Barbe (Lake Charles, La.) finished the 2021 season as the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball rankings, marking the 11th time coach Glenn Cecchini's team has won a state championship and the second time the Buccaneers have finished No. 1 by MaxPreps.
The question from those in Michigan, however, will likely be, "What about
St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake)?" The Eaglets engineered the greatest season in school history and had, historically, one of the greatest seasons ever by a Great Lakes State team. In fact, since national rankings first began in 1977 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, no Michigan team has finished higher by any ranking service than the Eaglets.
St. Mary Prep was led by All-America candidate
Alex Mooney along with a trio of juniors,
Nolan Schubart,
Brock Porter and
Ike Irish, who rank among the best in the country by Perfect Game.
But here's why we like Barbe as the No. 1 team. First, the MaxPreps computer rankings have Barbe No. 1 at the national level (35.0), followed by
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) (34.6) and St. Mary Prep (34.5). The Buccaneers also avenged both of their losses with convincing wins.
In the playoffs, Barbe had four shutouts and allowed just five runs in seven games. Barbe also won one of the games on a no-hitter. Barbe was 6-1 against teams ranked among the top seven in the state and 5-1 against teams ranked in the top 100 national computer rankings. St. Mary Prep, meanwhile, was 1-0 against teams in the top 100 in the nation and IMG Academy was 3-1.
Barbe also has history on its side. All 11 of the Buccaneers' state championships have come since 1998 with six of them occurring since 2012. Barbe also finished as the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 in 2014. Over the past nine full seasons (not counting 2020), Barbe has an average won-loss record of 34-5.
The final rankings have one new team from last week with Indiana Class 4A champion
Jasper replacing
Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), which lost in the first round of the Southern California tournament.
Streaks: Webster (Wis.) saw its three-year win streak come to an end with a 14-0 loss to
Boyceville on June 22. Webster defeated Northwood/Solon Springs 10-7 earlier in the day before suffering the loss. Webster's streak reached 58 games, tying it for 19th all-time with Wilton (Iowa), 2005-06, and St. Cloud Cathedral (St. Cloud, Minn.), 2014-16. Roff (Okla.) is believed to be the team with the longest active "spring season" win streak at 43 games dating back to the 2019 season.
Final MaxPreps Top 25 baseball rankings
1. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)Record: 39-2 |
Last week: 1
Class 5A state champion
2. St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)Record: 43-1 |
Last week: 2
Division 2 state champion
3. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)Record: 23-2 |
Last week: 3
4. Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)Record: 28-2 |
Last week: 4
Class 7A state champion
5. Madison Central (Madison, Miss.)Record: 34-2 |
Last week: 5
Class 6A state champion
6. Thousand Oaks (Calif.)Record: 29-1 |
Last week: 7
Southern Section Division 2 champion
7. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)Record: 41-2 |
Last week: 7
KHSAA state champion
8. Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.)Record: 27-4 |
Last week: 8
Division II Class AA state champion
9. Roff (Okla.)Record: 33-0 |
Last week: 9
Class B state champion
10. Liberty (Peoria, Ariz.)Record: 21-3 |
Last week: 10
Division I state champion
11. Buford (Ga.)Record: 32-2 |
Last week: 11
12. Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.)Record: 35-3 |
Last week: 12
MAIS state champion
13. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.)Record: 29-4 |
Last week: 14
Southern Section Division 1 champion
14. New Albany (Ohio)Record: 29-5 |
Last week: 15
Division 1 state champion
15. Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas)Record: 37-8-1 |
Last week: 16
Class 5A state champion
16. JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)Record: 30-7 |
Last week: 24
Southern California champion
17. Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)Record: 26-3 |
Last week: 17
18. Auburn (Ala.)Record: 36-7 |
Last week: 18
Class 7A state champion
19. The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.)Record: 31-1 |
Last week: 19
Class 3A state champion
20. Marist (Atlanta, Ga.)Record: 33-9 |
Last week: 20
AAAA state champion
21. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)Record: 30-10 |
Last week: 21
AAAAAAA state champion
22. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)Record: 18-1 |
Last week: 22
Southern Nevada 5A regional champion
23. Rockwall-Heath (Rockwall, Texas)Record: 38-11-1 |
Last week: 23
Class 6A state champion
24. Jasper (Ind.)
Record: 31-2
| Last week: NR
Results: Def. Fishers, 3-1
Class 4A state champion
25. Friendswood (Texas)
Record: 31-3 | Last week: 25
Past MaxPreps National Champions
2020 – No champion crowned
2019 –
Argyle (Texas), 40-1-1
2018 – Argyle, 37-0
2017 –
Shawnee (Okla.), 40-0
2016 –
Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 30-1
2015 –
Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), 34-2
2014 –
Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 39-2
2013 –
Pensacola Catholic (Pensacola, Fla.), 30-0
2012 –
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 40-3
2011 –
Broken Arrow (Okla.), 36-2
2010 –
Sumrall (Miss.), 35-1
2009 – Sumrall, 36-0
