Defending champion Fort Zumwalt South (St. Peters, Mo.) begins the season ranked No. 1 in the state Class 4A rankings by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association, and for good reason.
The Bulldogs return three all-state players from a team that went 28-6 and knocked off Lee's Summit North (Lee's Summit, Mo.) in the state finals 8-4.
Topping the list are a pair of pitchers, each of whom won eight games last season. Fred Ford split time on the mound and at first base and went 8-0 with a 1.54 ERA while batting .369 with 41 RBI. Meanwhile A.J. Walkenhorst was 8-2 with a 1.41 ERA.
Danny Brennan leads the offense for the Bulldogs. An all-state first team pick and also an All-Metro choice by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Brennan batted .400 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 31 RBI last season.
The Bulldogs' opponent in the final, Lee's Summit North, begins the year ranked No. 2. The Broncos also return a trio of all-state players in infielders Caleb Cole, Corbin Berkstresser and Brad Phillips. Cole bats leadoff and plays shortstop while Berkstresser while Phillips plays third base.
Rock Bridge (Columbia, Mo.), which fell to De Soto in the third-place game 4-3, begins the year ranked No. 3 and returns all-state designated hitter Max Byser.
Class 3
Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) was one of the more dominating teams in the state last year, posting a 29-1 record including an 18-4 win over Carl Junction in the finals.
The Bulldogs return one of the top batteries in the state in 2010 in all-state pitcher Colton Young and all-state catcher Mark Hagedorn.
Carl Junction (Carl Junction, Mo.) begins the season ranked No. 2 and has a number of players returning who started last year as sophomores, including all-state infielder Jack Luton.
Harrisonville (Harrisonville, Mo.), which fell to Notre Dame in the semifinals, is ranked third and will rely on all-state infielder Derek Haug.
Class 2
Valle Catholic (St. Genevieve, Mo.) already has one loss on the season, but the Warriors can't be too disappointed considering the defeat came against Class 3 defending state champion Notre Dame.
Valle Catholic returns five all-state players from last year's team that finished 26-5 and defeated Strafford (Strafford, Mo.) 6-2 in the finals.
Although standout outfielder Cole Bieser is gone, the Warriors should be very solid in the infield where Nathan Geile (SS), Luke Uding (3B), Jason Blum (2B) and Aaron Basler (C) all return after earning all-state honors last year. Mike Greminger, the team's top returning pitcher, also returns.
Strafford begins the year ranked No. 2 and has a pair of returning all-state players in Rhett Parton (OF) and Connor Wilson (DH).
Plattsburg (Plattsburg, Mo.), which lost to Valle Catholic 10-0 in the semifinals last year, begins the season ranked No. 3.
Class 1
The Dora (Dora, Mo.) Falcons lost just three seniors from last year's team that went 23-3 and defeated Santa Fe (Alma, Mo.) 8-5 in the state finals.
Top returning players including all-state infielders Justin VonAllmen and Jay Roberts and all-state catcher Dylan Fox.
Santa Fe is ranked No. 2 after losing just twice last year and finished the season 17-2. All-state infielder Matt Lovercamp is the top returning player for Santa Fe.
La Plata (La Plata, Mo.), which finished third and went 17-2 on the year, is ranked third and returns all-state infielder Jake Heissler and outfielder Taylor Wheeler.
