Great Oak and Vista Murrieta, ranked first and seventh, respectively, in the MaxPreps national computer rankings, have helped vault the Southwestern league of Southern California to the top of the nation's toughest leagues list.
Photo by Seth Sanchez
Texas has some of the most competitive leagues in the country and that is certainly evident in MaxPreps' list of the country's toughest baseball leagues, but it's a smaller Southern Section league from California that holds down the No. 1 spot in the Top 10.
The Southwestern League, a league that plays in Division II in the Southern Section and is located in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles, has the top ranking in the toughest leagues list. The league includes Great Oak (Temecula), which is currently ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps National Computer Rankings, as well as Temecula Valley, which was the Division 2 runner up last year and the Boras Classic South champion.
The toughest leagues are determined by using the MaxPreps computer rankings. The rating for each team in the league is added together and that total is divided by the total number of teams in the league. The Southwestern League easily tops the list with an average of 11.783 per team.
Texas dominates the top of the list, however, as it has the next three leagues (or "districts" as they are called in Texas) in the rankings. Two of the districts, Class 5A District 5 (ranked No. 2) and Class 5A District 4 (No. 4), are located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area while 5A District 14 (No. 3) is located in the Houston area.
The Metro Catholic League, located in St. Louis, rounds out the top five.
Top 10 Toughest Baseball Leagues
1. Southwestern (Calif.) - 11.783
Great Oak (Temecula) - 15.7
Vista Murrieta (Murrieta) - 14.8
Temecula Valley (Temecula) - 13.8
Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) - 10.7
Chaparral (Temecula) - 8.7
Murrieta Mesa (Murrieta) - 7.0
2. 5A District 5 (Texas) - 11.517
Flower Mound - 14.6
Marcus (Flower Mound) - 13.7
Coppell - 12.3
Hebron (Carrollton) - 12.1
Lewisville (Lewisville) - 10.4
Ryan (Denton) - 6.0
3. 5A District 14 (Texas) - 10.914
The Woodlands - 15.8
Oak Ridge (Conroe) - 13.0
College Park (The Woodlands) - 12.9
Bryan - 12.5
Lufkin - 9.6
A&M Consolidated (College Station) - 7.5
Conroe - 5.1
Southlake Carroll pitcher Dylan Smith
Photo by Jim Rickets
Carroll (Southlake) - 15.1
Richland (North Richland Hills) - 13.3
Fossil Ridge (Keller) - 13.0
Keller - 11.8
Timber Creek (Fort Worth) - 11.0
Keller Central (Keller) - 8.5
Northwest (Justin) - 7.8
Haltom (Haltom City) - 6.1
5. Metro Catholic (Mo.) - 10.660
Vianney (Kirkwood) - 12.2
St. Louis University (St. Louis) - 10.4
DeSmet Jesuit (St. Louis) - 10.9
Christian Brothers (St. Louis) - 12.3
Chaminade (St. Louis) - 7.5
6. Division I Section 2 (Ariz.) - 10.618
Hamilton (Chandler) - 15.6
Mesquite (Gilbert) - 12.0
Desert Ridge (Mesa) - 11.8
Desert Vista (Phoenix) - 11.0
Chandler - 10.9
Gilbert - 10.6
Corona del Sol (Tempe) - 10.4
Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) - 9.6
Highland (Gilbert) - 9.3
Perry (Gilbert) - 8.8
Basha (Chandler) - 6.8
7. Tri-Rivers (Central Section, Calif.) - 10.567
Clovis - 14.2
Clovis North (Fresno) - 13.0
Buchanan (Clovis) - 12.6
Clovis West (Fresno) - 10.6
Clovis East (Clovis) - 4.2
8. 8A District 16 (Fla.) - 10.529
Killian (Miami) - 15.2
Southridge (Miami) - 15.1
South Dade (Homestead) - 14.1
Varela (Miami) - 9.2
Sunset (Miami) - 8.4
Palmetto (Miami) - 7.9
Coral Reef (Miami) - 3.8
9. East Bay (North Coast Section, Calif.) - 10.425
California (San Ramon) - 13.4
De La Salle (Concord) - 12.7
Amador Valley (Pleasanton) - 10.7
San Ramon Valley (Danville) - 10.7
Granada (Livermore) - 9.8
Monte Vista (Danville) - 9.2
Foothill (Pleasanton) - 9.0
Livermore - 7.9
10. Eastern (San Diego Section, Calif.) - 10.380
Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) - 13.5
St. Augustine (San Diego) - 11.7
Scripps Ranch (San Diego) - 10.1
Patrick Henry (San Diego) - 10.1
Mira Mesa (San Diego) - 6.5
Cathedral Catholic (left) has defeated St. Augustine three times this season, twice by one run.
File photo by Steven Silva
