over Goleman, Andres Nunez went six innings and gave up one run on two hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks. Jake Anchia went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs while Ryan Sinzenich was 2-for-3. In a 9-2 win over Monsignor Pace, Brian Gonzalez struck out seven in four innings to get the win. Freshman Alex Toral continued to hit well as he hit his team-leading sixth home run of the season and finished with four RBIs in the game. Aaron Soto went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI while Michael Gigliotti was 2-for-3 with a triple.



2. (4) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 24-2
The Buccaneers picked up four wins in eight days by beating New Iberia 16-6, Carencro (Lafeyette) 14-0, Sam Houston (Lake Charles) 9-3 and Lafayette 6-2.

3. (5) Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati), 3-0
The Crusaders opened with three wins last week, beating Turpin 4-2, St. Xavier (Louisville) 5-4 and Kaneland 8-4. Jordan Ramey went 2-for-3 with a triple in the win over Turpin. Against St. Xavier, Moeller scored in the bottom of the 12th for the win. Bryan Soth was 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the win over Kaneland.

4. (6) The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.), 17-2
The First Academy posted a pair of shutouts, winning a close one with Colonial (Orlando) 1-0 and a blowout with Cornerstone Charter Academy (Belle Isle) 22-0. Peyton Hopkins was 3-for-3 with a double, a grand slam and five RBIs, while Graham Dvorak and Kyle Connell each had doubles and Nick Gavin had a triple against CCA.

5. (7) Clovis (Calif.), 19-3
McCarthy Tatum raised his record to 7-0 with a 4-0 win over Clovis East. He finished with six strikeouts in a one-hitter. The Cougars also defeated Clovis East earlier in the week, 14-2, on a one-hitter by Preston Mott.

6. (8) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 15-2
The Bears posted a pair of shutouts against Central (Fresno), winning 5-0 and 6-0. Aaron Gutierrez threw five perfect innings in the latter game with Carter Gambrell adding a pair of doubles on offense. Conner Loeprich threw a four-hitter in the 5-0 win.

7. (9) Mosley (Lynn Haven, Fla.), 19-1
The Dolphins won three times last week, including a 3-2 showdown with Chiles (Tallahassee). Other wins included a 10-4 victory over Reavis (Burbank, Ill.) and an 11-0 win over Bay (Panama City). Bowen McGuffin was 3-for-3 against Reavis and was 2-for-4 with a triple against Bay.



8. (10) Lambert (Suwanee, Ga.), 18-0
Lambert won the USA Classic in Tennessee, defeating Fayetteville 7-2 in the championship game to remain undefeated. Seth Beer was 2-for-4 with two doubles while Jake Chickowski was 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the final game. Lambert also topped Christian Brothers (Memphis) 7-3 with Beer going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI and Kyle McCann going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.

9. (11) Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 17-3
Horizon's win streak reached 11 as it defeated Mesa 8-0, Red Mountain (Mesa) 7-4 and Westwood (Mesa) 7-2.

10. (13) Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), 15-1
The Falcons won twice in district play, beating McArthur (Hollywood) 7-0 and Miramar 12-2. Zach Finch struck out eight and had a three-hitter against McArthur. Oscar Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with four RBIs against Miramar.

11. (16) Moody (Corpus Christi, Texas), 22-2
Moody continues to roll, beating Cigarroa (Laredo) 12-2 and Alice 10-0 last week. Moody also stayed unbeaten in district play at 8-0.

12. (18) Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas), 25-2
The Wildcats won their only game of the week, defeating Tuloso-Midway 2-0 in district play. Calallen is undefeated in district play at 7-0.

13. (19) O'Connor (Helotes, Texas), 23-1
O'Connor pounded 20 hits in a 21-0 win over Jay (San Antonio) with Zachary Galm going 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. He also pitched for the win, giving up one hit and striking out seven in four innings.



14. (17) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 21-2
The Dragons posted two shutouts in district play, beating Haltom 5-0 and Keller Central 7-0. Hudson Sanchez hit a home run and Barry Casey and Garrett Hale each tripled against Haltom. Joe Heineman hit a double and was the winning pitcher against Keller Central.

15. (2) Pearland (Texas), 23-2
The Oilers split their two District 22-5A games last week, falling to Dobie 4-1 and routing Pasadena 11-1. Tyler Kimball had the only two hits for Pearland in the loss to Dobie. Ryan Diaz was 3-for-3 with three runs scored against Pasadena. Jacob Barfield added a triple and five RBI while Kamren Dukes had two hits and Seth Mikeska drove in three runs. Three Pearland pitchers combined for a five-inning one-hitter.

16. (21) Hanover (Mechanicsville, Va.), 2-0
Hanover claimed two more wins, beating Atlee 9-2 and Henrico 11-1. A big matchup with Gloucester Catholic (N.J.) on April 14 looms. Derek Casey threw five shutout innings against Atlee. Hanover also got its second combined no-hitter of the season as four pitchers combined to blank Henrico. John Gregory was 3-for-3 with two RBIs while Trevor Denton was 2-for-2 with a triple.

17. (22) Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 17-1
The Firebirds won twice by shutout, blanking Red Mountain 4-0 and Brophy College Prep 5-0. Chaparral will face Horizon on Wednesday in a showdown between two of Arizona's top teams.

18. (23) Creekside (Jacksonville, Fla.), 21-1
The Knights shut out Orange Park 3-0 and Oakleaf (Orange Park) 9-0 last week. Taylor Westbrook was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a double to lead the Creekside offense against Oakleaf.

19. (24) Langham Creek (Houston), 20-1
The Lobos won three times in district play last week, defeating Jersey village 9-3, Cy Woods 6-1 and Cy Woods 5-4. Mikey Hoehner hit a home run in the latter win over Cy Woods. The Lobos won the game on a walk-off walk. Gonzalo Garcia-Sosa was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs in the 6-1 win.



20. (NR) Temecula Valley (Temecula, Calif.), 12-1
The Golden Bears made an impressive run to the Boras Classic championship, beating Cypress, Valencia, Mater Dei and finally Vista Murrieta for the championship. Temecula Valley is ranked No. 1 in Division 2 by the Southern Section.

21. (NR) Park Vista (Lake Worth, Fla.), 17-1
Ranked No. 1 in Palm Beach County by Palm Beach Baseball.

22. (NR) Whitewater (Fayetteville, Ga.), 17-1
Whitewater's only loss is to a solid Starr's Mill team. It will get a good test next week against North Florida Christian.

23. (NR) Providence (Charlotte, N.C.), 14-0
Providence possesses the best record among 4A teams in North Carolina. Tough games loom against Ardrey Kell and Charlotte Christian.

24. (NR) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 10-1
The Dons have taken over the No. 1 ranking in San Diego by the Union-Tribune. Brady Aiken has been almost unhittable, posting a 4-0 record with a 0.00 ERA, four hits allowed and 40 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched.

25. (NR) The Woodlands (Texas), 21-3
The defending Class 5A state champions were supposed to be down this year. However, the Highlanders have won 13 in a row and are ranked No. 6 in the state by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association.



The Next 25

26. (NR) Loyola (Los Angeles), 12-1
Since losing the season opener to Calabasas, the Cubs have won 12 in a row and will face Harvard-Westlake twice next week.

27. (NR) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 11-3
The Monarchs had a rough couple of games with losses to St. Ignatius and Valley Christian, but they made up for it with an 11-inning win over previous No. 3 St. Francis. Mitty will play in the Boras Classic next week.

28. (3) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 10-2
It took 11 innings, but Archbishop Mitty pulled out the 2-1 win over St. Francis in West Catholic Athletic League play. Earlier in the week, St. Francis edged Riordan 1-0 on an RBI by Ryan Johnson. The Lancers also defeated Sacred Heart Cathedral 7-1 with Conor Thane, Ryan McSwain and Tim Susnara all rapping doubles.

29. (NR) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 18-2
After dropping a pair at the Horizon tournament, Hamilton bounced back with three straight wins over Mesquite, Basha and Gilbert.

30. (12) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 11-3
The Wolverines split their two Mission League contests last week, defeating Crespi (Encino) 9-4 on Tuesday and falling 4-2 to Crespi on Friday. Jack Flaherty got the win on Tuesday, giving up one earned run and six hits in six innings pitched.



31. (NR) Allatoona (Acworth, Ga.), 15-1
The Buccaneers lost their first game of the season to Venice, 6-0 at the Perfect Game Showdown, but they also knocked off Sarasota.

32. (14) Sarasota (Fla.), 18-2
The Sailors went 3-1 at the Perfect Game Showdown, beating Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.) 10-3, IMG Academy (Bradenton) 6-5 and DeSoto Central (Southaven, Miss.) 4-2 while losing to Allatoona (Acworth, Ga.) 1-0.

33. (NR) Winter Haven (Fla.), 18-2
Coached by former Major League Baseball veteran Pat Borders, the Blue Devils have a pair of losses to Bartow but they also have a win over Owasso.

34. (20) Jenks (Okla.), 17-1
The Trojans split their two games with Owasso during the week, losing 10-0 in the middle of the week and winning 1-0 on Friday. Shane Varela was 2-for-3 in the win. Jenks also defeated Edmond Memorial 3-0 earlier in the week.

35. (25) Owasso (Okla.), 12-4
The Rams split their two games with Jenks last week, winning 10-0 on Tuesday and losing 1-0 on Friday. Jeb Bargfeldt struck out 10 in the loss. Gabe Neph struck out eight in the win. Owasso also defeated Sapulpa 5-1 and San Springs 13-3.

36. (NR) Puyallup (Wash.), 8-0
Quin Rawson has been a standout so far for Puyallup with three home runs in eight games.



37. (NR) Rose (Greenville, N.C.), 13-0
Rose is one of just three 4A schools in North Carolina with an undefeated record.

38. (NR) Fayetteville (Fayetteville, Ark.), 14-3
Fayetteville holds a win over Bishop Gorman. One of the Purple Dogs' losses is to Lambert.

39. (NR) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 12-2
The Gaels have rebounded nicely since stumbling at the Coach Bob Invitational. Gorman easily won its own Bishop Gorman Desert Classic last week.

40. (NR) Clovis North (Fresno, Calif.), 14-3
Playing in the extremely competitive Tri-Rivers Athletic League, Clovis North has a win over Clovis this year.

41. (NR) West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.), 18-3
West Orange has several close losses, but has a win over Alabama's top 5A team Spanish Fort. The team has tough games this week against Olympia and The First Academy.

42. (NR) Western Branch (Chesapeake, Va.), 8-0
The Bruins have outscored opponents 113-19, but the most impressive win so far is a 5-4 victory over Great Bridge.



43. (NR) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 7-1
The Stags opened the season with seven straight wins before falling to Paul VI, 6-3 on Sunday.

44. (NR) Blue Valley West (Stilwell, Kan.), 3-0
The defending 6A state champions are off to a great start.

45. (NR) Westfield (Ind.), 3-0
The season has just started in Indiana but Westfield already has impressive wins over St. Laurence and Indianapolis Cathedral.

46. (NR) St. Laurence (Burbank, Ill.), 8-1
Perhaps the top team in Illinois, St. Laurence went undefeated at the Chris Moon Invitational in Arizona before falling to Westfield (Ind.). It has a big game this week with undefeated St. Rita.

47. (NR) ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 5-2
ThunderRidge's return from the National High School Invitational included a 12-2 win over Fountain-Fort Carson that was a combined one-hitter.

48. (NR) Christian Brothers (St. Louis, Mo.), 9-1
A win over defending state champion Howell puts Christian Brothers in the top 50.



49. (NR) Howell (St. Charles, Mo.), 9-1
Howell holds a win over Westminster Christian. Only a loss to No. 48 Christian Brothers mars its record.

50. (NR) Sahuaro (Tucson, Ariz.), 14-1
Sahuaro's only loss is to Canyon del Oro. Sahuaro features one of the top players in the nation in pitcher Alex Verdugo. It will play Rancho Bernardo at the San Diego Lions Tournament next week.

Dropped Out: No. 15 Bishop Verot