Touki Toussaint and Coral Springs Christian finished their season in the No. 2 spot in our Small Schools Computer Rankings.
Photo by Alyson Boyer Rode
Locating the top small school baseball teams in the country is not a difficult task. Simply consult the Florida Class 3A playoffs and you will find a multitude of teams that may be small in enrollment but big in talent.
Take for example The First Academy (Orlando), which won the National High School Invitational. It defeated some of the top teams in the country during the tournament, but it was unable to reach the finals of the Class 3A playoffs in Florida.
Then there is Orangewood Christian (Maitland), which defeated the First Academy three times during the season, including once in the playoffs. Orangewood Christian reached the Class 3A finals before finally losing.
Meanwhile, Coral Springs Christian was one of just two teams in the country to have three players selected in the MLB Draft, including first-round pick Touki Toussaint. Coral Springs Christian reached the 3A semifinals, but suffered the same result as Orangewood Christian - it couldn't beat North Florida Christian (Tallahassee).
Thus North Florida Christian, the Class 3A champion, finishes the 2014 season as the top small school baseball team in the country, according to the MaxPreps Computer Baseball Rankings. Small schools were deemed as those that played in state playoff divisions with enrollments generally less than 1,000 students.
The four teams mentioned all ended the season in the top five with Coral Springs Christian following North Florida Christian at No. 2, Orangewood Christian at No. 3 and The First Academy at No. 5. All total, seven Class 3A schools finished the season in the top 25. As a state, Florida finished with 11 of the top 25 teams.
Final Small Schools National Baseball Rankings
1.
North Florida Christian (Tallahassee, Fla.), 26-4, 15.5
2.
Coral Springs Christian (Fla.), 23-8, 14.1
3.
Orangewood Christian (Maitland, Fla.), 24-8, 14.0
4.
King's Ridge Christian (Alpharetta, Ga.), 28-4, 13.8
5.
The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.), 24-5, 13.1
6.
Edgewood Academy (Elmore, Ala.), 39-5, 12.3
7.
Sunnyvale (Texas), 30-7, 12.3
8.
Westminster Christian (Miami), 18-6, 12.2
9.
Genoa Central (Texarkana, Ark.), 30-2, 12.2
10.
Brito (Miami), 21-6-1, 12.0
11.
Mount Paran Christian (Kennesaw, Ga.), 29-5, 11.9
12.
Clearwater Central Catholic (Fla.), 26-1, 11.7
13.
Douglass (Texas), 32-1, 11.7
14.
Williston (Fla.), 25-4, 11.6
15.
Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.), 22-8-1, 11.5
16.
Valle Catholic (Ste. Genevieve, Mo.), 27-3, 11.4
17.
Dale (Okla.), 26-5, 11.3
18.
Trinity Christian Academy (Lake Worth, Fla.), 21-5, 11.2
19.
Westminster Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 23-9-1, 11.2
20.
Eagle's Landing Christian Academy (McDonough, Ga.), 27-3, 11.1
21.
Lake Country Lutheran (Hartland, Wis.), 32-0, 11.0
22.
Westminster (Atlanta), 26-9, 10.8
23.
Bellingham (Mass.), 23-3, 10.7
24.
Verdigris (Claremore, Okla.), 31-6, 10.7
25.
Brock (Texas), 31-4, 10.7
