MaxPreps Top 50 national high school baseball rankings

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Buchanan is one of the premier baseball programs in the state of California, winning Central Section championships six of the past 12 seasons. Now, the Bears have moved up to No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 50 National Baseball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

The Bears have previously been ranked No. 1 in the nation in 2011 by another publication and it was already ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps Computer Rankings. With the elimination of previous No. 1 Deer Park (Texas) from the Texas Class 6A state playoffs by Langham Creek, Buchanan ascends to the No. 1 spot in the rankings, a spot it will likely claim for the remainder of the season.

While there are still three weeks left in the national high school sports season, there are no other active teams that can challenge the Bears for the top spot. Johnson (San Antonio) is ranked No. 10 and could win the Texas Class 6A state title, but the Jaguars have five losses.

Then there is Greenup County, which has a 39-1 record, but it plays in a state that cannot match California for competitiveness. On that same note, few leagues in the nation can match the caliber of teams produced in the Tri-River Athletic Conference, which Buchanan easily won this year.

A trio of Florida teams, Stoneman Douglas, Archbishop McCarthy and Canterbury fill in the next three spots in the rankings, while Walton is the No. 5 team. The likelihood of those top five spots changing over the next three weeks is also slim.

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1. (last week 2) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 30-1
The Bears move up to the No. 1 ranking in the nation with a 4-0 win over Clovis North, the only team to defeat Buchanan this year, in the Central Section Division 1 championship game. Zach Presno went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs in the win while Grant Gambrell went the distance to get the shutout win, striking out 10 batters and allowing five hits. Gambrell finished 12-0 on the year.

2. (3) Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.), 27-2
Florida Class 9A state champion. Season over.

3. (4) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 29-2
Florida Class 6A state champion. Season over.

4. (5) Canterbury (Fort Myers, Fla.), 31-1
Florida Class 3A state champion. Season over.

5. (6) Walton (Marietta, Ga.), 32-4
Georgia Class 6A state champion. Season over.

6. (7) North Davidson (Lexington, N.C.), 30-2
North Davidson captured the North Carolina Class 4A state championship with a two-game series sweep of Green Hope, winning 6-0 and 5-2. The Black Knights scored five unearned runs in the seventh inning to defeat Green Hope for the title.

7. (8) Rockledge (Fla.), 28-2
Season over.

8. (9) Teurlings Catholic (Lafayette, La.), 35-4
Louisiana Class 4A state champion.

9. (10) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 34-6
Louisiana Class 5A state champion.

10. (15) Johnson (San Antonio), 31-5
Johnson reached the state tournament with a 6-5, 2-1 series sweep of United (Laredo) in the Texas Class 6A Region 4 finals. The Jaguars are making their first trip to the state tournament in school history.

11. (22) Greenup County (Greenup, Ky.), 39-1
The Musketeers won the 16h region championship with a 9-1 victory over Ashland Blazer. Greenup County also defeated Boyd County 9-4 and Rowan County 3-2 during the region tournament.

12. (16) West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.), 27-3
Season over.

13. (17) Providence (Charlotte, N.C.), 27-4
Season over.

14. (18) South Caldwell (Hudson, N.C.), 28-2
Season over.

15. (19) University (Orange City, Fla.), 23-4-1
Season over.

16. (20) Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.), 27-3
Florida Class 5A state champion. Season over.

17. (21) Bryant (Ark.), 28-2
Arkansas Class 7A state champion. Season over.

18. (23) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 27-7
Arizona Division I state champion. Season over.

19. (24) De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 25-3
The Spartans won the North Coast Section Division I championship with a 7-3 win over Castro Valley. The Spartans also knocked off College Park (Pleasant Hill) 17-1 in the semifinals.

20. (25) St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.), 25-3
St. Joseph Regional advanced to the North Non-Public A championship game against Seton Hall Prep, scheduled for Monday, by knocking off top-seeded Delbarton 8-5 in the semifinals. St. Joseph Regional also downed Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey) 8-5 in the second round.

21. (27) Plainfield North (Ill.), 32-3
Plainfield North advanced to the Super Sectionals against St. Laurence (Burbank) with an 8-7 win over Plainfield Central in the section semifinal and an 11-3 win over Neuqua Valley (Naperville) in the sectional championship game.

22. (29) Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 31-2
The Seahawks captured the Southern Section Division 3 championship for the second year in a row with a 2-1 win over Woodbridge (Irvine). Redondo Union also topped Beckman (Irvine) 5-2 in the semifinals.

23. (35) Dallas Jesuit, 34-8-2
Jacob Palisch struck out 13 batters and led the Rangers back into the state tournament with a 9-1 win over Atascocita in the Region 2 Class 6A championship game. Dallas Jesuit will meet Johnson (San Antonio) in the semifinals.

24. (NR) Langham Creek (Houston, Texas), 30-11
Langham Creek knocked off No. 1-ranked Deer Park 0-9, 3-2, 4-0 to win the Texas Class 6A Region 3 championship and advance to the state tournament.

25. (1) Deer Park (Texas), 37-3
Deer Park's run at a state championship came to an end in the Region 3 final, falling 9-0, 2-3, 0-4 to Langham Creek. Season over.

Next 25

26. (26) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 19-5
Season over.

27. (28) Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.), 26-6
Season over.

28. (30) Catholic-B.R. (Baton Rouge, La.), 31-7
Season over.

29. (31) Basic (Henderson, Nev.), 36-4
Nevada Division I state champion. Season over.

30. (32) Hillcrest (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), 40-10
Alabama Class 6A state champion. Season over.

31. (33) Locust Grove (Ga.), 33-5
Georgia Class 4A state champion. Season over.

32. (34) Westminster (Atlanta), 30-6
Georgia Class 3A state champion. Season over.

33. (36) Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.), 33-4
Season over.

34. (37) Buford (Ga.), 32-5
Season over.

35. (39) Russellville (Ala.), 47-7
Alabama Class 5A state champion. Season over.

36. (40) Steinbrenner (Lutz, Fla.), 27-5
Florida Class 8A state champion. Season over.

37. (41) Gaither (Tampa, Fla.), 20-9
Florida Class 7A state champion. Season over.

38. (44) Alamo Heights (San Antonio), 26-7
Alamo Heights blanked Borne-Champion (Boerne) 2-0 behind the pitching of Forrest Whitley, who gave up just two hits and struck out 14. The Mules advanced to the Class 5A state tournament.

39. (43) Venice (Fla.), 26-6
Season over.

40. (45) Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas), 27-4
Season over.

41. (47) Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas), 35-1
TAPPS Class 5A state champion. Season over.

42. (48) Hanover (Mechanicsville, Va.), 22-1
Hanover won the 4A East Region championship with an 11-0 win over Jamestown on Saturday. Hanover also defeated Luisa 2-0 in the first round of the tournament and Lafayette 14-3 in the semifinals. Hanover advanced to the Class 4A state tournament with the win.

43. (49) Siegel (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 31-9
Tennessee Class AAA state champion. Season over.

44. (50) East (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), 17-4
Kansas Class 6A state champion. Season over.

45. (NR) Amarillo (Texas), 32-14
Amarillo defeated Midland Lee in two straight games, 6-3 and 9-4, to capture the Texas Class 6A Region 1 championship and advance to the state tournament.

46. (13) Midland Lee (Midland, Texas), 28-11
After ending Coppell's season in the regional semifinals, the Rebels lost two straight to Amarillo, 6-3 and 9-4, and had their season come to an end.

47. (14) Coppell (Texas), 33-4
Season over.

48. (NR) Murrieta Mesa (Murrieta, Calif.), 27-7
Murrieta Mesa defeated Harvard-Westlake 3-2 to win the Southern Section Division 1 title.

49. (NR) Zionsville (Ind.), 27-4-2
The Eagles are ranked No. 1 in the state by the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association.

50. (NR) Pickerington North (Ohio), 23-9
Pickerington North defeated La Salle (Cincinnati) 2-1 to capture the Ohio Division I state championship.

Dropped out: No. 11 Brother Rice (Chicago), No. 12 JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), No. 38 O'Fallon (Ill.), No. 42 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.), No. 46 Boerne Champion (Boerne, Texas).