MaxPreps Top 25 national high school baseball rankings

O'Connor (Phoenix) made the biggest jump in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings, making its debut all the way up at No. 10 after a stellar week at the Bob National Invitational.

The Eagles opened the tournament with a 12-3 win over Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville, Tenn.) and then edged Oklahoma power Edmond Santa Fe (Edmond) 9-8. After a 3-1 win over Quartz Hill (Calif.), O'Connor met Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), the defending MaxPreps national champions.

O'Connor rallied for two runs in the seventh inning to edge the Gaels. Stan Gawelko had a big outing for the Eagles, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. The Eagles then finished off the tournament with a 5-4 win over another Oklahoma powerhouse, Broken Arrow, and then topped Mullen (Denver) 7-6.

In all, O'Connor won four one-run games to capture one of the top tournaments in the country. With 16 straight wins, O'Connor is now ranked No.1 in the state of Arizona and joins the Xcellent 25.

Leaving the Xcellent 25 this week are Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), which suffered two losses, Gainesville (Ga.), which also lost twice, Jenks (Okla.) and Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas).

Joining O'Connor as newcomers this week are Carroll (Southlake, Texas), Sharyland (Mission, Texas) and Puyallup (Wash.).

The rankings could have a drastic makeover in the next two weeks as a number of the nation's top tournaments take place, including the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C., the Boras Classic in Northern and Southern California, the Hard 9 National Classic and the San Diego Lions Tournament.

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings

1. (1 last week) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 13-0
Defeated Robinson (Tampa) 7-0 with Jordan Parnell giving up no runs on one hit with eight strikeouts through five innings to get the win. In a 13-1 win over Tampa Catholic, Jesuit banged out 16 hits, including a 3-for-4 effort by Daniel Portales.

2. (2) Pensacola Catholic (Fla.), 13-0
Picked up three convincing wins and had three home runs in the first inning for the second straight game. Last week against Davidson, Drew LaBounty, Avery Geyer and Tanner Halstead hit back-to-back-to-back first-inning home runs. In an 11-1 win over Walton, Jon Jon Burkett, Cody Henry and Evans Bozeman all homered in the first inning, although not consecutively. Bozeman added another home run in the sixth inning. In a 14-0 win over Rickards, Bozeman and Henry both hit home runs. The Crusaders also defeated Marianna 12-1 on Friday. Pensacola Catholic has a crucial matchup Thursday against Pace at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.

3. (3) The Woodlands (Texas), 18-0
Carter Hope continues to be lights-out for the Highlanders as he pitched six shutout innings and allowed only two hits in an 8-0 win over Oak Ridge on Friday. Earlier in the week, The Woodlands dropped College Park 11-1 as Chris Andritsos belted his 10th and 11th home runs of the season. The Woodlands heads to North Carolina this week to participate in the National High School Invitational. The Highlanders open with Jenks (Okla.) on Thursday at 9:45 a.m.

4. (5) Tomball (Texas), 18-0
The Cougars had a close one on Friday, edging Ridge Point (Missouri City) 9-8 in district play. Two other wins during the week weren't quite as difficult as Tomball topped Spring Woods (Houston) 15-4 and Stratford (Houston) 12-1.

5. (7) Woodford County (Versailles, Ky.), 3-0
Clint Hollon got the win in a 3-0 victory over West Jessamine. Christopher Powers led the offense with a double. In a 5-2 win over Mercer County, Jon Thomas O'Reel, Eli Bogges, Curtis Ham and Gage Beavers all had a double.

6. (9) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 7-1
The Dons won three times last week, including a 4-1 showdown against Madison and its ace pitcher Ian Clarkin. Stephen Gonsalves got the win in that game, giving up one run on three hits with six strikeouts. Earlier in the week, Michael Martin pitched Cathedral Catholic to a 9-1 win over Mission Bay. He gave up one run on five hits with three strikeouts in four innings. Alex Schick pitched the final three frames and struck out six. In a 4-2 win over University City, Brady Aiken went four innings, giving up two runs on one hit with four strikeouts, to get the win. Cathedral Catholic begins play in the National High School Invitational on Wednesday against Grayson (Loganville, Ga.).

7. (11) Venice (Fla.), 11-1
Venice ran its win streak to 10 in a row with an 8-0 win over Charlotte (Punta Gorda) and a 5-2 win over Port Charlotte (Fla.) last week. Nick Longhi got the start against Charlotte, going three innings and striking out seven. Venice plays Christian Brothers (Memphis, Tenn.) in the first round of the National High School Invitational on March 27.

8. (14) Owasso (Okla.), 10-0
The Rams had little trouble staying undefeated in their own tournament last weekend, defeating Sallisaw 12-1, Fort Bigson 17-0 and Tahlequah 7-0. The Rams make their annual trip to Florida this week and will play Winter Haven on Friday.

9. (16) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 13-0-1
The Bears routed two opponents last week, whipping Clovis West 15-1 behind the pitching of Jack Wheeless (5-0). Trenton Kemp added three hits, including a home run, to go with four RBIs. Buchanan also knocked off Clovis East 20-1. The Bears are playing in the Boras Classic this week in Elk Grove.

10. (NR) O'Connor (Phoenix), 16-0
The top–ranked team in Arizona had some impressive wins last week, defeating Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 11-10, Broken Arrow (Okla.) 5-4 and Edmond Santa Fe (Edmond, Okla.) 9-8.

11. (8) Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.), 0-0
Season begins April 1 vs. Deptford.

12. (17) Lexington (S.C.), 10-1
The Wildcats won twice in regional play last week, defeating White Knoll (Lexington) 5-3 and North Augusta 9-0. Rain postponed a titanic matchup against Flora (Columbia), one of the state's top 3A teams, on Saturday.

13. (18) Loganville (Ga.), 11-1
The Red Devils continue to rack up impressive wins, blanking Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.) 10-0 last week in a nonleague contest. Loganville also knocked off Cedar Shoals 9-4, and Salem twice, 5-2 and 13-0. Clint Frazier had his seventh home run of the season against Cedar Shoals.

14. (19) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 5-1
The Monarchs won twice last week, edging St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 4-1 and blanking Orange Lutheran 7-0. Ryan McMahon and Tyler Adkison each had a home run in the win over St. John Bosco. Davis Tominaga shut down Orange Lutheran, giving up no runs on one hit with five strikeouts in six innings. Mater Dei also 10-runned JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capitrano) 14-4 on Saturday. The Monarchs head to North Carolina for a matchup with Tullahoma (Tenn.) in the first round of the National High School Invitational. Mater Dei is the defending champion in the event.

15. (20) Klein (Texas), 18-1
Klein defeated Dekaney (Houston) 19-1 and had little trouble with Kingwood on Saturday, winning 10-2. Kingwood (5-1 in district) actually still leads Klein (4-1) in the District 13-5A standings by half a game.

16. (22) Jupiter (Fla.), 12-0
The Warriors won their only game last week, defeating Jensen Beach 7-1. Johnny McCarthy had two hits and two RBIs for Jupiter.

17. (25) Granite Hills (El Cajon, Calif.), 8-1
The Eagles won three times last week, defeating Santana 2-1, Mount Miguel 8-2 and El Capitan 9-1. Granite Hills has a challenging schedule this week, taking on Chaminade (West Hills), Vista and Coronado (Henderson, Nev.).

18. (6) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 12-1
After defeating St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 6-1 earlier in the week, St. Francis suffered its first loss of the season to Serra (San Mateo) 10-9 on Friday. Serra overcame a seven-run deficit to defeat the Lancers. St. Francis takes a break from league play this week to take on Tracy and St. Mary's (Stockton) before hosting the St. Francis Elite 8 Spring Tournament.

19. (4) Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.), 3-1
Griffin Jax belted two home runs and Lane Milligan had one to lift Cherry Creek to a 12-4 win over Legend (Parker) last week, however Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) scored three runs in the sixth inning to hand Cherry Creek a 5-2 loss on Thursday. Saturday's matchup with Regis Jesuit was postponed to Wednesday due to weather.

20. (10) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 9-2
The Wolverines split their two Mission League contests with Crespi (Encino) last week, winning 5-1 on Tuesday and losing 8-5 on Friday. Jack Flaherty got the win over Crespi, giving up one run on four basehits with six strikeouts in six innings of work. The Wolverines travel to North Carolina this week to take on Eustis (Fla.) in the first round of the National High School Invitational.

21. (13) Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas), 19-2
The Wildcats saw their 18-game win streak come to an end with a 3-2 loss to Gregory-Portland in district play. Calallen bounced back to defeat Victoria West 7-5 on Friday.

22. (23) Tullahoma (Tenn.), 12-1
Tullahoma lost to Warren County 14-13 last week, but downed Shelbyville 6-0 behind Justus Sheffield's 11-strikeout performance. The Wildcats also downed Shelbyville again, 8-1, as well as Riverdale 10-5 and Bartlett 7-3. Tullahoma heads to the National High School Invitational this week and will play Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in the first round on Wednesday.

23. (NR) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 17-2-1
The Dragons are ranked No. 3 in the Texas High School Coaches Association state rankings. Carroll has won 10 in a row since last loss to Lovejoy in late Feb.

24. (NR) Sharyland (Mission, Texas), 18-1
Only a 6-2 loss to Carroll (Corpus Christi) mars the Rattlers' record. Sharyland has outscored opponents 201-15 with 11 shutouts on the season.

25. (NR) Puyallup (Wash.), 6-0
The Vikings are off to a 6-0 start behind the hitting of Quinn Rawson (.533, 12 RBI) and Darian Clemens (.550, 11 hits). Puyallup has one of the nation's top sophomores in catcher Brendan Illies.

Dropped out: No. 12 Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), No. 15 Jenks (Okla.), No. 21 Gainesville (Ga.), No. 24 Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas).