High school baseball rankings: American Heritage, Farragut join MaxPreps Top 25 after winning state titles

One team's decision to sit out the Southern California Regional playoffs has opened the door for another that saw its season end in the Southern Section quarterfinals.

JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) won the Southern Section Division 1 championship last week with a 1-0 win over Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.). Following the win, coach Brett Kay and his team decided to not participate in the Southern California Regional playoffs, which get underway today.

"There's only one dogpile," Kay told the Los Angeles Times. "That was Friday night."

California does not have a state championship and the Southern California and Northern California regional tournament have only been in place for four seasons. JSerra Catholic was one of three Southern Section teams who declined the invitation to play in this year's regional championships.

JSerra Catholic's absence opens the door for Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks), which saw its season end with a loss to Corona in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division 1 final. According to the Times, coach Tom Dill had already collected uniforms with the belief that their season was over. Now the Knights, who were the No. 1 seed in the Southern Section playoffs prior to losing, have a second chance at a championship. They are seeded No. 7 and will play San Diego Section champion La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad).

Three teams joined the rankings this week, including American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.). American Heritage defeated defending state champion Jesuit (Tampa) for the Class 5A state championship while Farragut captured its 12 state title in school history with a win in the 4A final over Hardin Valley Academy (Knoxville). Archbishop Moeller advanced in the Ohio Division 1 state playoffs.

Game of the Week: Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa, Calif.) def. Campolindo (Moraga, Calif.), 2-1. The Cardinals rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh innings on RBIs by Anane Wilson and Nate Niehaus to defeat Campolindo for the North Coast Section Division 3 championship.

Player of the Week: Caden McDonald of Sickles (Tampa, Fla.) was the hitting and pitching hero in the semifinals against Winter Spring as he had a home run and picked up the pitching win to put Sickles into the Class 6A championship game.

Game to watch: Westlake (Austin, Texas) vs. Johnson (San Antonio, Texas). The Class 6A Region IV championship is up for grabs in this series. Westlake move up to No. 5 this week after sweeping Eagle Pass in the regional semifinals. Johnson dropped three spots after losing a game to Pharr-San Juan-Alamo in its series win in the region's other semifinal.

Streaks: Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.) completed its season with 51 straight wins after winning the Class 7A state championship and finishing 29-0. The 51 wins is the second longest streak in state history, trailing only Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.), which won 60 in a row from 2016-18.

Team of the Week: Selected based on stats submitted to MaxPreps.

P — Jaxon Adrain, Liberty Charter (Lemon Grove, Calif.): Threw a seven-inning no-hitter in a 1-0 playoff win over St. Joseph Academy with 12 strikeouts.
C — Jimmy Janicki, Downers Grove North (Downers Grove, Ill.): 7-for-8 with five RBI, a double and a home run.
1B — M.J. Pancurak, King's Christian (Cherry Hill, N.J.): 7-for-8 with six runs, seven RBI and two triples.
2B — Rylee Hams, East Grand Forks (Minn.): 7-for-8 with seven runs, two RBI, three doubles and a triple.
3B — Brendan Dunlap, Skowhegan (Maine): 7-for-8 with five RBI, four doubles and a triple.
SS — Garrett Grim, Blue River Valley (Mt. Summit, Ind.): 7-for-8 with three runs, six RBI and two triples.
OF — Max Haley, Wilmot (Wis.): Had three doubles and went 5-for-6 with three runs and an RBI.
OF — Conrad Charpentier, Routt Catholic (Jacksonville, Ill.): 5-for-6 with four RBI and a double.
OF — Chase Hansen, Poynette (Wis.): 6-for-7 with seven RBI, and a double. MaxPreps Top 25 baseball rankings

1. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Record: 25-0 | Last week: 1
Season complete.

2. Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
Record: 29-0 | Last week: 2
Scores: Def. Spruce Creek, 5-1; Def. Plant, 10-0
Hitter of the week: Matthew Ossenfort came through in the championship game against Plant by going 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI.
Pitcher of the week: Jayden Dubanewicz got the shutout win in the final against Plant, giving up no runs on three hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
Next: Season complete. Class 7A state champions.

3. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 39-1 | Last week: 3
Season complete. Non-Select Division 1 state champions.

4. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Record: 35-2 | Last week: 5
Season complete. Division 1 state champions.

5. Westlake (Austin, Texas)
Record: 38-4 | Last week: 10
Scores: Def. Eagle Pass, 7-2, 4-0
Hitter of the week: Ben Longoria had a double in each of the wins over Eagle Pass.
Pitcher of the week: Jack Brady gave up just two hits and no runs in 5.1 innings in a 4-0 win, striking out three.
Next: Thursday vs. Johnson (San Antonio)

6. Sinton (Texas)
Record: 35-2 | Last week: 4
Scores: Lost to Davenport, 1-0; Def. Davenport, 3-2, 6-5
Hitter of the week: Blake Mitchell homered in a 3-2 win, finishing 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Pitcher of the week: Aidan Moody went 5.1 innings and gave up one earned run on two hits with five strikeouts.
Next: Thursday vs. Boerne

7. West Monroe (La.)
Record: 34-4 | Last week: 7
Season complete. Non-Select Division 1 runner-up.

8. Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)
Record: 26-5 | Last week: 9
Season complete. Class 6A state champions.

9. Lake Braddock (Burke, Va.)
Record: 23-1 | Last week: 12
Scores: Def. Alexandria City, 13-0
Hitter of the week: Quinn Johnson went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI in the win.
Pitcher of the week: Jake Drumm threw four innings of shutout ball with two hits and four strikeouts.
Next: Tuesday vs. Woodson (Fairfax)

10. Cypress Woods (Cypress, Texas)
Record: 36-4 | Last week: 6
Scores: Lost to Rockwall-Heath, 9-1; def. Rockwall-Heath, 7-0, 8-4
Hitter of the week: Sam Myers went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the 8-4 win.
Pitcher of the week: Chase Morgan tossed a shutout against Heath, giving up just three hits while striking out six.
Next: Thursday vs. The Woodlands

11. JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
Record: 24-9 | Last week: 11
Season complete. Southern Section Division 1 champions.

12. Houston County (Warner Robins, Ga.)
Record: 36-6 | Last week: 14
Season complete. Class AAAAAA state champions.

13. Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.)
Record: 28-4 | Last week: 15
Season complete. Class 3A state champions.

14. Magnolia Heights (Senatobia, Miss.)
Record: 40-3 | Last week: 16
Season complete. MAIS Class AAAAA state champions.

15. St. John's (Washington, District of Columbia)
Record: 30-1-1 | Last week: 17
Season complete. Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions.

16. Johnson (San Antonio)
Record: 33-5-2 | Last week: 13
Scores: Lost to Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, 5-4; Def. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, 4-2, 8-5
Hitter of the week: Barrett Johnson went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run in the 4-2 win.
Pitcher of the week: Tyler Walton got the complete game win in the 4-2 victory, giving up three hits and striking out four.
Next: Thursday vs. Westlake (Austin)

17. Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.)
Record: 28-3 | Last week: 20
Scores: Def. St. Ignatius, 4-0; Def. Hollister, 5-0
Hitter of the week: Michael Castaneda went 1-for-3 with two RBI against Hollister.
Pitcher of the week: Quinten Marsh gave up no runs on three hits with nine strikeouts against St. Ignatius.
Next: Tuesday vs. Clayton Valley Charter

18. Sickles (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 30-2 | Last week: 21
Scores: Def. Winter Springs, 2-0; def. Viera, 4-2
Hitter/Pitcher of the week: Caden McDonald went 2-for-2 with a home run and an RBI against Winter Springs. McDonald also tossed a one-hitter with six strikeouts and no walks in the win.
Next: Season complete. Class 6A state champions.

19. Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Record: 36-8 | Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Independence, 7-2; def. Clarksville, 1-0; def. Stewarts Creek, 6-4, def. Hardin Valley Academy, 6-0
Hitter of the week: Landis Davila went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI against Hardin Valley.
Pitcher of the week: Cole Draper went seven innings for the shutout win over Hardin Valley in the state finals, giving up three hits and striking out four.
Next: Season complete. Class 4A state champions.

20. American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)
Record: 21-6 | Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Columbia (Lake City), 5-2; def. Jesuit (Tampa), 8-5
Hitter of the week: Spencer Butt went 2-for-5 with four RBI and a home run.
Pitcher of the week: Talan Holiday struck out seven and gave up one earned run on three hits in 6.1 innings against Columbia.
Next: Season complete. Class 5A state champions.

21. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa, Calif.)
Record: 26-1 | Last week: 22
Scores: Def. Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland), 5-2; def. Campolindo (Moraga), 2-1
Hitter of the week: Nate Niehaus went 3-for-4 with a run scored against Bishop O'Dowd.
Pitcher of the week: Mason Lerma went six innings and gave up one run on four hits with eight strikeouts against Campolindo.
Next: Tuesday vs. Whitney

22. Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
Record: 26-7 | Last week: 18
Scores: Did not play
Next: Tuesday vs. Carlsbad

23. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)
Record: 28-3 | Last week: 19
Next: Thursday vs. La Costa Canyon

24. Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Record: 27-3 | Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Princeton (Cincinnati), 7-0; def. Fairmont (Kettering), 10-0
Hitter of the week: Clay Burdette went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI against Fairmont.
Pitcher of the week: Toby Hueber got the shutout win over Fairmont, giving up one hit in five innings with eight strikeouts.
Next: Thursday vs. West Clermont

25. Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 27-5 | Last week: 8
Scores: Def. Sebring, 3-1; lost to American Heritage (Plantation), 8-5
Hitter of the week: Jacob Lozano went 1-for-3 with an RBI against Sebring.
Pitcher of the week: Aden Knowles went 4.1 innings and gave up one earned run on four hits with three strikeouts against Sebring.
Next: Season complete. Class 5A runner-up.

Dropped out: No. 23 Sam Houston (Lake Charles, La.); No. 24 Sulphur (Sulphur, La.); No. 25. St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)