MaxPreps Top 25 national high school baseball rankings

Video: Oxford (MS) Baseball - Preseason Rankings

The Oxford Chargers opened the season with a pair of strong pitching performances to remain at No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. Jason Barber, the returning MaxPreps National Junior of the Year, hit a home run and struck out nine for a win over Olive Branch while Houston Roth, also an all-state pick for the Chargers, struck out 16 in a shutout win.

This week's Xcellent 25 rankings are the first of the season since MaxPreps' release of its Top 100. Three of the top five teams suffered losses, with defending national champion Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) losing its first two games and No. 2 Huntington Beach (Calif.) splitting its first two games. Venice (Fla.) also lost two of its first seven games of the season.

Coppell (Texas), which began the season at No. 3, moves up to No. 2 after a strong outing at the Frisco tournament. Hamilton (Ariz.), meanwhile, moved up to No. 3 after a strong showing at the Desert Vista tournament.

The rankings only include those teams from states that have started their season or will start in the next two weeks.


1. (1 last week) Oxford (Miss.), 2-0
The nation's No. 1 team got the season off to an impressive start with an 8-0 win over Southaven and a 12-1 win over Olive Branch. Houston Roth shut out Southaven on a one-hitter with 16 strikeouts and no walks. He also went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and a double. Drew Bianco and Jason Barber both hit home runs in the win over Olive Branch. Barber picked up the win, giving up one unearned run on two hits with nine strikeouts.

2. (3) Coppell (Texas), 6-0
The Cowboys won the McKinney Boyd/Prosper tournament with six straight wins. Coppell beat Heritage (Frisco) 3-0, Wakeland (Frisco) 5-2, Prosper 11-2, Lovejoy (Lucas) 5-1, Independence (Frisco) 11-2 and Boyd (McKinney) 4-3. Charles King got the win against Wakeland, striking out five in four innings.

3. (8) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 4-0
The Huskies opened the season with four wins, including three at the Desert Vista Tournament. Hamilton topped Valley Vista (Surprise) 10-0, defending Division I state champion Mesquite (Gilbert) 5-2, Mountain View (Mesa) 14-1 and Red Mountain (Mesa) 17-2. Luke Owen and Logan Boyer both hit home runs against Valley Vista while Zane Strand threw a no-hitter. Nick Brueser, Colton Snelling, Brayden Merritt and Chris Collins all homered against Red Mountain.

4. (7) JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), 0-0
The Lions' season opener is scheduled for Wednesday at Gahr (Cerritos).

5. (9) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 0-0
The Gaels' season opener is scheduled for March 15 at Centennial (Las Vegas).

6. (2) Huntington Beach (Calif.), 1-1
The Oilers split their season-opening doubleheader with Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo), falling 7-3 in the opener and winning the second game 8-5. Landon Silver went 3-for-3 with a double in the second game while Logan Poulesen was 2-for-4 with a double.

7. (15) Walton (Marietta, Ga.), 3-0
The Raiders opened the season with an 11-1 win over Kell (Marietta), a 5-3 win over Sprayberry (Marietta) and a 13-6 win over McEachern (Powder Springs). Carter Kieboom starred in all three wins while Jason Rooks added home runs against Kell and McEachern.

8. (16) Orange Lutheran (Calif.), 0-0
The Lancers opened their season against Huntington Beach on Monday.

9. (22) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 5-0
The defending state champions opened the season with five straight tournament wins, beating St. Louis Catholic (Lake Charles) 8-2, Neville (Monroe) 12-2, Tioga 14-1, West Monroe 5-3 and Captain Shreve (Shreveport) 12-0.

10. (20) St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.), 2-0
The Cougars won a pair of blowouts, beating Lake Charles College Prep 34-0 and Franklin 25-0 at the St. Thomas More tournament. Alex Hannie threw a three-inning no-hitter with nine strikeouts and hit a home run against Lake Charles while Mason Templet hit a home run and three doubles. Ethan Hines and Mason Tucker combined for a no-hitter against Franklin with Templet and Christian Leonard each hitting a pair of home runs and Tucker hitting a triple and a home run.

11. (NR) Westminster Christian (Miami), 4-0
The Warriors opened with four impressive wins, defeating defending Class 8A state champion Columbus (Miami) 3-2, Flanagan (Pembroke Pines) 5-2, Stoneman Douglas (Parkland) 6-5 and Coral Shores (Tavernier) 13-3.

12. (39) Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.), 8-1
Aside from a 3-2 loss to Westminster Christian, the Eagles defeated Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale) 6-2, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) 8-6 and Boca Raton 6-0, among others.

13. (6) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 6-1
The Mavericks opened the season with a 6-2 loss to Stoneman Douglas, but have won six straight, including a 4-0 win over North Broward Prep, a 2-1 win over Naples and a 5-0 win over Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale).

14. (13) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 0-0
The Broncos' season opener is March 8 vs. Santana.

15. (18) Madison (Vienna, Va.), 0-0
The Warhawks' season opener is Saturday at Westfield.

16. (19) Houston (Germantown, Tenn.), 0-0
The Mustangs' season opener is March 14 vs. Buckhorn.

17. (23) Buford (Ga.), 2-0
The Wolves opened their season by defeating South Gwinnett 18-4 and Lambert 8-7. Justin Glover and Nick Wilhite each had five RBIs against South Gwinnett with Glover belting a home run.

18. (24) Westmoore (Oklahoma City), 0-0
The Jaguars' season opener is Monday vs. Capitol Hill.

19. (25) Providence (Charlotte, N.C.), 0-0
The Panthers open their season Tuesday vs. Hough.

20. (26) Liberty Christian (Lynchburg, Va.), 0-0
The Bulldogs' season opener is March 19 vs. Steward School.

21. (38) Saint Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 1-0
The Lancers blanked Leigh (San Jose) 8-0 with Andrew Martinez hitting a home run and Jeremy Ydens going four innings to get the pitching win.

22. (53) Rockledge (Fla.), 6-0
The Raiders have allowed just two runs in six wins, posting shutouts against Palm Bay (Melbourne) 11-0, Bayside (Palm Bay) 11-0, Astronaut (Titusville) 15-0 and Palm Bay (Melbourne) 14-0.

23. (58) Tate (Cantonment, Fla.), 6-0
The Aggies opened with three shutouts in their first six wins, beating Gulf Breeze 8-0, Booker T. Washington (Pensacola) 10-0 and Crestview 8-0.

24. (65) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 3-0
The Bears opened the Coca Cola Tournament with three straight wins, including victories over Mt. Whitney (Visalia) 6-2, Tulare Western 16-6 and Sunnyside (Fresno) 13-0.

25. (NR) Spanish Fort (Ala.), 8-0
The Toros opened the season with eight straight wins, including 13-2 over Bryant, 4-3 against Saraland, 13-3 over Fairhope, 7-5 and 13-0 against Foley, 7-4 vs. Theodore, 15-6 against Escambia and 9-6 over St. Lukes.

Dropped out: No. 4. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), No. 5. Venice (Fla.), No. 10. Greenbrier (Evans, Ga.), No. 11 Boca Raton (Fla.), No. 12 Dallas Jesuit, No. 14 Cypress Ranch (Houston), No. 17 Pope (Marietta, Ga.), No. 21 Poly Prep Country Day (Brooklyn, N.Y.).