MaxPreps 2016 Utah preseason high school baseball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard

1. Pleasant Grove
Head coach: Darrin Henry
2015 record: 27-3

The defending 5A state champions should be the favorite again, thanks to five returning starters that include the state player of the year. Catcher Payton Henry earned Gatorade State Player of the Year honors last season after batting .527 with 46 RBIs and nine home runs. He is also a MaxPreps Preseason All-American. Pleasant Grove also returns one of its top pitchers from last year in Derek Wall. He posted a 6-0 record with 40 strikeouts.

See last season's Utah baseball computer rankings

2. Bingham (South Jordan)
Head coach: Joe Sato
2015 record: 30-4

The Miners extended Pleasant Grove to a second championship game in Utah's double elimination format before falling 6-2 and finishing as the 5A runner-up. Coach Sato lost a number of seniors to graduation, but three starters return, including first team all-state pitcher Sean Keating. As a junior, Keating was 10-1 with 72 strikeouts. Bingham has averaged 26 wins the past five seasons with a pair of state championships.

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3. Salem Hills (Salem)
Head coach: Scott Haney
2015 record: 25-5

The Skyhawks finished third in Class 4A last year, but they return five major players from last year's team. Leading the way are senior third baseman Tanner Hamblin (.372, 4 HR), senior center fielder Cooper Smith (.423, 5 HR), senior catcher Sam Callister (.400, 2 HR), senior first baseman Colton Lundell (.300, 2 HR) and senior pitcher Riley Pierce (6-3, 48 Ks).

See last season's Utah baseball playoff brackets

4. Cottonwood (Salt Lake City)
Head coach: Jason Crawford
2015 record: 27-4

Cottonwood could be the team to beat in Class 5A in 2016. Although eliminated from the playoffs last year by consecutive losses to Pleasant Grove and Bingham, Cottonwood returns some of the top players in the state, including first team all-state pitcher Wil Jensen (8-1, 65 Ks, 2 no-hitters), second team all-state catcher Christopher Rowan (.455, 8 HR) and second team all-state infielder Hunter Heugly (.315, 26 RBIs).

See last season's Utah baseball stat leaders

5. Lone Peak (Highland)
Head coach: Matt Bezzant
2015 record: 21-8

Lone Peak will field a young team comprised mostly of juniors, but one of those juniors is MaxPreps Sophomore All-American Seth Corry, who went 7-1 on the mound with 95 strikeouts. Lone Peak has a pair of solid returning seniors in all-state outfielder Tyler Thompson (.489, 4 HR) and second baseman Keenan Kelshaw.