MaxPreps High School Top 25 boys baseball national rankings

Video: How did he catch this?
Jake Alston of Sterling (Ill.) makes an improbable diving snag.

In some parts of the country, it's opening day. In others, the season is heading into the final weeks of the regular season.

Playoffs will begin in two weeks in southern states like Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. Meanwhile, states like Minnesota and Michigan have barely a week under their belt due to the severe winter storms that have stretched into the spring.

As a result, look for more teams from the North and Northeast to enter the rankings in the coming weeks while teams from the South exit the rankings due to elimination from postseason play.

There was relatively little movement in this week's rankings due to the low number of tournaments this time of year and the fact that most teams from the South are winding down league play.



The one big matchup of the week found Valley Christian (San Jose) and Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose) squaring off in league play. Valley Christian, previously No. 8, defeated No. 5 Bellarmine 5-2 and moved up one spot in the rankings to No. 7. Bellarmine dropped to No. 8.

Only three teams joined the rankings this week. Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), which had previously been ranked, rejoined the rankings at No. 23 while undefeated Puyallup (Wash.) came in at No. 24. St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) also undefeated, debuts at No. 25.

1. (Last week 1) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 25-0
Playing the No. 2 team in the district, Lake Travis claimed a pair of impressive wins. The Cavaliers defeated Vista Ridge 5-1 and 11-1 to stay undefeated on the season. Austin Plante, Jimmy Lewis and Carlos Contreras all hit home runs in the latter game. Earlier in the week, Lake Travis defeated Leander 8-6. Lake Travis completes its three-game set Tuesday with Vista Ridge before starting its final league series of the regular season Friday against Vandegrift.

2. (2) Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.), 20-0
The Warriors upped their win streak to 50 by beating Clearwater Central 6-0 and edging Carrollwood Day 5-4. Calvary Christian needed extra innings to defeat Carrollwood Day, scoring a run in the top of the eighth on back-to-back doubles by Sam Gordon and Tommy White. Nolan Hudi had 11 strikeouts in the win over Clearwater Central.

3. (3) Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), 22-0
The Eagles set up a pair of big games with IMG Academy (Bradenton) with two wins last week. Montverde Academy knocked off Randazzo (Coconut Creek) 13-0 and edged Central Pointe Christian Academy (Kissimmee) 5-4 in eight innings. The Eagles play the Ascenders on Tuesday and again the following week.

4. (4) Vianney (Kirkwood, Mo.), 19-0
The Griffins had a huge week, winning seven games in six days. Vianney beat Howell North 10-0 on Monday, DeSmet Jesuit 1-0 on Tuesday, Parkway South on Wednesday and then took doubleheaders from Lindbergh, 9-4 and 5-2, on Friday and Lee's Summit West, 4-1 and 7-6, on Saturday. Vianney faces tough tests against St. Louis University and Christian Brothers this week.



5. (6) Argyle (Texas), 23-0
The Eagles had five doubles and three triples in a 10-0 win over Gainesville, their 15th shutout of the season. Argyle also topped Sanger 15-6 with Brendan Dixon hitting a double and two triples and Dillon Carter belting a home run.

6. (7) Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.), 25-2
The Titans took three straight from Chestatee and have just three games left before beginning postseason play. Jake Smith and Josh Voss each homered in an 8-5 win and the Titans had six doubles in an 8-0 win. Ryan Davis had a double and two triples in a 10-1 victory.

7. (8) Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.), 18-1-1
The Warriors hold down first place in the West Catholic Athletic League after knocking off Bellarmine College Prep 5-2. In a 7-0 win over Archbishop Riordan, Patrick Wicklander threw a seven-inning no-hitter with 18 strikeouts and one walk.

8. (5) Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose, Calif.), 16-3
The Bells dropped their West Catholic Athletic League showdown with Valley Christian (San Jose), falling 5-2. Valley Christian scored all of its runs in the third inning. Bellarmine defeated Sacred Heart Cathedal 4-0.

9. (9) Reagan (San Antonio), 24-4
The Rattlers blanked Lee (San Antonio) 12-0 on just six hits and five Lee errors. Cal Martin hit two home runs and Hilton Brown hit one in an 8-1 win over Southwest (San Antonio).

10. (10) Cleburne (Texas), 24-1-2
The Yellowjackets scored 50 runs in three games, including a 34-4 win over Northside (Fort Worth). Cleburne hit a state record 13 doubles in the win, including two each by Stayton Day, Coy Sims and Javier Torres. Landon Cody also hit a home run in the game. Willie Rangel threw a seven-inning no-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a 9-0 win over Centennial. Day also had a double and a grand slam. Cody struck out 11 in a 7-1 win over Crowley and the Yellowjackets added seven more doubles.



11. (11) Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 8-13
The Eagles won their only game last week, beating Miami Country Day 10-0. David Judge had a home run in the win. Calvary Christian Academy forfeited 11 wins from earlier in the season due to three transfer players who had not filled out the appropriate paperwork, according to the Sun Sentinel.

12. (13) Zachary (La.), 29-2
The Broncos won three times last week, including a 6-5 victory over Denham Springs. Rhett Hebert picked up the win and knocked a double in the victory. Dylan Jackson had two doubles in a 12-0 win over defending Class 5A state champion Central (Baton Rouge). Joey Blanchard, Keilon Brown and Collier Cranford all homered in a 13-1 win over Walker.

13. (14) Har-Ber (Springdale, Ark.), 19-2
The Wildcats won four times last week, outscoring opponents 39-8. Har-Ber took two from Bentonville West, 8-5 and 11-0. Blake Adams struck out 10 in the first game and hit a home run in the second, along with Mac McCroskey. Har-Ber also defeated Sequoyah 10-2 and Skiatook 10-1 at the Claremore Festival in Oklahoma.

14. (15) Huntington Beach (Calif.), 19-3
The Oilers rallied to overcome a 6-2 deficit and defeated Riverside Poly 7-6 with a run in the seventh. Huntington Beach also took two from Newport Harbor, winning 11-1 and 8-6. Luke Glascoe, Nick Lopez and Jake Vogel all hit home runs in the 11-1 win. Ken Takada hit one out in the latter win.

15. (17) Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.), 21-1
The Crusaders racked up four more wins last week, scoring 53 runs in the process. They avenged their only loss with a 19-6 win over Gilman (Baltimore) in a game that included a 13-run, sixth-inning outburst. Corey Rosier had a double and a home run in the win. He also had a home run and a double in a 13-8 win over Lake Braddock (Burke, Va.). They also defeated St. Anselm's Abbey (Washington, D.C.) 13-0 and Mercersburg Academy (Mercersburg, Pa.) 8-4.

16. (18) St. Laurence (Burbank, Ill.), 13-1
The Vikings won three times, including a key 5-4 win over Chicago Mt. Carmel. They also topped St. Viator 17-7 and De La Salle 14-3. Gage Olszak went 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double and nine RBIs against St. Viator.

17. (19) Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.), 22-4
Mill Creek firmly established itself as the top team in Georgia Class AAAAAAA by sweeping three games from the No. 2 team in the state North Gwinnett. The Hawks won 2-1, 1-0 and 9-6.

18. (20) John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.), 23-4
The Patriots head into the final week of the regular season with two more wins. They beat Jesuit 12-8 on home runs by Cade Beloso, Jay Curtis and Brandon Davis. Beloso also had a home run in a 4-2 win over Archbishop Shaw.



19. (21) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 18-2
The Patriots took wins from three strong programs last week, beating Park Vista 3-2, Jupiter 3-0 and Westminster Christian 14-10. Cory Acton had a pair of home runs in the latter win.

20. (24) McAllen (Texas), 22-1-1
The Bulldogs have won 13 in a row, including an 8-2 win over McAllen Memorial and a 13-0 win over Juarez-Lincoln (La Joya). Hector Garcia had a double and a home run in the shutout win.

21. (16) O'Fallon (Ill.), 16-1-1
The Panthers lost their first game of the season, falling to Providence (Ind.) at the Prep Baseball Report Midwest Select Invitational. O'Fallon won two games at the event, beating Mason (Ohio) 17-7 and Portage Northern (Mich.) 8-1. O'Fallon also defeaed Belleville East 13-3 and Granite City 6-4 earlier in the week.

22. (22) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 12-5
The Lancers took two out of three from St. John Bosco, losing the first game 4-0 before winning the next two 3-1 and 5-1. Max Rajic struck out nine in the 3-1 victory and had two RBIs in the 5-1 win.

23. (NR) Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), 16-1
The Falcons have emerged as the second-best team in Broward County behind American Heritage. Flanagan scored 35 runs last week in beating Everglades 23-5 and Douglas 12-2. Miguel Useche had a home run against Everglades to lead a 20-hit attack. Jesus Delgado had two home runs against Douglas.

24. (NR) Puyallup (Wash.), 15-0
The Vikings are on pace to post their seventh straight 20-win season with a 15-0 start in 2018. Puyallup also won their final 25 games of the 2017 season and have one of the nation's longest winning streaks at 40 in a row. They won three times last week, beating Curtis (University Place) 5-2, Emerald Ridge (South Hill) 7-1 and rival Rogers (Puyallup) 7-6.

25. (NR) St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.), 10-0
The Tigers have won two state titles in the past four seasons and are off to a 10-0 start in 2018. Included in the wins are a two-game sweep of Brother Rice (Chicago) and a 6-2 win over Trinity (Louisville). Key upcoming games include a contests against Indiana foes Floyd Central and Jeffersonville and a May 2 matchup with Pleasure Ridge Park.



Dropped out: No. 12 Providence School (Jacksonville, Fla.), No. 23. Sam Houston (Lake Charles, La.), No. 25 Bishop England (Charleston, S.C.).