A year ago, head coach Rick Arnold's
Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)
team was on the outside of the MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball rankings looking in.
Today, the Shamrocks are at the top looking down at the other 24 teams after finishing the season with state and national championships.
Trinity ended its season with a second straight state title in Kentucky, which has only
one classification for baseball. The Shamrocks edged
Apollo (Owensboro) 6-4 in the
semifinals and blanked
Boyd County (Ashland) 12-0 in the final behind an
impressive performance by pitcher
Grayson Willoughby.
Last year, Trinity came up just short of a MaxPreps Top 25 finish despite ending the season with 27 straight wins and a state
championship.
That
was not the case in 2026. The Shamrocks increased the strength of their
schedule with a trip to the National High School Invitational and a
tournament against four opponents from the Chicago Catholic Blue
Conference — arguably the toughest league in Illinois.
Trinity went 2-2 at the NHSI but picked up key wins over Florida state champion No. 16
Jesuit (Tampa) and California section champion No. 6
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.). The Shamrocks also swept their four
Illinois opponents and did not lose a game against an in-state opponent en
route to a 41-win season.
The lineup featured three of the top 10 players in the state, according to Perfect Game, including Willoughby,
Zach Floyd and
Nolan Hosking.
The junior class, meanwhile, features three of the top six
player in the state. Trinity has won three state titles in the past
six years to go
with six region championships during Arnold's tenure at the school.
Past MaxPreps National Champions
2025 — IMG Academy
Final MaxPreps Top 25
1. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)Record: 41-3
Kentucky state champion.
2. Tomball (Texas)Record: 44-1
Conference 6A Division 2 state champion.3. Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
Record: 28-6
Class 7A state champion.
Record: 30-4
Class 3A state champion.
5. Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.)Record: 37-5
Select Division I state champion.
Record: 27-6
Southern Section Division 1 champion.
7. Pleasant Grove (Texarkana, Texas)Record: 39-4
Conference 4A Division 1 state champion.
8. Aledo (Texas)
Record: 39-3
Conference 5A Division 1 state champion.9. Keller (Texas)
Record: 40-4-2
Conference 6A Division 1 state champion.10. Norco (Calif.)
Record: 28-5
11. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.)
Record: 23-6
12. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)Record: 25-6
13. Venice (Fla.)Record: 32-2
14. Magnolia Heights (Senatobia, Miss.)
Record: 36-4-1
MAIS Class 4A Division 1 state champion.
15. Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas)Record: 38-3
16. Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 28-6
Class 4A state champion.
17. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 22-3
18. Etowah (Woodstock, Ga.)
Record: 33-7
Class AAAAAA state champion.
19. Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Record: 27-8
Class 2A state champion.
20. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Record: 28-6
Class 6A state champion.
21. St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park, Fla.)
Record: 26-8
Class 1A state champion.
22. Valley View (Jonesboro, Ark.)
Record: 30-2
Class 5A state champion.
23. Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas)
Record: 34-6-1
Conference 5A Division 2 state champion.24. Loganville (Ga.)
Record: 36-5
Class AAAAA state champion.
25. St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
Record: 34-5
Division 2 state champion.
