Nebraska's Top 10 toughest high school baseball schedules

As we dove into our Nebraska baseball computer rankings Tuesday, and sifted through the strength of schedule data, we discovered that the race for toughest baseball schedule was a tight one indeed with a mere two and a half points separating teams one through 10.

Millard West, as it turned out, went toe-to-toe with the top slate in the state. The MaxPreps second-ranked Wildcats edged out No. 17 Millard North by three-tenths of a point for the top spot. Tenth-ranked Elkhorn South and No. 1 Omaha Creighton Prep took over the Nos. 3 and 4 rungs, while No. 11 Lincoln Southeast rounded out the Top five this week.

Top-ranked Omaha Creighton Prep, No. 2 Millard West and tenth-ranked Elkhorn South all landed in this week's Top 10, while also claiming high rankings in MaxPreps' latest computer rankings, which came out Tuesday.

Four of the members of this week's Top 10 played their way into the Nebraska State Baseball Tournament, which was scheduled to crown two champions Thursday. Every member of this week's Top 10 reside in Class A, Nebraska's largest of two classifications.

The Wildcats also played the top schedule when it comes to combined opponent winning percentage. Millard West's opposition put together a 405-272 record combined, which calculates to a .598 winning percentage. Omaha Creighton Prep and Millard North were the top challengers to the Spartans in that category.

Lincoln North Star and Omaha Westside actually tied for the No. 6 spot this week. But Navigator opposition put together a better collective winning percentage, allowing Lincoln North Star to edge out the Warriors for the six spot.

Listed next to each team in this week's Top 10 is the team's won-loss record at the conclusion of district play in parentheses, its opposition's combined won-loss record and the team's MaxPreps strength of schedule rating.

Nebraska's toughest baseball schedules

1. Millard West (Omaha) (19-7), 405-272, 10.0
2. Millard North (Omaha) (12-12), 359-250, 9.7
3. Elkhorn South (Omaha) (19-8), 387-275, 9.6
4. Creighton Prep (Omaha) (22-4), 384-266, 9.1
5. Lincoln Southeast (15-7), 320-244, 8.8
6. North Star (Lincoln) (7-15), 323-226, 8.4
7. Omaha Westside (19-11), 431-323, 8.4
8. Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion) (6-18), 350-251, 8.3
9. Pius X (Lincoln) (7-11), 246-184, 7.6
10. Lincoln East (6-18), 345-271, 7.5