Washington: No. 9 in Preseason Xcellent 25 Baseball Rankings

Toughest game: Norman Thomas (New York) is always tough, and the Trojans' traditional rival upset them in 2009, interrupting their run of 25 straight conference titles. Most of the players on Thomas come from the same neighborhood as the players from Washington. Highlighting Washington's tournament season will be the 16-team National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C., from March 28-31. This event is something Mandl is targeting hard. It features Sarasota (Fla.), Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) and Brookwood (Snellville, Ga.). Then the Trojans will compete in an Easter tournament April 6-11 in New York City, followed by the Northeast Elite Inviational April 27-29 in West Nyack, N.Y.

Local outlook: Norman Thomas, Beacon (New York) and Tottenville (Staten Island), which lost in the Manhattan A finals last year to the Trojans, but beat the Trojans in the A semifinals the previous year, are all competitive teams that should again challenge Washington. But with the firepower the Trojans have this season, it appears the gap between those programs and Washington will be considerably wider this spring. Under Mandl, the Trojans have done exceptionally well in conference play, racking up a 373-18 Manhattan A Conference record. The Trojans will be going for their 28th league title in the last 29 years.

Overall outlook: Mandl has been doing this for a long, long time and this may possibly be his greatest team. "I like that we're really, really balanced," Mandl said. "We have some great arms and great offense. I can't wait to see this team play defense day in and day out. I haven't come against any weaknesses yet, but maybe complacency. We won the three big ones, the Northeast Elite, the Easter tournament and the city championship last year. We have more experience than usual."

Coach quote: "If we perform on the field the way we look on paper, I think if played 50 games, we could go 50-0, and that's with winning a national championship. I really wouldn't be surprised if we did that. We could be that good. We have so much depth. We know most of the positions that are filled. The kids are still hungry, very, very hungry. They're ready for this season. We wish the season would start tomorrow."
- Steve Mandl