MaxPreps 2015 Florida preseason baseball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard

1. Park Vista (Lake Worth)
2014 finish: 27-4
Head coach: Larry Greenstein

The Cobras advanced to the semifinals of the Class 8A state playoffs last year, falling 1-0 to Bloomingdale. Park Vista returns one of the state's top pitchers in Austin Smith, an all-area MVP who went 12-1 with 96 strikeouts in 77 innings pitched. Smith was also a force at the plate, batting .425 with 20 RBIs. The Cobras also return five of their top offensive players from last year, including shortstop Matthew Mika (.435), catcher Tyler Huggins (.258), first baseman Joey Genord (.387), third baseman Nyle Newland (.300) and second baseman Dakota Julvlia (.463).

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

2. Olympia (Orlando)
2014 finish: 25-3
Head coach: Charles Schall

Olympia suffered one of the bigger upsets in the Class 8A playoffs in Florida, falling to Apopka, a team it had defeated three times earlier in the season, 8-2 in the second round. While the Titans lost first-round draft pick Nick Gordon to graduation, they have another potential first round draft pick returning in pitcher Juan Hillman. The 6-2, 185-pound lefthander posted an 8-1 record last year with 79 strikeouts in 57.2 innings pitched. He also batted .366 with 20 RBIs. He's part of a staff that returns 22 wins from last year, including 10 from Michael Byrne, who went 10-1 with 62 strikeouts. Other key returners include outfielders Cameron Montgomery (.379, 3 HR) and Kirk Sidwell (.273).

View last season's Florida baseball playoff brackets

3. Jesuit (Tampa)
2014 finish: 25-6
Head coach: Miguel Menendez

The Jesuit pitching staff got hot at the right time, throwing three straight shutouts in the Class 5A state playoffs before defeating Clay (Green Cove Springs) 5-2 in the championship game. Longtime coach Richie Warren has retired, leaving Miguel Menendez to take over the reins of the program. He inherits a group that includes five players who have already signed or committed to Division I colleges, including senior pitcher Bobby Hearn (Wake Forest), junior pitcher Michael Sandborn (Vanderbilt), senior third baseman Ronnie Ramirez, senior right fielder Cole Gibbs (North Carolina) and senior center fielder Kennie Taylor (Duke). Jesuit also has JJ Niekro, the son of former Major League knuckleballer Joe Niekro. J.J. Niekro was 1-0 with 12 strikeouts in 10 innings last year. Taylor is the top returning hitter with a .348 batting average and three home runs.

View last season's Florida baseball stat leaders

4. Plant (Tampa)
2014 finish: 23-6
Head coach: Dennis Braun

With a roster that sported just three seniors last year, Plant won 23 games and advanced to the second round of the Class 8A playoffs before falling to eventual finalist Bloomingdale. Coach Dennis Braun returns 20 lettermen from that squad, including perhaps the top power hitter in the class of 2015 in outfielder Kyle Tucker. As a junior, Tucker batted .415 with 35 RBI, 7 doubles and 9 home runs. In three varsity seasons, Tucker has 20 home runs. The pitching staff returns 16 victories, topped by Jake Woodford, who went 10-1 with 73 strikeouts last season. Other top hitters include outfielder Cooper Dickens (.326) and catcher Ryan Ellis (.329).

View the MaxPreps Florida baseball pro photo galleries

5. Killian (Miami)
2014 finish: 25-5
Head coach: Angel Herrera

Coach Angel Herrera says this is the best team he's had in his nine years at Killian. After finishing ranked No. 12 in the country in the MaxPreps computer rankings, Killian returns nearly the entire team, including the entire pitching staff. All-state pitcher Ryan Granda returns along with Eddy Demurias and Joey Gonzalez, each of whom throw over 90 mph. Herrera also has two of the state's top sophomores in catcher Eddy Arteaga and shortstop Freddy Zamora, each of whom have committed to University of Miami.