Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.) hasn't played a game in over a month but the Bears picked up a big win today by being selected as the 2024 MaxPreps National Champion.
The Louisiana powerhouse climbed to the No. 1 spot in in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball rankings in April and went on to win the Select Division 1 championship with a 5-0 win over
John Curtis Christian (River Ridge) on May 11. The victory marked the fourth straight shutout for Catholic, including a pair of wins over defending state champion
Jesuit (New Orleans) in the quarterfinals.
Catholic picked up a number of impressive wins along the way. In addition to sweeping three games at the beginning of the season from eventual Non-Select Division 1 state champion
West Monroe, the Bears also beat Select Division 2 champion
Teurlings Catholic (Lafayette) and Tennessee Class 4A state champion
Farragut (Knoxville).
Catholic also topped
Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) and
Lewisburg (Olive Branch, Miss.), which were both ranked in the top 10 in the nation at the time.
The Bears have eight players headed to play Division I baseball, led by Louisiana MaxPreps Player of the Year
William Schmidt, who was named the state tournament MVP and will likely be chosen on the first day of the Major League Baseball Draft in July.
Catholic joins Barbe, which finished No. 1 in 2014 and 2021, as MaxPreps National Champions from the state of Louisiana. Under coach Brad Bass, who took over the program in 2012, the Bears have won three state titles (2013, 2022 and 2024) and reached the final in two other seasons (2015 and 2017).
1. Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.)
Record: 38-2 | Last week: 1
Select Division 1 state champion.
2. Tomball (Texas)
Record: 41-3 | Last week: 2
Class 6A state champion.
3. Corona (Calif.)
Record: 30-3 |
Last week: 4
Southern Section Division 1 champion.
4. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)Record: 28-7 |
Last week: 5
Southern California Division 1 regional champion.
5. Granada (Livermore, Calif.)Record: 32-1 |
Last week: 6
Northern California Division 1 regional champion.
6. Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)Record: 26-5 |
Last week: 7
Class 7A state champion.
7. Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.)Record: 39-4 |
Last week: 8
MAIS Class 6A state champion.
8. North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek, Fla.)Record: 28-3 |
Last week: 9
Class 3A state champion.
9. Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.)Record: 40-5 |
Last week: 10
Class 4A state champion.
10. Grapevine (Texas)Record: 40-5 |
Last week: 11
Class 5A state champion.
11. Mason (Ohio)Record: 28-6 |
Last week: 12
Division 1 state champion.
12. Harlem (Ga.)
Record: 38-1 |
Last week: 13
Class AAA state champion.
13. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.)
Record: 27-5-1 |
Last week: 14
14. Valley View (Jonesboro, Ark.)
Record: 31-2 |
Last week: 15
Class 5A state champion.
15. West Monroe (La.)
Record: 31-8 |
Last week: 16
Non-Select Division 1 state champion.
16. Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.)
Record: 35-6 |
Last week: 17
Class AAAAAAA state champion.
17. Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.)
Record: 44-9 |
Last week: 18
Class 7A state champion.
18. Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Record: 29-3 |
Last week: 19
19. Northville (Mich.)
Record: 32-7 |
Last week: NR
Division 1 state champion.
20. Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.)
Record: 43-2 |
Last week: 3
21. Pearland (Texas)
Record: 37-9-2 |
Last week: 20
22. Flower Mound (Texas)
Record: 40-6 |
Last week: 21
23. Central (Phenix City, Ala.)
Record: 40-5 |
Last week: 22
24. Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 26-6 |
Last week: 23
Class 5A state champion.
25. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Record: 19-6 |
Last week: 24
