MaxPreps 2015 California Southern Section preseason baseball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard

JSerra Catholic and Aliso Niguel are featured in the California state Fab 5, so are not shown in this Southern Section group

1. Huntington Beach
2014 finish: 21-5
Head coach: Benji Medure

A 1-0 loss to eventual Southern Section Division I finalist Foothill (Santa Ana) eliminated Huntington Beach from the playoffs in the third round last year, but the Oilers have a bunch of talent returning from that squad, including one of the state's top juniors in first baseman Logan Poulesen, who has committed to UCLA. Poulesen batted .280 with three home runs last season. The top returning hitters for Huntington Beach include outfielder Daniel Amaral (.406) and infielder Cooper Moore (.350). The pitching could be outstanding with Noah Davis returning for his senior year after going 12-0 with a 1.27 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 55.1 innings pitched last season.

View last season's Southern Section baseball rankings, presented by the Army National Guard

2. San Clemente
2014 finish: 22-11
Head coach: David Gellatly

The Tritons feature two of the top players in Southern California, including a pitcher who could go very early in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft. Kolby Allard, a member of Team USA last summer, has improved his value over the summer and moved into first round consideration. He posted a 6-2 record last year with a 1.32 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 63.2 innings pitched. He's joined in the lineup by Lucas Herbert, who batted .284 with 11 doubles and two home runs. Nine of the top 10 hitters return for the Tritons, led by Will Tribucher, who batted .330, and Trevor Beard, who batted .311.

View last season's California baseball playoff brackets

3. Bishop Amat (La Puente)
2014 finish: 21-11
Head coach: Joseph Hoggatt

The Lancers captured the Division 3 championship last year with a 4-3 win over Palm Desert. Last year's team was a mixture of seniors and juniors with three sophomores, Christian Moya, Anthony Walters and Adryan Ramirez, accumulating the most at-bats on the team. Moya batted .331 while Ramirez hit .317 and Walters .284. Moya and Walters have reportedly left Bishop Amat. Senior Isaac Archer posted an 8-0 record last year with a 0.77 ERA, but he is the only returning pitcher with a decision. The Lancers also lose Scott Hurst, who was a MaxPreps Medium Schools All-American. Joseph Hoggatt replaces Andy Nieto as head coach. He spent 12 seasons as head coach at Canyon (Anaheim). The Lancers have won four CIF titles in the past eight seasons.

View last season's California baseball stat leaders

4. Great Oak (Temecula)
2014 finish: 23-7
Head coach: Eric Morton

Great Oak reached the Southern Section Division 2 quarterfinals before falling to Aliso Niguel 3-0. Great Oak returns one of the state's top junior pitchers in Zack Noll, who posted a 10-0 record with a 1.83 ERA as a sophomore last year. The offense also returns two of its top performers from last year in Mitch Hayes and Brandon Stewart. Hayes, a senior, batted .407 with five home runs, while Stewart, a junior, batted .284.

View the MaxPreps Southern Section baseball pro photo galleries

5. Vista Murrieta (Murrieta)
2014 finish: 20-8
Head coach: Matt Mosiello

The Broncos lost in the second round of the Division 2 playoffs to Valencia, but they boasted of wins over Aliso NIguel, Bishop Amat and JSerra Catholic last year. The pitching staff is the team's strength with 12 wins returning. Juniors Jack Moberg (six wins) and Chance Hroch (four) are the top returning hurlers. The team's top hitter also returns with Hunter Tidwell back after batting .391 with 25 runs scored.