With 12 trips to the Nebraska State Baseball Finals earned between them, including eight state titles held collectively, Omaha Creighton Prep and Omaha Westside have pretty much taken over the baseball landscape in the Cornhusker State over the last 11 years.
The Junior Jays, winners of Class A state titles in 2012 and the past three seasons, have come up the big winners in this week's Top 10 after making seven trips to the finals since 2008 and compiling a 271-80 (.772) record over that period.
If all goes as planned, Omaha Creighton Prep will be playing in its fourth straight state baseball championship for the first time since competing for state titles in 1939, 1940, 1941 and 1942. The Junior Jays landed in every MaxPreps Top 25 Nebraska computer ranking, finishing first three times in the last 11 years.
Despite missing the state baseball tournament for the second time in three years last spring, Omaha Westside (261-110, .704) remains in the runner-up spot it attained a year ago after securing four Class A state baseball titles in 11 seasons. The Warriors did land in MaxPreps' Top 10 in nine of the 11 seasons accounted for in this week's Top 10.
Millard West and Millard South sit in the No. 3 and 4 spots respectively this week, while Lincoln Pius X rounds out the Top Five. The Wildcats and Patriots have each earned a trio of runner-up finishes, while the Thunderbolts earned three state titles in 11 years and competed in two other state finals.
MaxPreps has developed its own system in determining which baseball programs compete at the highest level over an extended period of time. Here is how the points for this week's Top 10 were accumulated:
1. 20 points for a state title
2. 10 points for finishing as a state runner-up
3. Other points are based on a team's Top 25 standing in the final MaxPreps Nebraska Computer Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. For instance, if a school claimed the top spot, it receives 25 points, while a No. 25 ranking is good for one point.
Nebraska's most dominant baseball programs since 2008
1. Creighton Prep (Omaha) – 363 pointsState titles: 4
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (3), 2008-09 (2), 2009-10 (3), 2010-11 (2), 2011-12 (1), 2012-13 (6), 2013-14 (3), 2014-15 (6), 2015-16 (1), 2016-17 (5), 2017-18 (1).
2. Omaha Westside (Omaha) – 302 pointsState titles: 4
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (6), 2008-09 (1), 2009-10 (16), 2010-11 (9), 2011-12 (5), 2012-13 (1), 2013-14 (1), 2014-15 (1), 2015-16 (21), 2016-17 (6), 2017-18 (7).
3. Millard West (Omaha) – 269 pointsState titles: 0
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (1), 2008-09 (5), 2009-10 (2), 2010-11 (3), 2011-12 (3), 2012-13 (9), 2013-14 (4), 2014-15 (7), 2015-16 (3), 2016-17 (7), 2017-18 (3).
4. Millard South (Omaha) – 256 points
State titles: 0
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (10), 2008-09 (3), 2009-10 (4), 2010-11 (5), 2011-12 (6), 2012-13 (3), 2013-14 (14), 2014-15 (4), 2015-16 (6), 2016-17 (3), 2017-18 (2).
5. Pius X (Lincoln) – 250 points
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (19), 2008-09 (12), 2009-10 (20), 2010-11 (12), 2011-12 (2), 2012-13 (5), 2013-14 (2), 2014-15 (2), 2015-16 (12), 2016-17 (4).
6. Skutt Catholic (Omaha) – 222 points
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 4
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (13), 2008-09 (16), 2009-10 (10), 2010-11 (19), 2011-12 (15), 2012-13 (10), 2013-14 (8), 2014-15 (16), 2015-16 (5), 2016-17 (2), 2017-18 (10).
7. Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion) – 218 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (5), 2008-09 (4), 2009-10 (1), 2010-11 (1), 2011-12 (13), 2012-13 (4), 2013-14 (9), 2014-15 (11), 2015-16 (11), 2016-17 (23).
8. (tie) Lincoln Southwest (Lincoln) – 197 points
State titles: 0
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (14), 2008-09 (6), 2009-10 (11), 2010-11 (4), 2011-12 (8), 2012-13 (17), 2013-14 (6), 2014-15 (3), 2015-16 (4), 2016-17 (8), 2017-18 (8).
8. (tie) Norris (Firth) – 197 points
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 4
Top 25 state rankings: 2010-11 (22), 2011-12 (7), 2012-13 (2), 2013-14 (5), 2014-15 (18), 2015-16 (10), 2016-17 (1), 2017-18 (6).
10. Elkhorn – 192 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (7), 2008-09 (11), 2009-10 (18), 2010-11 (11), 2011-12 (18), 2013-14 (12), 2014-15 (13), 2015-16 (2), 2016-17 (11), 2017-18 (15).
