Brazoswood won the UIL 5A title in Texas and moves all the way up to 17th.
Photo by Jim Redman
If Great Bridge's win over previously undefeated South County didn't solidify Broken Arrow's spot on top of the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings, perhaps the Major League Baseball Draft did.
Great Bridge ended South County's chance at possibly moving up into the top spot when it defeated the Stallions 5-3 for the Virginia AAA state title. The loss dropped previous No. 3 South County down to No. 35 in this week's rankings.
However South County would have had a difficult time moving into the top spot thanks to Broken Arrow's strong showing in the MLB draft. It was one of only five teams in the country to have three players selected with all three players, Archie Bradley (Round 1), Mason Hope (5) and Chase Williams (39), being pitchers.
Ironically, Williams only pitched two innings this year for the Tigers, but the performance of the 6-foot-6 righthander throwing alongside Bradley and Hope in the bullpen made scouts take notice, according to coach James Ashley. Williams was selected in round 39 by the Colorado Rockies.
Bradley and Hope, however, formed one of the best 1-2 duos in the country. The Tigers also defeated a team, Owasso, that had the No. 1 high school player selected in the MLB Draft in Dylan Bundy. Bradley was also recently selected ahead of Bundy as the State Player of the Year by the Oklahoma City Oklahoman, although Gatorade went with Bundy as its National Player of the Year.
Nevertheless, the Tigers defeated a pair of state runners-up this year, topping Owasso and Lakeland. Those strong performances, and the presence of Bradley and Hope, make the Tigers the choice as the MaxPreps National Baseball Team of the Year.
The Xcellent 50 National Rankings will conclude next week following the final round of state championship tournaments. A final top 100 will appear in mid-July.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 50 NATIONAL BASEBALL RANKINGS
1. (1) Broken Arrow (Okla.), 36-2
Oklahoma 6A state champions. Season over.
2. (2) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 30-2
California Central Section Division I champions. Season over.
3. (4) Maize (Kan.), 25-0
Kansas 6A state champion. Season over.
4. (5) Owasso (Okla.), 37-2
Oklahoma 6A state runners-up. Season over.
5. (6) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 28-3
Florida 4A state champion. Season over.
6. (7) Spanish Fork (Utah), 29-3
Utah 4A state champion. Season over.
7. (8) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 35-4
Nevada 4A state champions. Season over.
8. (9) Alonso (Tampa, Fla.), 23-5
Florida 6A state champion. Season over.
9. (12) Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.), 31-2
The Rams won their second straight Non-Public B title in New Jersey thanks to a five-run first inning and a nine-run third in a 14-2 win over Newark Academy.
Cody Brown had a home run and struck out seven to finish 12-0 on the season.
10. (16) Washington (New York City), 45-2
The Trojans topped Tottenville 4-2 in the PSAL championship game to complete their season. Washington rallied for three runs in the final two innings on a two-run single by
Erick Roman and a suicide squeeze by
Henry Rodriguez.
11. (10) West Boca Raton (Fla.), 27-4
Florida 5A state champions. Season over.
12. (13) Jesuit (New Orleans), 29-5
Louisiana 5A state champions. Season over.
13. (14) Mountain Pointe (Phoenix), 27-5
Arizona 5A Division I state champions. Season over.
14. (15) Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 34-4
Arizona 4A Division I state champions. Season over.
15. (17) Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.), 29-4
California Southern Section Division IV champions. Season over.
16. (18) Howell (St. Charles, Mo.), 32-3
Missouri Division 4 state champions. Season over.
17. (25) Brazoswood (Clute, Texas), 34-8
The Buccaneers edged Klein 4-3 in the semifinals and knocked off Coronado (Lubbock) 10-3 in the championship game to claim the Texas 5A state title.
William Renner was 3-for-3 with four RBIs while
Dalton Perry was 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the final for Brazoswood.
18. (19) Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), 25-1
Season over.
19. (20) Poly Prep Country Day (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 23-1
NYSAISAA champion. Season over.
20. (21) La Cueva (Albuquerque, N.M.), 25-4
New Mexico 5A state champions. Season over.
21. (24) JW North (Riverside, Calif.), 27-7
California Southern Section Division I champions. Season over.
22. (26) St. Louis University (St. Louis, Mo.), 24-1
Season over.
23. (27) Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), 37-8
Tennessee AAA state champion. Season over.
24. (28) Portage Central (Mich.), 34-2
Portage Central advanced to the Division I state quarterfinals against Detroit Catholic Central after topping Lansing Eastern 4-0 in the first round and Grand Ledge 5-1 in the second round on Saturday.
Kyle Jusick picked up his eighth win of the season (8-0) in the win.
25. (33) Indianapolis Cathedral, 28-2
Dillon Peters gave up two hits and struck out 10 to lead the Fighting Irish to a 1-0 win over Terre Haute South and advance Indianapolis Cathedral to the 4A state championship game.
The Next 25
26. (42) Lyons (LaGrange, Ill.), 37-4
Steve Heilenbach was 3-for-4 with a double and
Connor Cuff was 1-for-3 with a double and four RBIs to lead Lyons to the 4A state championship over Providence Catholic (New Lennox).
27. (29) Memorial (Houston), 32-10-1
Season over.
28. (30) Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas), 35-4
Season over.
29. (31) Lakewood (Calif.), 29-5-1
Season over.
30. (32) Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 25-4
Season over.
31. (NR) Rider (Wichita Falls, Texas), 39-7
Knocked off two nationally ranked teams to win the Texas 4A state title. Beat Brenham 3-1 in the semifinals and Calallen 6-2 in the title game.
32. (34) Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas), 39-6
The Wildcats edged past Poteet (Mesquite) 6-5 in 10 innings in the semifinal of the Texas 4A state tournament, but fell to Rider (Wichita Falls) 6-2 in the championship game.
33. (11) Brenham (Texas), 36-8-1
The Cubs missed out on the chance to defend their state championship from 2010 after falling to eventual champion Rider (Wichita Falls) 3-1 in the semifinals.
34. (NR) Great Bridge (Chesapeake, Va.), 24-5
Upset the undefeated South County Stallions 5-3 in the Virginia AAA state championship game.
35. (3) South County (Lorton, Va.), 28-1
The Stallions advanced to the Virginia AAA state championship game but fell to Central Region champion Great Bridge 5-3 in the title game for their only loss of the season.
36. (35) Palm Desert (Calif.), 28-5
Season over.
37. (36) Lakeland (Fla.), 26-5
Season over.
38. (37) Pace (Fla.), 27-5
Season over.
39. (38) Sierra Vista (Las Vegas), 34-4
Season over.
40. (NR) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 30-4
California San Diego Section Division III champion. Season over.
41. (39) Bingham (South Jordan, Utah), 27-3
Utah 5A state champion. Season over.
42. (40) Spanish Fort (Ala.), 36-8
Alabama 5A state champions. Season over.
43. (41) Sumrall (Miss.), 30-5
Mississippi 3A state champions. Season over.
44. (22) Providence Catholic (New Lenox, Ill.), 37-4
The Celtics defeated Mt. Prospect 9-1 in the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament, but lost to Lyons (La Grange) 8-3 in the state final.
Sam Travis had a home run and a double in defeat.
45. (43) Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.), 32-4
Season over.
46. (44) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 27-7
Season over.
47. (45) Petal (Miss.), 24-12
Mississippi 6A state champions. Season over.
48. (46) Tupelo (Miss.), 31-6
Season over.
49. (47) Madison Central (Miss.), 31-3
Season over.
50. (48) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 27-7
Season over.
Dropped Out: No. 23 Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas), No. 49 Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.), No. 50. Sumter (S.C.).
