MaxPreps Southern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

San Dimas is giving JSerra Catholic a great run for the No. 1 spot in the rankings, as the Lions have dropped some Trinity League games. But we want to see one more week of play to see if there should be a new No. 1.

The Central Section got a second dog into the fight with Clovis West entering the rankings, and Orange Lutheran, on the heels of a victory over JSerra, also makes an entrance. And last but not least, Agoura moved up one spot, continuing a meteoric rise.

Click here to see the MaxPreps California Computer Rankings.


1. (1 last week) JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano), 15-3
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 1 state, 1 national, 4 Xcellent 50

So the Lions went 1-2 in the week covered by these rankings, with Monday's loss 8-3 against Orange Lutheran not reflected in most others' rankings. Their other two games were a 6-4 loss to Mater Dei and an 8-5 victory against the Monarchs. For now they stay atop, but the gap is narrowing.

2. (2) San Dimas, 20-0
Classification: Southern 3
Rankings: 8 state, 16 national, 36 Xcellent 50

The Saints moved up two spots in the Xcellent 50. They shut out Northview 4-0 and 5-0 to stay undefeated and have two games with Nogales coming up.

3. (4) Buchanan (Clovis), 21-3
Classification: Central 1
Rankings: 13 state, 41 national, 32 Xcellent 50

The Bears had no trouble whatsoever in taking a pair from Clovis East, winning 19-1 and 5-0. They have a huge league series with Clovis West this week, with two games.

4. (5) Agoura, 17-2
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 2 state, 6 national, 25 Xcellent 50

The Chargers took a pair from Newbury Park with great pitching, winning 8-1 and 5-2. They have now won nine in a row and will battle Calabasas twice this week.

5. (7) San Clemente, 17-4
Classification: Southern 2
Rankings: 3 state, 7 national, 22 Xcellent 50

The Tritons won 4-2 and 5-4 over Trabuco Hills to rebound after a tough showing at the Boras Classic. But that's in the past, because this week features two monumental games against Dana Hills, which the Los Angeles Times has ranked above the Tritons.

6. (3) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City), 15-3
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 4 state, 9 national, 28 Xcellent 50

The Wolverines split with Loyola, losing 5-4 and winning 4-3, and they're 3-3 in the Mission League. They'll look to bounce back this week with two games against Crespi and then one with Serra this weekend.

7. (11) Huntington Beach, 13-7
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 17 state, 62 national

The Oilers are hitting their stride and it might just be the best time to do so. They whacked Edison 9-5 and 13-1 to make their move up the rankings, and also won 7-0 over Newport Harbor coming off a third-place finish in the Boras Classic. They face Los Alamitos twice this week.

8. (9) Dana Hills (Dana Point), 19-4
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 6 state, 13 national

The Dolphins split with Tesoro last week, winning 3-2 and losing 1-0, and then followed up with a tournament victory over California (Whittier), 7-1. They have a huge two-game set with San Clemente this week and then next week they have Aliso Niguel.

9. (10) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad), 16-4
Classification: San Diego 1
Rankings: 16 state, 61 national

The Mavericks forced a split with Vista, where the loss was 3-2 and the win was 11-0 - so maybe it was more like a split with a slight advantage for LCC. They have no games scheduled this week before three against Rancho Buena Vista the following week.

10. (8) Edison (Huntington Beach), 14-4
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 5 state, 11 national

The Chargers got humbled a bit by crosstown rival Huntington Beach in a pair of losses: 9-5 and 13-1. Losing to a hot, ranked team doesn't hurt Edison too much, also because teams behind the Chargers had losses as well. They have two with Fountain Valley and one with Tesoro this week.

11. (14) Vista Murrieta (Murrieta), 12-6
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 26 state, 95 national

The Broncos, ranked eighth by the LA Times, took two of three from Great Oak, falling 9-3 in the single game to begin the series but sweeping the doubleheader 15-7 and 8-1. Two games with Murrieta Valley await this week.

12. (6) Alemany (Mission Hills), 13-4
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 9 state, 18 national

The Warriors have lost four of their last five. Last week they fell 7-6 to St. Francis in extra innings before avenging that loss 10-8. They then lost 5-2 to Serra in the Harvard-Westlake tournament. They're taking time to regroup, with just one tournament game against Bishop Amat on the schedule.

13. (15) Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 11-7
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 14 state, 45 national

The Monarchs went 2-1 and the one loss was to JSerra Catholic, so all in all it has to be looked at as a positive week. They won 6-4 over JSerra before losing 8-5, then followed that up with a 5-0 shutout of Santa Margarita. They have two more with Santa Margarita this week.

14. (18) Vista, 15-4
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 57 state, 275 national

The Panthers are done La Costa Canyon after playing them four times in a row and splitting. Last week they won 3-2 and lost 11-0, then edged Carlsbad 3-2 in eight innings. Cal-Hi Sports has this team in the state's top 20 and U-T San Diego has it third. Still hard to tell where Vista fits in.

15. (17) Corona, 12-6
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 34 state, 131 national

The Panthers split with Santiago in a Big VIII tussle, winning 8-4 and losing 10-5. It was a strange change for Corona, which saw seven total runs scored in four games at the Boras Classic, then 27 in two games against Santiago. Two games with Norco await this week.

16. (12) Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo), 14-8
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 27 state, 96 national

The Wolverines forged a split with El Toro, losing 5-2 and then winning 6-5. Their up and down season continues to roll along, and they took a tumble in the LA Times rankings. Two games with Tesoro await this week.

17. (19) Valencia, 13-4
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 38 state, 139 national

The Vikings blasted West Ranch in a pair of victories last week, winning 10-1 and 4-0 in Foothill League play. They will face Hart twice and then square off with Millikan in a tournament game.

18. (20) Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks), 14-5
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 22 state, 81 national

The Knights had themselves a great week, obliterating Crespi twice by identical 18-4 scores. They have two games with Chaminade and a weekend contest with Oak Hills as well.

19. (NR) Clovis West (Fresno), 17-7
Classification: Central 1
Rankings: 53 state, 233 national

The Golden Eagles own a victory over Buchanan this season and they finished second in the NorCal portion of the Boras Classic, registering wins over Oak Ridge and Elk Grove. They are in the Cal-Hi Sports Top 20 as well. They face Buchanan twice this week.

20. (13) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 12-5
Classification: San Diego 1
Rankings: 56 state, 261 national

The Broncos lost two of three to Torrey Pines last week and though UT San Diego has them ahead of Vista, we have moved them down. They lost 2-0, won 13-5 then succumbed in a 5-4 loss in eight innings. Three games with Westview await this week.

21. (22) Santiago (Corona), 14-4-1
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 37 state, 138 national

The Sharks split two games with Corona, a ranked league foe. They won 10-5 before losing 8-4. King (Riverside) is on the schedule twice this week.

22. (16) Chatsworth, 15-9
Classification: Los Angeles City 1
Rankings: 29 state, 103 national

The Chancellors split with El Camino Real, losing 4-1 and then winning 8-5. Where the bigger fall comes from is the 4-3 loss to Santa Barbara over the weekend. Two games with Cleveland (Reseda) and then one with South (Torrance) are on the schedule.

23. (25) El Modena (Orange), 14-5
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 31 state, 117 national

The Vanguards made a huge leap in the computer rankings thanks to three victories last week. They took down Laguna Beach 8-4, Brea Olinda 8-3 and Yorba Linda 4-2. Quality teams Foothill and Villa Park are on the tournament schedule this week.

24. (NR) Orange Lutheran, 15-4
Classification: Southern 1
Rankings: 11 state, 34 national

The Lancers' 8-3 victory Monday over JSerra Catholic got them here, and they are 25th in the LA Times rankings. Our computers obviously love Orange Lutheran. They have two more with JSerra this week, and one more win in that series would be huge.

25. (23) Bonita (La Verne), 13-6
Classification: Southern 2
Rankings: 45 state, 189 national

The Bearcats split with Glendora last week, a team ranked in the LA Times Top 25. They lost 7-4 and won 12-8. Now they have two with South Hills (which just dropped out) and another with Covina.

Dropped out: South Hills, Chaparral