MaxPreps Southern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

It was a brutal week to make rankings in Southern California. Most all of the top-ranked teams lost, and most all of the teams near the bottom of the Top 25 won.

No teams registered outrageously awful losses to awful teams, and very few teams beat squads ranked far above them.

The San Diego and Anaheim Lions tournaments have provided tons of great matchups and good fortune must accompany good play for teams aiming for titles.

Vista won the San Diego Lions extravaganza and is now a contender to be the top San Diego Section squad around. And we are still without a Los Angeles City Section team.



Oh, and speaking of big-name tournaments, Mater Dei once again won the NHSI, so the Monarchs are now No. 1. The SoCal part of the Boras Classic kicks off this week as well, which will feature some of the best teams in the rankings.

MaxPreps Southern California Baseball Rankings

1. (2 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 10-1 (5-0 Trinity League)
The Monarchs earned the top spot by blitzing through the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C. For the second-straight year, Mater Dei won the title with a victory over Harvard-Westlake, this time by a 4-0 score behind the pitching of Jacob Erickson, who struck out eight with four hits. The Monarchs also beat The Woodlands (Texas), which was 21-0 coming in, and Lexington (S.C.) and Tullahoma (Tenn.). This week, they will play in the Boras Classic, beginning Tuesday against Hart.

2. (5) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City), 12-3 (2-2 Mission League)
The Wolverines once again played great on the national stage, but just couldn't get past their SoCal rivals. They certainly have shown that away from the Mission League, they're prolific. And they'll likely show their superiority over the long haul in league play. Harvard-Westlake began the NHSI with three shutouts, 3-0 over Eustis (Fla.), 2-0 over Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) and 6-0 over Venice (Fla.) before falling victim to Mater Dei. Still, what a dominant pitching display, led by Hans Hansen, Jack Flaherty and Conor Cuse. This week, the Wolverines will be in the Chatsworth Tournament, opening against Simi Valley.

3. (6) Canyon (Anaheim), 10-1 (5-1 Century League)
The Comanches won all three of their games, dispatching El Modena 3-1 and taking two from Brea Olinda, 5-2 and 4-3, each time overcoming a deficit. They will get a great test in the Boras Classic, which begins Tuesday against Lakewood. The LA Times still has Canyon behind Fountain Valley and now the OC Register does as well.

4. (7) Fountain Valley, 13-1 (5-0 Century League)
The Barons are rolling, dropping Edison and Marina in league play (6-1 and 3-2). Then they kicked off the Anaheim Lions Tournament with a 3-0 triumph over NorCal team Campolindo (Moraga) followed by a 12-0 whacking of La Salle (Pasadena). Things continue in the Anaheim Lions Tournament.



5. (1) Granite Hills (El Cajon), 11-3
The Eagles took it on the chin from Vista, 15-3, and also dropped a 4-3 decision to Coronado of Nevada in the San Diego Lions Tournament. Two wins against Bishop O'Dowd at least kept them in the top five, but Granite Hills definitely did not assert itself as the top team in all of SoCal. We were tempted to place Cathedral Catholic higher than Granite Hills, but their victory over the Dons prevails - for now. Coming up, they are in the Grossmont Tournament.

6. (3) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 8-4
The Dons went 1-3 at the NHSI, but you can't drop the team too far for a few reasons. First, they lost close games to great teams at the NHSI and also beat Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 14-2. Second, other teams in this part of the rankings suffered losses. And third, this team is loaded and should more than justify its spot. The Dons play Point Loma in their own tournament, starting Tuesday.

7. (4) Buchanan (Clovis), 16-1-1 (3-0 Tri-Rivers League)
The Bears went 4-1 and fell? Yes, and that is the problem Central Section teams face. They did go out of the area to the Boras Classic (NorCal bracket) and won games, but lost in the only one against a somewhat noteworthy opponent. Buchanan lost 3-0 to Rio Americano (Sacramento) and that masks a 4-3 win over Foothill (Palo Cedro), which entered last week with the longest winning streak in the nation. They also beat three lackluster NorCal teams. Now it's back to local life, with a matchup against Clovis on Wednesday.

8. (8) Bonita (La Verne), 11-2-1 (4-0 Hacienda League)
The Bearcats did sweep Diamond Ranch in league play but suffered a 5-1 loss to Servite and a 3-3 tie against Woodrow Wilson (Long Beach). A somewhat large drop would seem appropriate, but most every other team suffered at least one loss, so Bonita stays pat. And they own a win over Cypress, which the LA Times has ranked higher.

9. (9) Cypress, 9-3
The Centurions got back in the winning swing of things by taking two from Kennedy (La Palma), 4-0 and 2-1. The National Classic is this week and will give the chance to play some good teams.

10. (11) El Toro (Lake Forest), 8-4 (4-0 South Coast League)
The Chargers are now fourth in the OC Register poll and seventh in the LA Times list. They won 1-0 at Tesoro this past week as Joey Moscatiello plated Brandon Helmich in the seventh to stay perfect in league play. El Toro plays Chaminade to open the Boras Classic, starting Tuesday.



11. (15) Chaminade (West Hills), 9-4 (1-1 Mission League)
Chaminade has not been perfect lately. Far from it. But nobody else wants to get on a hot streak, so the Eagles move up despite losses in three of their last five. They have won five of their last eight, and earlier this season beat Agoura. Furthermore, Chaminade shut down Vista 6-1 in the San Diego Lions Tournament in addition to an 8-0 victory over Palisades. They did lose to Coronado (Henderson, Nev.), 8-5.

12. (NR) Vista, 9-4
After a 1-3 start, the Panthers are on fire. Want to know why Granite Hills isn't No. 1 any more? Vista had a lot to do with that, putting up a 15-3 blowout win over Granite Hills. Vista won the San Diego Lions Classic Division with a 4-3 win over Madison and also dispatched previous No. 10 Rancho Bernardo 6-1. And they beat Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) 6-2 They did lose to Chaminade. In the win over Madison, Marshall Veyveris went the distance with six strikeouts. The North County Tournament is next.

13. (10) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 9-3
The Broncos took down Mira Mesa, Palisades and Helix allowing just four runs in the San Diego Lions Tournament, but Vista stopped the blitz with a 6-1 triumph. Now Rancho Bernardo heads to the North County Tournament.

14. (12) Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo), 13-4 (2-2 South Coast League)
The Cougars won three times in the Anaheim Lions Tournament, beating Tesoro, Canyon Springs and Riverton (Utah). That has helped them move to No. 10 with the LA Times and No. 7 with the OC Register.

15. (14) Nogales (La Puente), 12-1 (1-0 Valle Vista League)
The Nobles finally lost, dropping a Monday contest to Segerstrom in the Century Tournament. Earlier in the week, they whipped Jordan (Long Beach) 9-1, which had moved them to 12-0. Before the loss was accounted for, the Nobles were sixth in the LA Times rankings.

16. (16) Agoura, 10-5 (6-0 Marmonte League)
The good news: The Chargers swept Calabasas, 8-1 and 4-2. The bad news: Valencia throttled them 16-5. Now comes the Anaheim Lions Tournament. Time to see if Agoura's blowout loss was an aberration or something to be concerned about.

17. (13) St. Augustine (San Diego), 11-2
The Saints finally came back down to Earth, dropping two of three games in the past week. Grossmont stuck it to them in an 11-1 loss, then St. Augustine came back with a 12-0 blanking of Chaparral before losing 6-2 to La Jolla Country Day in the San Diego Lions Tournament. The City Conference Tournament begins Tuesday.



18. (20) Redlands, 9-3 (2-1 Citrus Belt League)
The Terriers showed Redlands East Valley that they are the toast of the town, taking a 9-0 victory. But they also dropped a 4-3 decision at Cajon. Hard to tell which one we should focus more on. Citrus Belt play awaits now.

19. (18) Orange Lutheran, 8-4 (3-2 Trinity League)
If you don't play, you don't move much. That's the lesson here. The Lancers took the week off but are currently at the Hard 9 National Classic.

20. (NR) San Clemente, 12-3 (3-1 Sea View League)
The Tritons enter the rankings after already getting recognition from both the prominent media polls. They own wins over El Dorado and Long Beach Poly, then beat Serra 5-4 in the Anaheim Lions Tournament to cement a spot here. They have six straight victories and have been winning many low-scoring games.

21. (19) Redlands East Valley, 12-2-1 (2-1 Citrus Belt League)
REV dropped a second contest to crosstown rival Redlands, losing 9-0 this time. That definitely tells a story. But the LA Times still holds REV in high regard, and we know that the Wildcats have plenty of potential. A 17-1 win over Miller came right before the Redlands loss, and league play awaits once again.

22. (21) Valencia, 9-4 (3-2 Foothill League)
The Vikings blasted Agoura 16-5. Why no climb? A 2-1 loss to Canyon (Canyon Country) came right before that. We know Canyon is a very good team (now ranked 25th). Valencia is in the Anaheim Lions Tournament, and that will give a great indicator of how to perceive this squad.

23. (22) Quartz Hill, 10-5 (2-0 Golden League)
The Rebels played two games, and dropped a pair of big-time blowouts on Eastside, 11-0 and 15-0. They have scored in double digits in their last four victories, so if you don't stop the Quartz Hill bats, you had better score at least 11. A home and home with Highland is on the schedule this week.



24. (23) Vista Murrieta (Murrieta), 8-3 (3-1 Southwestern League)
The Broncos won 5-1 at Murrieta Mesa with six different players collecting base hits, including two from Hunter Tidwell. They are in the Boras Classic, and will face Oaks Christian in the Tuesday opener.

25. (NR) Canyon (Canyon Country), 10-4 (4-1 Foothill League)
The Cowboys lost to Santa Margarita, 14-6, in the Anaheim Lions Tournament. That erased the joy of 2-1 wins over Oxnard and Valencia (in eight innings), and keeps Canyon below its league rival in our rankings. Cole Mears went 3-for-3 against Oxnard, and Chris Serrano knocked in the winning run against Valencia.