MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

The regular season is over for some. Some Bay Area programs compete in league tournaments this week while teams from the Valley start the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

Be sure to check out Joe Davidson's article about the top 15 baseball teams in California prep history.


1. (Last week 1) Elk Grove (22-4)
Top-ranked by The Sacramento Bee and riding a 17-game winning streak, the Thundering Herd seek to defend their Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship after winning the Delta Valley Conference. Outfielder Derek Hill leads the offense and patrols center field and Nick Madrigal has been superb at shortstop. The leading pitchers are Chris Martin and Ty Madrigal.

2. (7) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (22-5)
The Monarchs beat West Catholic Athletic League rival and previous No. 2 St. Francis 2-1 to take the regular-season title, marking two victories over the longtime power this season. Joe Cahn hit a seventh-inning home run in the last meeting. Mitty also beat No. 4 Valley Christian 5-1.

3. (2) St. Francis (Mountain View) (22-4)
The Lancers lost 2-1 to Mitty, the second setback to the Monarchs, in the West Catholic Athletic League. This week is the WCAL postseason tournament.

4. (4) Valley Christian (San Jose) (19-8)
The Warriors lost 1-0 to then-No. 2 St. Francis and 5-1 to new No. 2 Mitty before beating Riordan (San Francisco) 1-0 to cap WCAL regular-season play.

5. (5) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (21-4)
The Eagles, ranked second by The Sacramento Bee, are riding a 12-game winning streak and have locked up the Delta River League championship. Catcher Nicco Toni and shortstop Bronson Grubbs head a defense poised for a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I title run.

6. (6) College Park (Pleasant Hill) (21-3)
The Falcons beat previous No. 3 Clayton Valley Charter 3-0 and 4-3 to win the Diablo Valley Athletic League title. Joe DeMers has pitched well. The league playoffs are this week.

7. (3) Clayton Valley Charter (Concord) (21-3)
The Ugly Eagles lost 3-0 and 4-3 to No. 5 College Park and finished second in the Diablo Valley Athletic League race. The other loss was to then-No. 1 St. Francis.

8. (8) San Ramon Valley (Danville) (16-6)
The regular-season winds down this week with a three-way tie on top of the East Bay Athletic League after beating No. 10 De La Salle 6-2.

9. (9) California (San Ramon) (17-5)
The Grizzlies beat previously ranked Granada (Livermore) 7-2 as Jake Ackerman had three RBIs. Big game looms Thursday against No. 10 De La Salle.

10. (10) De La Salle (Concord) (16-6)
The Spartans are tied with No. 8 San Ramon Valley and No. 9 California for first place in the East Bay Athletic League. Alex Ross earned the win in a 7-0 effort over Monte Vista (Danville).

11. (12) Campolindo (Moraga) (18-4)
The Cougars squeaked out a 3-2 walk-off win over Acalanes last week on a Conner McNally single that brought home Ben Skinner. Denis Karas picked up with win, throwing two innings of shutout relief.

12. (13) Serra (San Mateo) (16-10)
The Padres are riding a six-game winning streak after beating No. 13 Bellarmine 2-0 on a John Besse two-hitter and St. Ignatius 7-4. WCAL playoffs are this week.

13. (11) Bellarmine (San Jose) (21-6)
The Bells fell to No. 12 Serra 2-0 and beat Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 9-0) and take on Serra again this week in the WCAL playoffs.

14. (14) Davis (16-11-1)
The Blue Devils, ranked third by The Sacramento Bee, beat No. 18 Granite Bay 1-0 in nine innings in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I playoff opener as Brett Bloomfield earned the win in relief. Jared McNece drove in Trey Golston for the game-winner. Play No. 23 Vacaville next.

15. (15) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (18-9)
The Trojans beat Napa 6-5 in eight innings in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I opener as Kyle Barisone drove in three and Brogan Cooper two. Play No. 17 Rocklin next.

16. (16) Franklin (Elk Grove) (19-9)
Cameron Keup tossed yet another complete game for the Wildcats, beating Rocklin 4-1 in eight innings in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I opener. Hank LoForte had three hits and an RBI. Play No. 5 Pleasant Grove next.

17. (18) Rocklin (16-11)
The Thunder won the Sierra Foothill League title over No. 18 Granite Bay and Del Oro. Rocklin and ace Logan Webb open Sac-Joaquin Section D-I play against No. 15 Oak Ridge.

18. (19) Granite Bay (15-12)
The Grizzlies had their season come to an end at No. 14 Davis, 1-0, despite another pitching gem by Mitch Hart, the USC commit who is also expected to get drafted. Infielders Devin Lehman and Vinny Esposito closed out stellar careers.

19. (21) Benicia (21-4)
The Panthers are strong contenders in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-II field and open against Bella Vista (Fair Oaks).

20. (22) Maria Carrillo (Santa Rosa) (22-2)
Winners of the North Bay League, the Pumas enter the league tournament as heavy favorites.

21. (23) Manteca (21-3)
The Buffaloes won the Valley Oak League with a 4-0 victory over Sierra (Manteca) as Lucas Vaughn tossed a no-hitter, striking out seven. Loom as a real threat in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-IV playoffs.

22. (24) Turlock (20-5)
The Bulldogs won the Central California Conference and loom as a threat in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I South playoffs.

23. (NR) Vacaville (16-10)
The Bulldogs won the Monticello Empire League and take on No. 14 Davis in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I playoffs. Drew Chitwood and Blake Hannah are leading pitchers.

24. (NR) Pleasant Valley (Chico) (23-3)
The Vikings of the Northern Section won the Eastern League and enter the D-I playoffs as major contenders. Ryan Stiendorf is batting .415 with 29 RBIs and Ian Melton is hitting .455 with 26 RBIs.

25. (25) Sutter (23-2)
The Huskies of the Northern Section have won 21 consecutive games, last losing 7-5 to Sac-Joaquin Section D-III power Colfax. Brad Bonnenfant is hitting .472 with 32 RBIs with a 6-0 record. Other pitchers include Trenton McDaniel (9-0) and Tyler Minton (5-1).

The Sacramento Bee profiles two NorCal players who have college scholarships and Major League Baseball draft interest

The Sacramento Bee profiles two hard-throwing NorCal pitchers who touch the mid 90s              

The Sacramento Bee previews the Sac-Joaquin Section baseball playoffs

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter @SacBee_JoeD and on www.sacbee.com/preps.