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High School | General | 12/27/2017

Year in Review: High School

Vincent Cervino

Photo: Calvary Christian High School

Year in Review: College | MLB Draft | PG Events

2017 High School Players of the Year | Final 2017 National High School Top 50

Underclassmen reign in Jupiter

The Canes reclaimed the title at Jupiter to make it four championships in five years for the program. The difference about this team (the Canes Prospects) as opposed to years past is that this Canes Baseball squad was exclusively made up of underclassmen and not their flagship 17u national team. The star of the tournament for the Canes was undoubtedly righthander Dylan Delucia, who came away with MV-Pitcher honors, as he tallied 17 strikeouts and allowed only one earned run over 11 2/3 strong innings.

The lineup was very deep with underclass talent and featured a lot of Division I commits (19) who will be followed closely during the 2018 spring and summer seasons. Despite their young age as a whole the team showed great poise in winning multiple extra inning playoff games on the final day, which included the thrilling nine-inning championship game against a star-laden FTB/SF Giants Scout Team.

Providence wins PG High School Showdown

This year’s iteration of the PG High School Showdown showed a lot of talented players and drama while ending with the Providence Stallions (Fla.) coming out on top over a talented Blessed Trinity squad. MVP Alec Sanchez, a Florida State commit, crushed two home runs with a tournament-high six runs scored during the event.

The 2017 PG High School Showdown was another banner year in terms of MLB Draft talent with a couple of notable names in attendance being Drew Waters (2nd round, Braves), Jacob Heatherly (3rd round, Reds), Ryan Dease (4th round, Rangers) and Tyler Esplin (7th round, Red Sox). The talent was spread out well throughout the country with many of the more interesting storylines shared in the video below.

Orange Lutheran captures NHSI

Coming into the season, Orange Lutheran (Calif.) was the No. 1 team in the PG/Rawlings Preseason Top 50 but quickly fell out of the rankings following a subpar start to the year. The Lancers put it all together during a strong run at USA Baseball’s National High School Invitational (NHSI). Led by senior outfielder Garrett Mitchell, Lutheran put up 20 runs in four games to finish 4-0 concluding with a one-run victory over Dana Hills (Calif.) to capture the crown.

The Lancers should be highly regarded again heading into the 2018 season featuring some of the top ranked players in their respective, classes highlighted by MLB Draft prospect righthander Cole Winn and 2019 outfielder Jasiah Dixon.

Two perfect teams: Shawnee, Calvary Christian

It is rare to see one perfect season across high school baseball, yet alone two, which is what the 2017 high school season brought us. Shawnee (Okla.) capped off an undefeated season that saw them capture their third straight state title. Led by seniors Tanner Sparks, who was named the PG/Rawlings Player of the Year in Oklahoma, and Jake Taylor, Shawnee will have some holes to fill heading into 2018 but they have clearly shown a penchant for success recently.

Calvary Christian of Clearwater (Fla.) also put together an impressive undefeated season, an extremely difficult task in any state but a particularly arduous task in the talent-rich state of Florida. Coach Greg Olsen’s squad has a lot of talent coming back in 2018, including highly-ranked seniors Matheu Nelson and Eric Kennedy, and should be right in the mix of top teams in the state, and the country.

Preseason Top 10 in hindsight

Looking back at Perfect Game’s Preseason Top 50 there have undoubtedly been more accurate years but a couple of the teams ranked put together banner years while staying near the top all season long. Archbishop McCarthy (Fla.) started out at No. 3 in the country while spending a few weeks as the top-ranked squad as well. The Mavericks finished the 2017 campaign with another state title, their seventh in eight years, finishing No. 2 in the final rankings.

Huntington Beach (Calif.) came into the year ranked at No. 5 in the country while also spending some time in the top spots. Seniors Hagen Danner (2nd round, Blue Jays) and Nick Pratto (1st round, Royals) both were selected extremely high in June’s MLB Draft and had extremely strong senior campaigns. Huntington Beach finished the 2017 season ranked 10th overall.

No other school ranked in the preseason top 10 ended the season ranked, but that did not mean that those schools didn’t enjoy strong years. Orange Lutheran, American Heritage (Fla.) and Merritt Island (Fla.) all participated in the NHSI while schools such as Walton (Ga.) and Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) enjoyed years consistent with their success in recent seasons.

Tumultuous California

The top-ranked team in the state of California changed five times over the course of the season with Orange Lutheran, Huntington Beach and Buchanan all spending time as the top-ranked team; Eastlake was the top-ranked team in the final edition of the rankings at No. 4 overall. Multiple schools entered and exited the rankings including traditional powers such as St. John Bosco, Harvard-Westlake and JSerra.

Orange Lutheran and Huntington Beach were already previously mentioned but Buchanan was the premier team in Northern California all season as their undefeated start helped propel them to the No. 1 slot. Eastlake captured a state title and ended up with the final top slot thanks to the strong season from senior and 2016 PG All-American Ben Ramirez (35th round, Cubs), who is now playing for USC.

Texas solidified as season went on

No state showed the volatility in the rankings quite like the Lone Star State as the top teams shifted throughout the season. Dallas Jesuit (No. 2) and Flower Mound (No. 12) were the top two teams in the state for the Preseason Top 50 and both teams finished the year on the outside looking in. With a strong run in the state playoffs, finishing off with a state title, Moody ended the year as the top-ranked team nationally from the state, finishing sixth overall.

Wylie (16) and Port Neches-Groves (21) followed Moody in the state whereas Colleyville Heritage (28) was one of the most consistent teams as they were ranked in every edition of the Top 50. The state of Texas looks strong heading into 2018 with numerous top MLB Draft talents headlining some of the bigger teams.

Strong 2018 draft classes in the Midwest, Northeast

The draft classes in the Midwest and Northeast look as strong as ever, led by PG All-Americans Jarred Kelenic (Wis.) and Nick Decker (N.J.) respectively. Austin Becker (Ohio), Seth Halvorsen (Minn.) and Nick Northcut (Ohio) lead a loaded Midwest while Jackson (Massillon, Ohio) and Jefferson City (Mo.) ended the season as the top-ranked teams in the region.

Mike Vasil (Mass.), Mike Siani (Pa.) and Brandon Neeck (N.Y.) lead the way in the Northeast with Malvern Prep (Pa.), Delbarton (N.J.) and William Penn Charter (Pa.) finishing the season as the top-ranked teams in the nation from the region, ranked 29, 47 and 48, respectively.

Top team in Florida?

There was much debate at the end of the season as which of the two Florida-based teams were the best in the country between Calvary Christian of Clearwater and Archbishop McCarthy. Both teams had nearly equally impressive resumes with Calvary Christian finishing undefeated and Archbishop McCarthy winning their unprecedented seventh title in eight years.

Ultimately, Archbishop McCarthy got the nod, finishing at No. 2 in the country, one spot ahead of Calvary Christian. It is very hard to split hairs between the resumes as to which team was ultimately the best, however, in our eyes the consistent success of Archbishop McCarthy was too hard to ignore. Regardless, Calvary Christian had an amazing season and is set up nicely to repeat in their class.

Player of the Year: Jordon Adell, OF, Ballard HS (Ky.)

The toolsed-up outfielder from Kentucky enjoyed a monster season for Ballard High School with a .562 batting average, 25 home runs and 61 RBI. Adell, a PG All-American in 2016, was selected 10th overall by the Angels in the MLB Draft and has already put his exciting tools to good use as the outfielder looks poised for an outstanding career.

Pitcher of the Year: Mackenzie Gore, LHP, Whiteville HS (N.C.)

Perhaps the biggest riser in the 2017 MLB Draft, Gore was selected as the third straight PG All-American, going third overall to the Padres behind Royce Lewis (Twins) and Hunter Greene (Reds). Gore was must-see entertainment every time he toed the rubber, with a microscopic 0.19 ERA while striking out 158 in 74 innings pitched. Gore showed off some of the most polished command and stuff in the draft this past year and it showed during the high school season.

Two Way Player of the Year: Tanner Burns, RHP/SS, Decatur HS (Ala.)

There might not have been another player more important to his team’s success than Burns as Decatur High School turned in a very strong season. The pitching numbers were electric with a 0.88 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 64 innings. Even when he wasn’t on the mound his presence in the lineup was felt everywhere as he launched 16 home runs during the season.

To see the individual state-by-state high school players of the year from 2017 visit this link.

PERFECTGAME.TV

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