If there was a CIF D1 state final last season, it would have matched preseason No. 3 De La Salle of Concord (left) vs preseason No. 1 St. John Bosco of Bellflower, both shown celebrating after title wins. Miles Clark is the one holding plaque for Braves. The first CIF state finals in baseball since early 1920s are hopefully going to happen at end of next season, pending CIF Federated Council approval. Photos: Mark Tennis / CalHiSports.com & Fernando M. Donado / OC Sports Zone.
We have 45 years of final baseball state rankings in our archives and we’re beginning the 46th season with a similar theme as the 45th. That’s with a very strong favorite at the top of the state. The team that was in that spot last year, though, wasn’t No. 1 at the end. Can St. John Bosco of Bellflower go all the way this time in the loaded CIF Southern Section? We’ll see. The Braves have plenty of tough competition in their own Trinity League of course and we have one of those teams, Orange Lutheran, in the No. 2 spot. Defending NorCal D1 champ De La Salle is third. All teams are written up and yes we know a few have already played some games. Those results have been mentioned and already accounted for.
We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. All of our upcoming regular season state baseball rankings will be for Gold Club members only. To join our Gold Club to get all new state rankings, see all of our all-time state record lists and all of the all-state team announcements, CLICK HERE.
CHECK OUT CALGAMESWANTED.COM
Coaches we know around the state recognize that CalGamesWanted provides a more efficient way to manage non-league scheduling. They all add that as participation in the platform increases, it becomes even more invaluable. Try it for free until December 2026.
Note: The dates for this year’s Boras Baseball Classic in the north are March 30 to April 2. The games in the south will be held from April 7-10. The North vs South Title Game will be April 26 at University of San Diego’s Fowler Park.
CAL-HI SPORTS PRESEASON
STATE TOP 35 BASEBALL RANKINGS
(Listed with win-loss record from 2025 season)
(Opening results from first week of games mentioned where it applies)
1. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 30-4
The Braves being ranked No. 1 in the nation and looked at as a strong favorite in the CIF Southern Section Division I field is not anything unusual. In fact, just last year Corona was in that position and despite the history-making feat of having three players selected in the first round of the MLB Draft the Panthers were defeated in the CIFSS D1 semifinals, 2-0, by the Braves. Head coach Andy Rojo’s squad then won the section title in extra innings vs Santa Margarita and then took the CIF SoCal D1 regional title before being named State Team of the Year. Bosco did it with an underclass-dominating lineup, too, so it’s easy to put the team back at No. 1 to start this season.
Trinity League Player of the Year and Mr. Baseball State Player of the Year finalist James Clark, a shortstop who just committed to Duke, led the team with 46 hits and had a .411 batting average. Twin brother Miles Clark, an outfielder, also is going to Duke. Speedster Jaden Jackson, who often is the DH, is headed to UCLA. The top returning pitcher is Gavin Cervantes (8-0, 1.20) but teammate Julian Garcia was out all last year with an injury. They also will be teammates in college at Long Beach State. Jack Champlin, the pitcher who got the save in the shutout of Corona, has signed with UC Irvine. The stacked roster also includes infielder Moises Razo (Long Beach State) and promising sophomores Brayden Krakowski (pitcher) and Aaron Garcia (infield).
Orange Lutheran senior Gary Morse is one of the top-ranked pitchers in the nation. Photo: olu_athletics / Instagram.com.
2. Lutheran (Orange) 23-7
Just like the OLu softball team from a couple of days ago, the OLu baseball team also is starting the 2026 season at No. 2 in the state. R.J. Farrell starts his second season as head coach with a mix of top-notch returnees plus some major incoming transfers. All-State first team pitcher Gary Morse leads the returnees. The Tennessee commit went 8-2 with a 0.94 ERA and had 65 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings. Senior catcher Brady Murrieta also returns as one of the best at his position in the state. He has signed with Texas. The other top returnees are infielder Hamilton Friedberg (committed to UCLA) and junior pitcher Sam Principe (1.58 ERA). It’s the transfers that may really push the Lancers over the top. Pitcher Cooper Sides has been a dominant force since his freshman season up at Red Bluff in the CIF Northern Section and will be with OLu this spring before he heads to LSU or goes high in the MLB Draft. C.J. Weinstein, an all-state second team infielder last season at Huntington Beach, will trade the orange-and-black for the red-and-white. Plus, senior outfielder Eric Zdunek, who played last season at Maranatha of Pasadena and has signed with Notre Dame, will be with OLu this season as well.
3. De La Salle (Concord) 29-4
It’s not just the return of State Junior Player of the Year Tyler Spangler that makes the Spartans highly ranked to begin the season. It’s just a great place to start. Spangler, also one of the top MLB Draft prospects in the nation and committed to Stanford, belted a team-leading 10 homers last season with a team-best 43 hits, team-best 42 runs and had 40 RBI. He had two doubles when DLS rallied to beat Serra of San Mateo in a 5-4 win for the team’s third CIF NorCal D1 championship in the past four years. Head coach David Jeans on balance has even more returning strength in the pitching category. Stanford-bound Graham Schlicht went 11-0 with a 0.67 ERA as a junior. Roman Bartosh wasn’t far behind at 8-1 with a 2.39 ERA and Carter Barnes shined as a sophomore at 5-1 with a 2.38 ERA. Infielder Bubba Vargas, a third team all-state linebacker in football, batted .353 with 20 RBI.
4. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City) 19-10
This is the highest-ranked team that has begun the season already with a couple of games and the Wolverines have won both against traveling teams from Texas (Southlake Carroll and Flower Mound Marcus). They are looking to bounce back what for them was a sub-par season and early exit from the CIFSS D1 playoffs. They also are joining St. John Bosco and Orange Lutheran at this year’s National High School Invitational in North Carolina. The outfield is especially potent for head coach Jared Halpert. Senior James Tronstein (Vanderbilt) was all-state juniors and second team all-state overall after last season. Junior outfielder Ira Rootman also happens to be one of the top ranked players nationally in his class. Senior outfielder Ethan Price is headed to Santa Clara. Junior DH/1B Jake Kim has another big-time bat and is going to UCLA. Senior Jake Chung (Brown), junior Justin Kirchner (Yale) and junior James Venick (USC) will lead the pitching staff.
5. Huntington Beach 24-5
Jared Grindlinger, the 2025 State Sophomore Player of the Year, is back for the Oilers and should lead another strong season for longtime head coach Benji Madure. Grindlinger is regarded as one of the nation’s very best pitching prospects in the Class of 2027, but he also emerged as a major threat last season at the plate. He went 5-0 with 0.87 ERA in 34 innings on the mound. As a batter, Jared hit .343 with 24 hits, two homers and 17 RBI. Huntington Beach has two other younger players getting a lot of attention in sophomore shortstop Parker Leoff, committed to UCLA, and sophomore third base Ely Mason, committed to Oklahoma State. Behind Grindlinger, another ace pitcher returning is TCU-bound Tanner Brown. We know the Oilers have been reported with a tie vs Loyola of Los Angeles in a season-opening game, but as for now that didn’t impact this ranking.
6. Corona 28-3
MLB Draft first round picks Seth Hernandez, Billy Carlson and Brady Ebel plus others are gone from an amazing two-year run by the Panthers, but all is not lost. Anthony Murphy returns as a legit State Player of the Year candidate and he was the State Freshman Player of the Year for 2023 and then State Sophomore Player of the Year for 2024. The LSU-bound outfielder led the squad in homers with 11, batting average (.415), hits (49), RBI (35) and runs scored (39). Head coach Andy Wise has some other top-notch players to work with as well, including Brady Ebel’s younger brother, Trey, a shortstop signed by Texas A&M, plus senior catcher Jesiah Andrade. Junior Mason Sims is the top returning pitcher and gave up one hit in four innings in a season-opening win against Maranatha of Pasadena.
7. Norco 22-9
Coming in right behind league arch-rival Corona at No. 7 we have the Cougars. We can see why some might pick Norco higher with the returning players it has compared to the players graduated at Corona, but any ranking like that should wait for Norco to prove it on the field. Norco also has already played games to start the season, reportedly with wins against Los Osos of Rancho Cucamonga and Great Oak of Temecula. The Cougars are blessed with 2024 State Freshman of the Year (and considered runner-up to Huntington Beach’s Jared Grindlinger among sophs last year) Dylan Seward at shortstop. Norco followed up last season with 2025 State Freshman of the Year Jordan Ayala, who only gave up two hits in seven innings of a 2-0 CIFSS playoff loss to Corona. Infielder Zion Martinez (batted .407 as a junior) and pitcher Landon Hovermale (Grand Canyon) are among other key returning players.
Buchanan’s Austin Finegan returns as the Fresno Bee Large Schools Player of the Year. Photo: @Buchanan_Bears / X.com.
8. Franklin (Elk Grove) 26-8
Prior to working on preseason rankings, another project we like to get done before the start of a season is to update all state records. We added the category this year of most wins for the 2020s so far and the leader for the state is head coach Bryan Kilby’s Wildcats. The Sac-Joaquin Section D1 champs from last year and contenders for that title the last few years have 136 wins since 2020 and are going to be up there again. Kilby returns almost all of his position players, led by Sacramento Bee Player of the Year Dylan Minnatee, who had 34 RBI last season and batted .441. Infielder Jason Harris led the team in runs scored with 40 and is headed to Cal. Sophomore catcher Brandon Williams shined as a freshman behind the plate and is one of the top prospects in the state for his class. The pitching will need some arms to step up, but junior Royal McKinney showed in the section final he can be a shut down starter or closer.
9. Buchanan (Clovis) 25-5
Seven starters are back for the Bears, who were the frontrunners last season in the CIF Central Section but fell short in the D1 playoffs. Outfielder Austin Finegan, the Fresno Bee Large Schools Player of the Year, tops the list of returnees. He hit .448 with five homers and 27 RBI and will play next at Cal. Adam Plascencia was another junior with top honors, including all-state juniors as multi-purpose. The UC San Diego recruit played outfield and pitched. Senior outfielder Zach Williams and junior shortstop Jaxon Climer (Cal Poly SLO commit) also come back as honors candidates who’ve had a lot of success.
10. Aquinas (San Bernardino) 25-3
The state’s fourth team also invited and headed to this year’s National High School Invitational in North Carolina is the Falcons. They’ll be joining No. 1 St. John Bosco, No. 2 Orange Lutheran and No. 4 Harvard-Westlake. A more than solid group of returnees is led by junior infielder Carter Hadnot, a top-ranked national recruit committed to Miami. Leading hitter Jonathan Tena, a senior infielder, batted .480 with 36 hits and 24 RBI. Senior first base Jacob Bitonti also led the team in homers with four. The pitching loses some quality arms, but senior Hayden Vanderhoof is a top returnee who went 5-1 as a junior.
11. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 20-14
Last season’s CIFSS D1 runner-up to St. John Bosco has several outstanding returnees and is one of the teams in these preseason listings that has played and already lost in a first game (which was to Gahr of Cerritos). We still have the Eagles close to the top 10. The top player back is all-state second team overall and all-state junior infielder Brody Schumaker. He has signed with TCU, but may go high in the MLB Draft. He’s the son of new Texas Rangers’ manager Skip Schumaker. Senior catcher Warren Gravely, another all-state junior, has signed with Notre Dame. Outfielder Chase Marlow (San Diego), pitcher Noah Darnell (Harvard) and multi-purpose Andre Owens (Oklahoma State) are other seniors to watch.
12. Serra (San Mateo) 28-7
After De La Salle, Franklin of Elk Grove and Buchanan, the next three teams in our NorCal order are all from the famed West Catholic Athletic League. Any of the three could be in the top 15 to start, but we went with the defending WCAL and CIF Central Coast Section D1 champions from Serra. Head coach Mat Keplinger has a nice balance of offensive and pitching strength. Junior outfielder Aaron Minton (committed to Duke) and senior first base William Walbridge (signed Texas Tech) lead the list of position players. For pitching, seniors Kelly Crawford (Cal Poly SLO) and Aiden Waters (Chapman) are both back. Riley Lim is another senior pitcher who had some strong outings last season.
Alex Mestman is one of the top returning players at Patrick Henry of San Diego, which last season played for the CIF SoCal D1 championship. Photo: X.com.
13. Patrick Henry (San Diego) 23-11-2
The preseason outlook in the CIF San Diego Section most logically should start with the Patriots on top. They were the team, after all, that stood in the way of St. John Bosco in the CIF SoCal D1 final that were looking to complete a run of upsets to win that regional title. Last year’s D1 section champs from Granite Hills of El Cajon (26-1-2) also graduated just about everyone. Patrick Henry has much more back. Leading hitter Ian Brooke, a senior catcher, had 36 hits and 30 RBI. Senior outfielder Alex Mestman had 32 hits and 27 runs scored. Senior Tyson Bobo, who has signed with Texas Tech, had 26 RBI and could be a top pitcher alongside returnees Jimmy and Brady Gunn. Jimmy pitched four scoreless innings the loss to Bosco and went 6-3 on the season with a 1.73 ERA. Brady went 7-2 with a 2.44 ERA.
14. St. Mary’s (Stockton) 27-9
We’ll find out a lot about the Rams to start the season next Saturday when they are hosting De La Salle in what will be the second game for both schools. St. Mary’s loses standouts Tanner Grove and Brady Errecart to graduation, but still has first team all-state Dax Hardcastle. Dax led the team in homers as a junior with eight and mostly plays third base. The Mississippi State recruit hasn’t pitched much in high school, but may do more as a senior. The leading hitter for average, Ethan Silva (.408), a catcher, also is back. The top returning pitcher is senior Nico Bavaro, who has signed with UCLA.
15. Royal (Simi Valley) 22-7
A team from the Ventura County area getting a lot of preseason buzz has been the Highlanders. It’s due to their returning pitching. The No. 1 spot in the rotation belongs to senior Dustin Dunwoody, who is bound for Arizona after going 7-0 with a 1.15 ERA and striking out 96 batters last season. Longtime head coach Daniel Maye (our 2021 State Medium Schools Coach of the Year) also welcomes back pitchers Dean Barkman (UC Santa Barbara) and Isaiah Tillman (USF). Infielder Noah Vasquez, who was second on the team in runs scored with 32 and RBI with 22, is the team’s top offensive returnee.
16. Simi Valley 23-6
We almost put the Pioneers ahead of their arch-rivals from Royal and they also come in as defending champions of the Coastal Canyon League. Instead, we just put them next to each other. Simi Valley has quality pitching as well, led by senior Kyle Casey (1.22 ERA) and senior Jackson Goshorn (1.34 ERA plus he threw a pair of no-hitters). The team’s leading hitter from 2025, outfielder Evan Rodriguez (.421), is also returning. Junior catcher Andrew Nicklaus (22 hits, two homers) is another player to watch. Both Simi Valley and Royal also have played and won in season opening games.
17. St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 17-10-2
The second of three WCAL teams in the preseason rankings is the Wildcats. They have one of the leading player of the year candidates in the Bay Area with first base/pitcher Archer Horn. Archer, headed to Stanford, had seven homers and batted .352 as a junior. He also had a 2.02 ERA. Another of St. Ignatius’ top veterans is infielder D.J. Delaney (signed with Nevada). Another of the top pitchers should be Tycco Giometti, who had a 1.08 ERA last season.
Dax Hardcastle from St. Mary’s of Stockton hopes to make it to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 title game for the third straight season. Photo: smhs_ramsbaseball / Instagram.com.
18. Cypress 18-11
We didn’t do anything with the Centurions’ preseason ranking after they lost on Saturday in their second of two games to start the season at home against Texas teams Southlake Carroll and Flower Mound Marcus. Veteran head coach John Weber (2019 State Coach of the Year) should have another highly-competitive highly-ranked unit. The strong cast of returnees includes junior pitcher Tate Belfanti, who had a 1.30 ERA as a sophomore and could be one of the top Class of 2027 arms nationally. Weber also has returning Crestview League Player of the Year Noah Johnson, a catcher who has signed with Cal State Fullerton.
19. Clovis North (Fresno) 24-8
There aren’t many teams that run out a 1-2 pitching punch like junior Davis Wilson and senior Brendan Cumiford of the Broncos. Wilson was an all-state sophomore pick last season who also is up there with Huntington Beach’s Jared Grindlinger near the top of many Class of 2027 national prospect lists. Cumiford, who also plays on the infield, is an up-and-coming prospect who had an outstanding summer following last season. Senior infielder Trevor Harper and senior lefty pitcher Cade Smith are among other players to watch.
20. JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 10-17
This is the lowest preseason ranking that the Lions will get, but we have never put a team with a losing record that high for the following season no matter the strength of schedule or who’s coming back. And in this case JSerra was 10-17 last season. Teams like the Lions coming back from a rough season just have to win games first to go back up. Their season starts next weekend with a trip to Texas to play Flower Mound Marcus (which just played in SoCal this weekend) and Flower Mound High. The 2022 and 2023 CIFSS D1 champions should be led by senior outfielder Blake Bowen (signed by Oregon State) and speedy leadoff hitter Shane D’Arcy, a junior committed to UC Irvine. Head coach Brett Kay also has pitching with juniors Aidan Kent (Georgia) and Aidan Rae (UCLA).
21. Gahr (Cerritos) 17-13
A 16-3 win by the Gladiators on Saturday over Santa Margarita isn’t the only reason they are starting inside the top 25 of these preseason rankings. They also are beginning just in front of Gateway League rival La Mirada in the local Long Beach Press-Telegram rankings. Gahr should be stronger than last year with pitchers Jake Ourique (Oregon) and Bryce Morrison (USC), both seniors, at the top of the order. Jorge Valdez (Cal State Northridge) is another pitcher with a D1 scholarship. The lineup has some talent as well with shortstop Andres Gonzalez (USC) and catcher Nathan Guangorena (Cal State Northridge) among those to watch.
22. La Mirada 21-7
We’ll go with the Matadores right behind their rivals from Gahr in these rankings since they are much higher in other preseason state/national/CIFSS rankings that we’ve also seen. Head coach Jimmy Zurn should have an elite group of pitchers to work with, led by junior Luke Armijo (Texas commit) and senior Noah Dabela (UC Santa Barbara). Jacob Oropeza also had a 1.35 ERA. At the plate, catcher Justin Torres is the top returnee. He had the third best batting average on the team in 2025 at .342.
23. St. Francis (Mountain View) 22-11
The Lancers have the most talent back among any lineup in the CCS and should be up there with Serra and St. Ignatius as WCAL challengers. The top three hitters — senior infielder Tanner Wall (.352), junior outfielder Jack Leeper (.321) and senior catcher Gino Cappellazzo (.318) — are all back. Wall (Pepperdine), Leeper (committed to Stanford) and Cappellazzo (Santa Clara) are all college-bound, too. The team’s top two pitchers graduated, but Ian McMahon (4-2, 2.08 ERA) is back.
24. San Marcos 20-8-1
The preseason outlook in the CIF San Diego Section is about as wide open as it could be. The dominant D1 champion from last season, Granite Hills of El Cajon, was about as senior-oriented as a team could be and couldn’t restart that high. San Marcos is a team that won the title in the Coastal League last season (same league as Rancho Bernardo, La Costa Canyon and more) and has most of its pitching coming back. Cal-State Fullerton recruit Brody Lane (8-4, 2.48 ERA) will lead the staff. Senior Carter Tsai also returns after going 7-0 with a 1.63 ERA. University of San Diego-bound infielder Maddox Ponsford and another of the top hitters, outfielder Ethan Martinez, also are back.
25. Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) 21-13
The Broncos appeared in the preseason MaxPreps TOP 50 for the nation and we can’t say that doing that is wrong. We also did our preseason rankings without knowing what the local San Diego Union-Tribune preseason rankings are going to be. We just put San Marcos higher for winning the league title. Rancho Bernardo, which won the CIF SoCal D2 regional title, only had eight seniors on the roster last season (the Knights had six). All-CIF San Diego Section outfielder Brady Strachan leads the returnees. He batted .419 as a junior. The other top position players should be outfielder Nathan Bembenek, catcher Owen Glick (UC San Diego) and infielder Hugo Gonzalez, all seniors. Pitcher Caden Dockan (also UCSD) is another player to watch.
NEXT 10 TEAMS IN ORDER
A.J. LaSota is one of several high-level pitchers at Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks). Photo: nd.knightsbaseball / Instagram.com.
26. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 15-14
The Knights already have a pair of wins vs Texas teams and have a pitching-rich group with junior A.J. LaSota, junior Beckett Borg and senior Juju Diaz-Jones along with Oregon-bound catcher Jacob Madrid.
27. Foothill (Pleasanton) 21-7
It’s hard to determine a second team out of the CIF North Coast Section after De La Salle with Granada (Livermore) hard-hit by graduation, but Falcons look good with UC Santa Barbara-bound catcher Hudson Flora (25 RBI), Cal-bound outfielder George Schmidt (30 RBI) and others.
28. Bakersfield Christian 19-9-1
Ole Miss-bound power pitcher McCoy Silicz is a top returnee for the Eagles.
29. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 19-15
Four-year starter Ezekiel Lara (in the outfield) and Notre Dame-bound pitcher Jackson Campbell are among the top players back for the Monarchs.
30. West Park (Roseville) 24-8
We’re going with the Panthers to start in front of other teams from the nearby Sierra Foothill League based on having guys back such as third baseman Ayden Deome (Arizona), who had 49 RBI last year, plus Jace Oliver (.457) plus pitchers Mason Zobel and Preston Davis.
31. Eastlake (Chula Vista) 21-11-2
Sophomore outfielder Joel Vargas is a highly ranked Class of 2028 prospect and the Titans have others back who can hit and pitch.
32. Chico 28-2
Two-time CIF Northern Section D2 champions have numerous top returnees, including Oregon-committed junior pitcher Vinny Boatwright, super soph Jaxxon Tweedt (.519) and senior Jordan Nuegebauer (44 hits).
33. Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach) 28-3
The cupboard is not completely bare for the Mustangs as pitcher Garrett Jacobs (UCLA) and outfielder Ace Tarango (Navy) are both back.
34. El Dorado (Placentia) 21-9
The Golden Hawks just beat Sierra Canyon, also have a win over a Texas team to start the season and have two top returning pitchers in Logan Steenburgen and Nate Tierney.
35. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 16-13
Junior pitcher Sean Parrow (LSU), senior 1B/DH Mikhal Johnson and senior catcher Dezi Delgado (Cal State Northridge) are among top returnees for the Trailblazers, who lost on Saturday in their second game vs El Dorado of Placentia.
TEAMS ON THE BUBBLE
Arcadia 26-4
Ayala (Chino Hills) 19-9
Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 18-11
Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 19-13
Centennial (Bakersfield) 25-8
Charter Oak (Covina) 1-0
Crespi (Encino) 23-4
Del Oro (Loomis) 15-19
Granada (Livemore) 22-6
Granite Hills (El Cajon) 26-1-2
Liberty (Brentwood) 17-8
McClatchy (Sacramento) 22-7
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 20-9
Ridgeview (Bakersfield) 16-13
Rocklin 24-7
Valley Christian (San Jose) 25-8-1
Villa Park 25-8
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle:
