High school baseball rankings: MaxPreps Top 25 gets messy after Huntington Beach wins NHSI

High-profile tournaments like the National High School Invitational are supposed to help make rankings a little more clear. Instead, a Huntington Beach (Calif.) win over JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) in the championship game only made things murkier.

The Oilers are veterans of the NHSI, having competed in the event six times and winning a previous championship in 2016. However, they certainly weren't the favorite entering the event. In fact, seven other teams were ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 while Huntington Beach was ranked No. 58 – in California.

On the other side of the bracket, JSerra Catholic entered the tournament with six losses in its previous 10 games after making an appearance at No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 in early March. The Lions also did not enter the tournament as one of the favorites to reach the championship game.

But there they were after three rounds facing off in the championship game. Huntington Beach took down a pair of nationally-ranked teams in No. 4 Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.) and No. 21 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), along with unranked Basha (Chandler, Ariz.). JSerra Catholic, meanwhile, knocked off ranked teams Houston County (Warner Robins, Ga.) and Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) along with unranked Brother Rice (Chicago, Ill.).

With none of the seven ranked teams reaching the final, that left a dilemma of what to do in terms of this week's rankings and where to rank Huntington Beach and JSerra Catholic. Afterall, the two finalists had 13 losses combined.

Ultimately, five ranked tournament teams fell from the rankings – Calvary Christian, Houston County, Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.), T.C. Roberson (Asheville, N.C.) and Doral Academy (Doral, Fla.). Bishop Gorman and Santa Margarita, each of whom went 3-1 in the tournament, remained in the rankings.

Huntington Beach jumps into the rankings at No. 12 while JSerra Catholic remains just outside despite having beaten Santa Margarita in the tournament. However, the Eagles also have two previous wins over JSerra Catholic. The Lions still have a chance to work their way back into the rankings with the Boras Classic South tournament in two weeks as well as the Southern Section and Southern California playoffs. The Lions have excelled in the postseason the past two seasons.

IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) remains on top of the MaxPreps Top 25 with four wins in its own National Classic last week. The Ascenders face a gauntlet of teams in the next two weeks, including Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), Dunedin (Fla.), Doral Academy and newly-ranked Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.).

Game of the Week: Huntington Beach def. JSerra Catholic, 8-1. The Oilers scored seven runs in the top of the ninth inning to break a 1-1 tie and beat the Lions for their second National High School Invitational championship.

Player of the Week: Tyler Bellerose of Huntington Beach was the MVP of the National High School Invitational. He allowed just one run in nine innings during the tournament, striking out eight.

Game to watch: IMG Academy vs. Parkview. Could the Panthers find their way back to the MaxPreps Top 25 with a win over IMG Academy? Since starting the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, Parkview has dropped out of the rankings following three losses to Jesuit, Providence School (Jacksonville, Fla.), and Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.).

Streaks: St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) won four games last week to raise its win streak to 71 games in a row. That total puts the Eaglets into No. 4 on the all-time win streaks list, moving ahead of La Cueva (Albuquerque, N.M.), which had 70 from 2002 to 2005. Next up on the list is Michigan state record holder Homer, which won 75 games in a row from 2004 to 2005.

Team of the Week: Selected based on stats submitted to MaxPreps.

P — Eli Brooks, Stagg (Stockton, Calif.): Went seven innings against Franklin and gave up no runs on no hits with 13 strikeouts.
C — Domitilo Ayala, Ash Fork/Seligman (Ariz.): Was 8-for-9 with six runs, seven RBI, three doubles and  four triples.
1B — Ty Cobb, Thomas Jefferson Academy (Louisville, Ga.): Batted 7-for-7 with six runs, 11 RBI, two doubles and a triple.
2B — Braden Smith, Brandon (Miss.): Went 9-for-10 with 12 RBI, four doubles and two home runs.
3B — Dawson Lawhon, Jessieville (Ark.): Went 5-for-5 with five runs scored, five RBI and four doubles.
SS — Walker Martin, Eaton (Colo.): Was 5-for-5 with six runs, 10 RBI, a triple and two home runs.
OF — Brady Groves, Franklinton (N.C.): Batted 10-for-10 last week with five runs, five RBI and three triples.
OF — Kaleb Cost, Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Ga.): Scored eight runs, batted 5-for-5 with four RBI and two home runs.
OF — Bayler Rebold, Udall (Kan.): Had three triples and a double while batting 5-for-5 with four runs and five RBI. MaxPreps Top 25 baseball rankings

1. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Record: 17-0 | Last week: 1
Scores: Def. International Baseball Academy, 13-3; def. Poly Prep Country Day (Brooklyn), 12-3; def. Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda), 5-2; def. Florida Christian, 11-1
Hitter of the week: Cade Ladehoff had a grand slam home run to spark a nine-run inning against the International Baseball Academy.
Pitcher of the week: Jaewoo Cho went seven innings against Poly Prep Country Day and gave up three runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts.
Next: Wednesday vs. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)

2. Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
Record: 15-0 | Last week: 3
Scores: Def. North Broward Prep, 4-2; def. Archbishop McCarthy, 2-1
Hitter of the week: Matthew Ossenfort went 1-for-3 with a home run against North Broward Prep.
Pitcher of the week: Christian Rodriguez racked up 14 strikeouts in six innings and got the win against North Broward Prep.
Next: Tuesday vs. Bishop Verot

3. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 27-1 | Last week: 5
Scores: Def. Comeaux (Lafayette), 9-0; def. New Iberia, 10-0; def. Elizabeth, 14-0 and 10-0; def. New Iberia, 14-1
Hitter of the week: Donovan LaSalle went 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBI in a 14-1 win.
Pitcher of the week: Landon Victorian struck out 13 and walked none in a five-inning one-hit shutout over New Iberia.
Next: Tuesday vs. Lafayette

4. St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
Record: 5-0 | Last week: 6
Scores: Def. Central Catholic (Novi), 6-1, 1-0; Def. University of Detroit Jesuit, 10-0, 14-3
Hitter of the week: In a doubleheader with Detroit Jesuit, Jasen Oliver went 2-for-2 with two home runs and seven RBI in a 14-3 win and 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI in the 10-0 win.
Pitcher of the week: Aidan Donovan allowed no runs on four hits with five strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Central Catholic.
Next: Wednesday vs. University Liggett

5. Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Record: 4-0 | Last week: 7
Scores: Def. La Salle (Cincinnati), 5-3; def. Ryle (Union, Ky.), 10-0; def. Lebanon, 10-0
Hitter of the week: Nathan Manley went 5-for-10 at the plate in the Crusaders' three wins.
Pitcher of the week: Toby Hueber allowed no runs on five hits with two strikeouts in a six-inning shutout win over Lebanon.
Next: Today vs. Vauxhall Academy.

6. Sinton (Texas)
Record: 20-1 | Last week: 8
Scores: Def. Orange Grove, 13-0; def. Raymondville, 10-0
Hitter of the week: Blake Mitchell was 4-for-4 in the two wins last week with a home run.
Pitcher of the week: Aidan Moody threw a five-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts against Raymondville.
Next: Tuesday vs. Rockport-Fulton

7. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)
Record: 0-0 | Last week: 9
Next: April 9 vs. Indian Hills

8. Westlake (Austin, Texas)
Record: 23-1 | Last week: 13
Scores: Def. Anderson, 9-0, 15-2; Def. Vandegrift, 8-2
Hitter of the week: Sage Sanders went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and three RBI in the 15-2 win over Anderson.
Pitcher of the week: Chance Covert went five innings and gave up no runs on three hits with three strikeouts in a 9-0 win over Anderson.
Next: Tuesday vs. Dripping Springs

9. Concordia Lutheran (Tomball, Texas)
Record: 23-1 | Last week: 22
Scores: Def. Central Catholic (San Antonio), 6-4, 4-3, 3-0
Hitter of the week: Michael Herndon hit a home run in the 3-0 win over Central Catholic.
Pitcher of the week: Jeremiah McCranie went the distance in the 3-0 win, giving up no runs on five hits with two strikeouts in seven innings.
Next: Thursday vs. Kinkaid (Houston)

10. Catholic-B.R. (Baton Rouge, La.)
Record: 24-2 | Last week: 23
Scores: Def. Central (Baton Rouge), 9-2, 7-0, 9-3
Hitter of the week: Prescott Marsh went 2-for-4 with a home run in the 9-3 win.
Pitcher of the week: William Schmidt threw a seven-inning no-hitter in the 7-0 win, striking out seven.
Next: Tuesday vs. Woodlawn-B.R. (Baton Rouge)

11. Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Record: 13-2 | Last week: 20
Scores: Lost to Stoneman Douglas, 2-1; def. Westminster Christian, 4-1
Hitter of the week: Greg Caban went 1-for-3 with two RBI against Westminster Christian.
Pitcher of the week: Nico Gutierrez-Villa went six innings against Westminster Christian and gave up one run on three hits with seven strikeouts.
Next: Tuesday vs. Lane Tech (Chicago, Ill.)

12. Huntington Beach (Calif.)
Record: 12-6 | Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Basha (Ariz.), 6-3, def. Calvary Christian (Clearwater), 8-3; def. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 3-2; def. JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), 8-1
Hitter of the week: Ralph Velazquez went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI against Calvary Christian.
Pitcher of the week: Tyler Bellerose pitched six innings against JSerra Catholic and allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts. He also pitched three no-hit innings against Basha.
Next: Tuesday vs. Corona Del Mar

13. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Record: 12-2 | Last week: 21
Scores: Def. Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.), 9-0; def. Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.), 5-0; lost to Huntington Beach (Calif.), 3-2; def. Doral Academy (Fla.), 4-1
Hitter of the week: Gunnar Myro went 3-for-4 with three doubles and five RBI against Blessed Trinity.
Pitcher of the week: Kaden Soder went seven innings and gave up no runs on four hits with four strikeouts against Bishop Verot.
Next: Today vs. Juan Diego Catholic (Draper, Utah)

14. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)
Record: 16-2 | Last week: 14
Scores: Def. Crespi (Encino), 8-2, 4-3; lost to Crespi, 3-1
Hitter of the week: Madden Ocko went 2-for-5 with three RBI in the 8-2 win over Crespi.
Pitcher of the week: Oliver Boone gave up three runs on four hits with six strikeouts in a 4-3 win.
Next: Tuesday vs. San Dimas

15. Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
Record: 14-3 | Last week: 15
Scores: Def. T.C. Roberson (Asheville, N.C.), 6-0; def. St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.), 2-1; lost to JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), 4-1; def. Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.), 2-1
Hitter of the week: Blake Balsz went 2-for-3 with a double against T.C. Roberson and 1-for-3 with a triple against St. Xavier.
Pitcher of the week: Collin Clarke gave up no runs on five hits with 12 strikeouts in six innings against T.C. Roberson.
Next: April 11 vs. Corona

16. Sam Houston (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 22-2 | Last week: 16
Scores: Def. Alexandria, 9-3; def. Southside (Youngsville), 10-0; lost to Southside, 7-5
Hitter of the week: Jaxon Landreneau went 3-for-3 with a double and four RBI in the 10-0 win over Southside.
Pitcher of the week: Cole Flanagan had four shutout innings with seven strikeouts in a 10-0 win.
Next: Tuesday vs. Comeaux (Lafayette)

17. Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.)
Record: 11-1 | Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), 4-0
Hitter of the week: PJ Mountzouridis went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
Pitcher of the week: Michael Castaneda went five shutout innings with four strikeouts for the win against Mitty.
Next: Today vs. Bishop Amat (La Puente)

18. Pace (Fla.)
Record: 14-1 | Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Navarre, 12-5; def. Tate, 5-2
Hitter of the week: Kenneth Glenn Brooks went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
Pitcher of the week: Nathan Caston went four innings and gave up no runs on one hit with five strikeouts for the win against Tate.
Next: Tuesday vs. Harrison County

19. Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 14-2 | Last week: 2
Scores: Lost to Dunedin, 1-0; lost to Plant, 4-1
Hitter of the week: Wes Mendes scored the only run against Plant with a solo home run.
Pitcher of the week: John Abraham took the loss against Dunedin, but he did not allow a hit and he struck out four.
Next: Tuesday vs. Male (Louisville)

20. Rancho Bernardo (San Diego, Calif.)
Record: 7-1 | Last week: 18
Scores: Def. Torrey Pines, 6-0; lost to Torrey Pines, 2-1
Hitter of the week: Nick Derham went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI in the win.
Pitcher of the week: Brady Dockan went five innings and gave up no runs on three hits with eight strikeouts in a 6-0 win.
Next: Today vs. Grossmont

21. Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)
Record: 14-3 | Last week: NR
Scores: Def. San Luis, 16-6, def. Mountain Ridge, 13-3
Hitter of the week: Roch Cholowsky went 4-for-4 with three runs, two home runs and five RBI against Mountain Ridge.
Pitcher of the week: Carson Johnson got the win over San Luis, going five innings with five strikeouts.
Next: Tuesday vs. Basha (Chandler)

22. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)
Record: 11-2 | Last week: 25
Scores: Lost to Valley Christian (San Jose), 4-0
Hitter of the week: Makao Sniffen went 1-for-3 with a double in the loss.
Pitcher of the week: Luka Pintar had a solid effort on the mound in the loss to Valley Christian, throwing six innings and giving up one run on five hits with four strikeouts.
Next: Tuesday vs. Whitney (Rocklin, Calif.)

23. Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)
Record: 14-1 | Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Glenbrook North, 1-0; def. Lake Nona, 9-1
Hitter of the week: Logan Chapman went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI against Lake Nona. He also doubled against Glenbrook North.
Pitcher of the week: Oscar Hernandez threw seven innings and gave up no runs on four hits with nine strikeouts against Glenbrook North.
Next: Tuesday vs. Osceola

24. Sulphur (La.)
Record: 21-2 | Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Carencro (Lafayette), 4-2; def. Acadiana (Lafayette), 13-3, 1-0
Hitter of the week: Dillion Bird went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI in the 13-3 win.
Pitcher of the week: Kohl Navarre threw a no-hitter in a 1-0 win over Acadiana with four strikeouts.
Next: Saturday vs. Barbe (Lake Charles)

25. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)
Record: 9-1 | Last week: NR
Scores: Def. San Ramon Valley, 15-11, 6-0
Hitter of the week: Connor Harrison went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBI in the 15-11 win.
Pitcher of the week: R.J. Meyn threw six innings in the 6-0 win, giving up no runs on two hits with five strikeouts.