Top 10 high school baseball teams to watch in 2015

The Lambert (Suwanee, Ga.) Longhorns finished one loss away from a possible mythical national championship in 2014, as a defeat at the hands of Milton in the Georgia Class 6A state championships allowed Barbe (Lake Charles, La.) to maintain its hold on the No. 1 spot in the final Xcellent 50 National Baseball Rankings.

Lambert (36-2) went on to win the 6A state championship and will likely have another shot at a national championship as it is expected to start the 2015 season as the No. 1 team to start the preseason.

Although the Longhorns will need to find a coach to replace the departed Jamie Corr, who left Lambert to coach college baseball at Florida SouthWestern State College, just about everyone else returns.

Included in that list is MaxPreps Sophomore Player of the Year Seth Beer, who batted .589 on the season with 10 home runs. He's joined by a pair of talented rising sophomores in Tucker Maxwell (.404) and Kyle McCann (.404). Juniors Ian Kimbrell (.435) and JD Dutka (11-1) give Lambert a very talented, veteran core.

While Lambert will start the season No. 1 in 2014, here are nine other teams that figure to start the season near the top of the preseason rankings.

Park Vista (Lake Worth, Fla.), 27-4
The Cobras reached the Florida Class 8A state semifinals before falling to eventual runner-up Bloomingdale. Park Vista returns a number of talented starters, led by Sun Sentinel Large Schools Player of the Year Austin Smith, who went 12-1 on the mound with 96 strikeouts. He's joined by all-county infielders Dakota Julvlia (2B, .500), Matthew Mika (SS, .419), and Joey Genord (1B). Coach Larry Greenstein was the county coach of the year and has over 400 wins to his credit.

Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 25-6
The Tigers emerged from Florida's rugged Class 5A playoffs with their first state title in 14 years, but there's reason to believe that coach Richie Warren won't have to wait so long for his next championship. The Tigers had only three seniors on the roster last year and return sophomore All-American Michael Sandborn on the mound, as well as JJ Niekro, the son of former Houston Astro Joe Niekro. The offense should also be sound with eight of the team's top 10 hitters returning next year, led by Kennie Taylor (.348, 24 RBI).

Olympia (Orlando, Fla.), 25-3
An upset loss to Apopka, a team it had defeated several times during the regular season, brought an early end to Olympia's state playoff hopes in 2014. Although first-round draft pick Nick Gordon is gone, Olympia is still loaded, particularly at pitcher, where 22 wins return from last year. Chief among those pitchers is MaxPreps Junior All-American Juan Hillman (9-1) along with Michael Byrne (10-1). The offense is not quite as deep, although Hillman, Kirk Sidwell and Cameron Montgomery were among the team leaders in batting average.

College Station (Texas), 36-8-1
Is it possible that the best team in Texas in 2015 will be a 3A squad? Believe it. College Station won the Class 3A state championship and returns 10 players that made the all-district first or second team. One of those players is Ryan Johnson, a rising junior who could be one of the top high school outfielders chosen in next year's MLB Draft. Also back is district MVP, and MaxPreps All-American, Baylor Rowlett at catcher.

St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.), 31-5
The Cougars have a 23-game win streak heading into the 2015 season after winning the Louisiana Class 4A state title. While MaxPreps Medium Schools Player of the Year Chase Vallot has graduated, four of St. Thomas More's top offensive players return, including all-state outfielder O'Neal Lochridge (.383, sevem home runs), and Mason Templet (.442), who is the top-ranked sophomore in the state by Perfect Game.

Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), 23-10
The Wolverines fell two runs short of a Southern Section Division II championship, falling 5-3 to Temecula Valley in the finals. Aliso Niguel has one of the top rising juniors in the country in Kyle Molnar (.320, 10-2 pitching record) while Blake Sabol (.330, 4 home runs) ranks as one of the best rising sophomores. Five of Aliso Niguel's top eight offensive performers return along with 12 pitching wins.

JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), 22-8
The Lions won the Trinity League and reached the Southern Section Division I semifinals before falling to Foothill (Santa Ana). Of the eight JSerra players to earn all-league honors, seven were underclassmen, including league MVP Brady Shockey (OF, Soph). Also back are Chase Strumpf (SS, Soph), Jack Owen (LHP, Frosh), Sam Cohen (C, Jr), Jake Pries (OF, Jr), Quentin Longrie (LHP, Jr) and Davis Wendzel (Ut, Soph).

Winter Haven (Fla.), 25-6
The Class 6A runner-up in Florida, Winter Haven returns its top nine offensive performers along with four pitchers. While Trenton Gantt (13 wins) will be missed on the mound, the offense returns eight players with 50 or more at-bats who hit over .300 on the season, led by Luis Morales (.402, 13 doubles) and Rouglas Odor (Soph, .429). The Blue Devils also have one of the state's top coaches in former MLB veteran Pat Borders.

Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), 32-12
Marcus had a pair of wins over state champion Flower Mound during the regular season and it returns seven players who earned all-district honors in 2014. They include district MVP Brendan Venter, pitchers Jack Cushing and Ethan Nichols, outfielder Ashton Easley, catcher Matt Bernstein, first baseman Josh Ringsdorf and designated hitter Drew Jackson.