Archbishop McCarthy: No. 5 in Preseason Xcellent 25 Baseball Rankings

Toughest game: Archbishop McCarthy dropped only three games during its 2011 title run. The Mavericks will have an opportunity to avenge a pair of those losses in a late-season, two-game homestand against American (Hialeah, Fla.) on April 10 and Gulliver Prep (Miami) three days later. Games versus Columbus (Miami), Belen Jesuit (Miami), West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.), Monsignor Pace (Miami Gardens, Fla.), Hialeah, Florida Christian (Miami) and Key West, along with out-of-state matchups against Jenks (Okla.) and Calvert Hall (Baltimore), will test Archbishop McCarthy throughout during a rugged regular season lineup of formidable foes.

Local outlook: Pembroke Pines Charter lost two fairly close games to Archbishop McCarthy in 2011 and appears to be the lone team that could prevent the Mavericks from capturing their fifth-straight district title. In the region, Naples and Barron Collier (Naples, Fla.) present a more difficult path to reach the state tournament than in seasons past. Also, Mater Academy (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.), led by Miami signee and projected first round draft pick Albert Almora, welcomed a handful of newcomers into its program and could be the Mavericks' stiffest competition.

Overall outlook: Archbishop McCarthy may experience a power shortage in 2012, but don't expect that to derail its chances of a Florida state championship three-peat or its ability to maintain a Top 10 national ranking. With the pitching staff the Mavericks have cultivated, they might not need to score too many runs. Look for an aggressive approach on the basepaths from the Mavericks as they will have to generate more offense than in recent seasons.

Coach quote: "As tough as our schedule was last year, (Director of Baseball Operations and former major leaguer) Alex Fernandez even took it to another level this year. Every week, I think we play a team that has some kind of state or national recognition. We just try to go out and create the toughest schedule we can create because we feel it prepares us for the playoffs. That's our goal every year, to win a state championship. We're not really concerned what our record is at the end of the year, nobody remembers that anyway. The only thing anybody remembers is who won a state title."
– Rich Bielski