MaxPreps 2015 Virginia preseason baseball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard

1. Freeman (Richmond)
2014 finish: 26-2
Head coach: Ray Moore

Freeman lost only one game in the regular season and then fell to Hickory in the Class 5A state championship game. Freeman will field one of the top batteries in the state with the combo of Danny Lynch and Logan Harvey. Lynch is ranked as the No. 5 player in the state by Perfect Game while Harvey is ranked No. 14 overall. Lynch is headed to Virginia while Harvey will play at Wake Forest.

View last season's Virginia baseball rankings, presented by the Army National Guard

2. Hickory (Chesapeake)
2014 finish: 22-4
Head coach: Hank Kraft



Hickory captured the Class 5A state championship last year with a win over Freeman. Hickory fielded one of the top freshmen in the nation last year in Michael Polansky. He is back for his sophomore year at third base while his brother Stephen, a senior, will play in the outfield. The Hawks have the No. 4 pitcher in the state, according to Perfect Game, in senior Connor Eason.

View last season's Virginia baseball playoff brackets

3. Cosby (Midlothian)
2014 finish: 21-2
Head coach: Tim Lowery

Cosby reached the semifinals of the Class 6A state tournament, where it fell to Chantilly. It marked the second loss in a row for Cosby, which also lost to Western Branch. Cosby had won 21 straight games to start the season. The Titans return half of the infield, with Matthew Pita at shortstop and Jake Huggins at first base. Junior Christian Hague leads the pitching staff.

View last season's Virginia baseball stat leaders

4. Madison (Vienna)
2014 finish: 21-3
Head coach: Mark Gjormand



Although Madison lost to McLean in the regional semifinals, it returns the bulk of last year's team. Four of those returning players are headed to play college ball next year, including pitcher John DeFazio (Virginia Tech), pitcher Brian Eckert (Radford), outfielder Owen Socher (William and Mary) and pitcher David McGuire (Francis Marion).

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5. Western Branch (Chesapeake)
2014 finish: 27-2
Head coach: Roland Wright

Western Branch posted wins over Hickory and Cosby last year en route to winning the Class 6A championship. The Bruins return three of the top players from last year's team in pitcher Colin Selby, catcher Grant Maiorana and third baseman Matthew Roth. Maiorana is headed to Virginia Tech while Roth will play at Radford next year.