MaxPreps 2016 Los Angeles City Section preseason high school softball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard

1. Chatsworth
Head coach: John Forgerson
2015 record: 30-5

The defending Division I city champions lived up to their top seed in the playoffs and bring back the Division I Coach of the Year in Forgerson and Division I Pitcher of the Year in Kyla Gendler. Gendler went 19-2 with a 1.85 ERA as a junior and struck out 117 batters in 125 innings. Four all-city players graduated, so the Chancellors will have to prove that they can hit this year in order to repeat. Junior Lindsey Lowe (.359, 28 RBIs) was second on the team in RBIs last season.

See last season's Los Angeles City Section softball Computer Rankings

2. Carson
Head coach: Cam Werner
2015 record: 26-6

The Colts have a new coach and will look to get past Chatsworth, the team that beat them in the city title game. Division I Player of the Year Hillary Edior graduated but a pair of first team Division I players come back in third baseman Aniesa Maulupe and Alissa Cienfuegos. Maulupe hit an incredible .538 with nine home runs and 47 RBIs, and Cienfuegos was 12-2 with a 1.83 ERA in the circle. Danika Justis was second team all-Division I after hitting .416 with 15 stolen bases.

See Los Angeles City Section softball photos

3. Port of Los Angeles (San Pedro)
Head coach: Melissa Bugarin-Espinoza
2015 record: 31-5

The Polar Bears reached the Division I semifinals as a No. 4 seed and come back this season with Analise De La Roca ready to assume the role of ace pitcher. Last season she started 11 games and went 12-2 with a 2.60 ERA while sharing time with senior Nicolle Miranda. Junior outfielder Shelby Younkin hit .398 with eight doubles and she led the team with 12 stolen bases.

See last season's Los Angeles City Section softball stat leaders

4. South East (South Gate)
Head coach: Brian Jacoby
2015 record: 21-3

The Jaguars are Division III, maybe not an obvious pick to be among the section's best overall. But returning the D-III Coach of the Year in Jacoby, Pitcher of the Year in sophomore Ieleen Guardado and Player of the Year in senior Karina Gomez makes them a simple choice. Need more proof? Juniors Karina Gomez and Destiny Reyes were first team all-Division III and junior Andrea Vasquez joined sophomore Destiny Reyes on the second team.

See last season's California softball playoff brackets

5. Chavez (San Fernando)
Head coach: Andrew Cabrera
2015 record: 14-12

The Eagles will have a new coach after they won the Division II title as a No. 9 seed. A tough league with mostly Division I teams hurt their record but helped them in the postseason, including a 16-1 win over the top seed. They have reigning Division II Player of the Year Brittany Delgado, who hit .443 with 23 RBIs, coming back. All-Division II first team member Mabel Calderon (.425 average) will be back at shortstop for her senior season and second team outfielder Abigail Davila comes back for her senior season as well after smashing seven home runs and stealing nine bases. Most of their starts in the pitching circle were by freshmen, so expect the pitching to be better.