Florida
American Heritage takes the top spot from Tampa Jesuit, the first time Jesuit has not held the highest rank, after their dramatic 3-0 win over the Tigers in Thursday’s 5A FHSAA semifinal.
Defending PG National Champion Archbishop McCarty clinched a spot in the 6A title game and sits No. 3, followed closely by 8A semifinal participant Columbus.
Five new teams enter the rankings, No. 18 Ponte Vedra, No. 19 Timber Creek, No. 21 Atlantic, No. 22 New Smyrna Beach, and No. 23 Brandon.
Click here to see the entire Florida Regional Rankings.
Great Plains
Missouri’s Regional tournaments wreaked havoc on the Great Plains Top 25 this week, as Vianney (No. 4 last week), Howell Central (No. 5 last week), Francis Howell (No. 6 last week) and Christian Brothers College (No. 11 last week) all were upset in their regional tournaments. These developments suggest that No. 3 Lee’s Summit West is now a heavy favorite (on paper).
Colorado kicks off the 5A state playoffs today, with No. 1 Cherry Creek and No. 5 Pine Creek meet in the opener of the double elimination tournament in an excellent matchup that will likely see the state’s second best MLB Draft prospect (6’ 7” RHP Ryan Warner of Pine Creek) take on the top ranked team. Pine Creek has yet to lose a game in the state of Colorado.
New additions this week include: No. 16 Norris (NE), No. 21 Legend (CO), No. 22 Hill-Murray (MN), No. 23 Rockwood Summit (MO) and No. 24 Olathe South (KS).
Click here to see the entire Great Plains Regional Rankings.
Mid-Atlantic
Lots of movement at the top of the Mid-Atlantic ranks as North Carolina powers Providence and Ardrey Kell each saw their seasons end in the first round of North Carolina playoffs. Roberson (NC) takes over the top spot, followed by Byrnes (SC), Lake Braddock (VA) and Ashley Ridge (SC).
Byrnes (SC) is back at No. 2 and faces Ashley Ridge for the AAAA South Carolina title.
New Bern (NC) is the only new team to enter the rankings.
Click here to see the entire Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings.
Midwest
Lake Central (IN), Mt. Carmel (IL), and Defiance (OH) remain the top three teams as teams from Indiana and Illinois wrap up their regular seasons and Ohio is well into the playoff season.
Providence Catholic (IL) has had a productive last few weeks and is up to No. 4. Rockford (MI) moves up and is the top ranked team in Michigan, sitting at No. 14.
Four new teams enter the rankings: Massillon Perry (OH), Westlake (OH), St. Francis de Sales (OH), and Lincoln-Way North (IL).
Click here to see the entire Midwest Regional Rankings.
Northeast
Salisbury School (CT) remains undefeated and the top ranked team in the region. Norwin (PA) remains in the two hole despite dropping their first contest. New Jersey playoffs are set to begin and lots of changes may be in store for the Garden State.
Jackson Memorial is the highest ranked team and sits at No. 4, followed closely by Red Bank. Grand Street Campus is the highest ranked New York team at No. 3 with Xaverian and now No. 6 and St. Joseph by Sea at No. 8. Bethel Park (PA) is up to No. 7.
The final five spots are all new additions: Salisbury (PA), Cherokee (NJ), Tottenville (NY), Walpole (MA), and John Jay (NY).
Click here to see the entire Northeast Regional Rankings.
Northwest
The state playoffs get underway in Washington and Oregon next week, there were a few teams who surprisingly failed to qualify, but for the most part the brackets went chalk.
New additions this week include: No. 19 Tahoma (WA), No. 20 Kentridge (WA), No. 21 Sheldon (OR), No. 22 Mill Creek Jackson (WA), No. 23 Bishop Kelly (ID), No. 24 West Salem (OR) and No. 25 Fruitland (ID).
Click here to see the entire Northwest Regional Rankings.
Pacific
This week’s update serves as the calm before the storm, with the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs swinging into full effect this afternoon. There were a couple of surprises in the Wild Card (play-in) games earlier in the week, but most of the action comes from the northern part of California.
The opening round of the Southern Section’s Division II playoffs proved uneventful, as several ranked teams survived and advanced, including No. 1 Harvard-Westlake, No. 6 Cypress and No. 12 Pacifica.
The CIF Central Section’s top team Clovis West was stunned in their first (and last) playoff game last night, losing 10-4 to Clovis. The Golden Eagles came into the playoffs ranked No. 25 in the nation and No. 8 in the region, but plummeted to No. 24 this week after the abrupt end to their season.
The loss opened the door for No. 9 Campolindo, who won their conference tournament last night, to take over billing as the top ranked team from Northern California. Clovis West wasn’t the only NorCal favorite to stumble, Pleasant Grove (No. 20 last week) lost it’s first round game against Franklin, while preseason Sacramento area favorite Jesuit also lost in the first round.
No. 25 Waiakea (HI) capped off an improbable run, going undefeated en route to the Division I state championship. Waiakea hails from the island of Hawaii (also known as ‘the Big Island’), and became the first school from an island other than Oahu (home to the state’s capital city Honolulu) to capture a state championship since 1995. 2012 LHP Quintin Torres-Costa, a University of Hawaii commit, made himself right at home at UH’s Les Murakami Stadium, throwing 13 shutout innings during the state tournament, including six no-hit innings in the championship game. The Warriors opened the season as the lone Hawaiian representative in the Pacific Regional rankings and they lived up to the lofty expectations.
New additions this week include: No. 22 Camarillo (CA) and No. 23 Los Alamitos (CA).
Click here to see the entire Pacific Regional Rankings.
Southeast
Three Georgia teams sit atop the ranks with Parkview and Columbus maintaining the top two spots and Gainesville sliding in at No. 3. All four teams advanced to the GHSA semifinals with Parkview the favorite in AAAAA and Columbus and Gainesville a step away from a AAA title series matchup.
No. 4 Oak Grove is a step away from a 6A Mississippi title and Barbe (LA) has already claimed their title.
Eleven Georgia teams fit into the rankings and six new teams enter this week: No. 18 Teurlings Catholic (LA), No. 20 Calvary Baptist (LA), No. 21 Archbishop Rummel (LA), No. 22 Johns Creek (GA), No. 23 Whitewater (GA), No. 24 Collierville (TN).
Click here to see the entire Southeast Regional Rankings.
Southwest
The season wrapped up on Saturday in New Mexico and on Tuesday in Arizona. Nevada and Utah have their respective postseasons in full swing, making it possible that the champions crowned in the southern states of the region could continue to move in the next couple of weeks in spite of having already concluded their season.
Chaparral (AZ) claimed the Division I championship, holding onto the No. 3 spot again this week. The Firebirds knocked off Brophy Prep (AZ) in the title game, causing the Broncos to slip a couple of spots to No. 6. Division II champion Sunnyslope (AZ) moves up to No. 8, while Division III champion River Valley debuts at No. 23.
New Mexico had some excitement at Isotopes Park (home of the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes) as the return of C/MIF Alex Bregman sparked Albuerque Academy (NM) to a late surge that set up a rematch of the 2011 championship game. In that rematch two-time defending champion Piedra Vista managed to pull it out in extra innings in spite of a Home Run by Bregman and a strong performance by ace 2013 RHP Tyler Buffett. The Panthers would cruise to a blowout victory in the championship game the following day to capture their third consecutive 4A championship, they move up to No. 5 in the region and are the top ranked team from New Mexico. The 5A final was closer than the scoreboard would indicate, as the third seed Carlsbad rallied from an early defecit to knock off top seeded Sandia, 9-3. Carlsbad climbs to No. 7, while Sandia holds steady at No. 9.
New additions this week include: No. 14 Reno (NV) and No. 23 River Valley (AZ).
Click here to see the entire Southwest Regional Rankings.
Texahoma
The biggest surprise comes from the state of Oklahoma, which saw previously unranked Edmond North knock off Nationally ranked Owasso and Broken Arrow en route to capturing the 2012 6A state championship. Edmond North lacks a high level draft prospect, but are a good team that plays together throughout the offseason. Edmond North comes in at No. 8 this week. Runner up Broken Arrow slips to No. 11, slotting into the third spot of Oklahoma teams (also behind 5A champion No. 7 Carl Albert).
The Texas UIL playoffs march on with a lot of shakeups this week, as adverse weather cut several three game series’ short last week, putting an early end to the title hopes of several highly ranked teams. Some intriguing matchups this weekend include: No. 3 Tomball vs No. 6 Klein and No. 12 Flower Mound vs No. 16 Southlake Carroll.
St. Pius X holds onto the No. 4 spot after claiming the TAPPS 5A state championship with a victory over rival St. Thomas Catholic (No. 10) on Saturday.
New additions this week include: No. 8 Edmond North (OK), No. 17 Montwood (TX), No. 23 Fort Bend Clements (TX) and No. 25 Wichita Falls Riders (TX).
Click here to see the entire Texahoma Regional Rankings.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @highschoolPG, @PGbcollman (East) and @TGold_PG (West)