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High School  | General | 4/5/2010

Top 5 Prep Squads in Past 5 Years

Jeff Simpson
Over the last five years, I have had the responsibility of ranking the nation’s top high school teams for Perfect Game, and I thought it would be interesting to reflect back on some of those top teams and see how the talent on some of those clubs has stood the test of time.

In hindsight, 2008 turned out to be a special year as both Florida’s American Heritage High and Nevada’s Bishop Gorman High, which rank 1-2 in my all-time rankings, were two of the most-talented prep teams in years. Bishop Gorman went on a year later to claim a mythical national championship, and would be a relatively clear choice as the top high-school program nationally over the past five years.

We’ll have to wait and see how the top teams from 2010 stack up. Texas’ Bellaire High began the season ranked No. 1, but was upstaged by Florida’s Christopher Columbus High, a team with nine Division I signees.

Here’s how I would stack up the five best teams in the last four years.

1. 2008 AMERICAN HERITAGE High/Plantation, Fla. (31-2)
American Heritage started the 2008 season at the top of the PG rankings and never relinquished that role as it claimed the Florida 3-A state championship, losing just twice. The Patriots had four players drafted that year, led by first baseman Eric Hosmer (.471-11-27), who was selected third overall in the 2008 draft by Kansas City and signed for a $6 million bonus. He has reached high Class A in the Royals system.

Catcher Adrian Nieto (.362-7-43) was a fifth-round choice of the Washington Nationals, while staff ace Juan Carlos Sulbaran (11-0, 1.46) signed for $500,000 as a 30th-round selection of the Cincinnati Reds and played for the Netherlands squad that competed in the Beijing Olympics. Both those players are in the minor leagues. Outfielder Joey Belviso (.494-15-37) had a huge year for the Patriots, leading to his selection in the 50th round by the Los Angeles Angels, though he didn’t sign and ended up at Jacksonville University.

Two underclassmen were also key members of that squad. Junior shortstop Deven Marrero (.454-9-41), a 17th-round pick of the Reds in 2009, would have been a top prospect in last year’s draft had he not been heavily committed to Arizona State, where he has seen significant playing time as a freshman for the nation’s No. 1-ranked team. Sophomore third baseman Nick Castellanos (.333-8-23) subsequently transferred to nearby Archbishop McCarthy High and is a potential first-rounder this year.

2. 2008 BISHOP GORMAN High, Las Vegas, Nev. (41-3)
While Bishop Gorman High was acclaimed as the national champion in 2009, it was its 2008 squad that might have been the better of the two teams. The team remained intact during the summer and was so potent that it breezed to an American Legion World Series title.

American Heritage and Bishop Gorman started the 2008 season ranked 1-2 nationally by PG, and stayed there the entire season. First baseman Jeff Malm (.564-7-73), who played on four consecutive state-championship teams, was the unquestioned star of the team as a junior, excelling both at the plate and on the mound. He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009 after being drafted in the fifth round.

Malm wasn’t the only difference maker on the 2008 Bishop Gorman team as the Gaels were loaded at every position. Junior outfielder/lefthander Joey Rickard (.489-12-54) set a national record for runs scored that year with 87 and is now the leadoff hitter for Arizona as a freshman. Joey’s older brother John Rickard (.421-10-63) was a 30th-round pick of the Angels in the 2008 draft and has played two years of pro ball, while first baseman Brandon Garcia (.407-10-55), an 18th-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers, is now a sophomore at Southern California.

The Gaels’ pitching staff also was deep and talented. In addition to Malm, senior righthander Donn Roach (8-1, 1.72) was a 40th-round pick of the Angels that year. After a freshman year in college at Arizona in 2009, he has re-surfaced this spring as a top prospect at the College of Southern Nevada, the nation’s top-ranked junior-college team. Paul Sewald (7-0, 1.57) and Stephen Manthei (9-0, 2.23) are currently pitching at the University of San Diego and Arizona, respectively.

3. 2006 THE WOODLANDS (Texas) High (38-1)
The Woodlands team was the 2006 national champion. Though deep at every position, the headline talent was Philadelphia Phillies first-rounder Kyle Drabek, who was involved in the blockbluster trade in the off-season that sent Roy Halladay to the Phillies and Drabek to Toronto.

Drabek went 14-0, 1.00 with 155 strikeouts in 91 innings as the staff ace for The Woodlands, but also played a pivotal role as a shortstop, hitting .427-12-91. But it was another senior righthander, Steven Maxwell (14-0, 1.27), now Texas Christian’s Friday starter, who pinned down a 5-A state championship in 2006, and ultimately a national title, with a route-going win in the deciding game.

Junior outfielder/righthander Brett Eibner was an unsigned fourth-round pick of the Houston Astros in the 2007 draft and is a potential first-rounder this year after three college seasons at Arkansas. A second junior outfielder, Taylor Grote, was a seventh-round pick of the New York Yankees in the 2007 draft, while senior third baseman Paul Goldschmidt (.315-8-44) wasn’t drafted at the time, but went on to have a big college career at Texas State on his way to being an eighth-round selection in 2009.

4. 2009 BISHOP GORMAN High, Las Vegas, Nev. (40-4)
The Gaels began the 2009 season ranked No. 1 by PG. They stumbled at the start by losing three of their first four games, but finished with a rush by winning 39 straight games to capture their fourth consecutive state championship – and a national title.

As in 2008, seniors Jeff Malm (.564-17-49; 11-1, 1.50) and Joey Rickard (.545-7-62; 8-2, 1.97) had huge seasons on both sides of the ball. Righthander Stephen Manthei (10-1, 1.55), now Arizona’s Sunday starter, also had a strong season for a team that had a batting average of .462 and a team ERA of 1.92.

Junior second baseman Johnny Field (.518-14-67), who has committed to Arizona next year, and sophomore catcher Eric Van Meetren (.496-12-64) also played key roles. They have both returned in 2010, intent on leading the Gaels to a fifth consecutive state championship.

If there’s a recurring theme in so many Bishop Gorman players ending up in college at Arizona, it’s not a coincidence as Gaels coach Chris Sheff played on Pepperdine’s 1992 College World Series championship team, coached by Andy Lopez, now the head coach at Arizona. Additionally, Sheff’s former Pepperdine teammate, Mark Wasikowski, is the Wildcats’ recruiting coordinator.

5. 2007 HORIZON HIGH, Scottsdale, Ariz. (30-3)
The Huskies have won three of the past five Arizona 5-A state championships, but no team had talent quite like the 2007 team, which finished the season ranked first nationally.

Horizon High featured arguably the nation’s top 1-2 pitching punch in senior righthanders Tim Alderson and Kevin Rhoderick. The 6-foot-7 Alderson (12-0, 0.77, 72 IP/5 BB/123 SO) would go on to be a first-round pick of the San Francisco Giants that year, while the 5-foot-10 Rhoderick (8-1, 1.08, 59 IP/120 SO) was selected in the 18th round by the Tigers, prompting him to sign with defending College World Series champion Oregon State. He could be an early-round pick in this year’s draft.

While only a sophomore on that 2007 Horizon team, catcher Tommy Joseph would later go on to be a second-round choice of the Giants in the 2009 draft.

HONORABLE MENTION
2006
Flanagan HS, Pembroke Pines, Fla. (29-3)
Jackson HS, Mill Creek, Wash. (27-0)
2007
Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, Calif. (32-3)
Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, N.J. (32-1)
Sarasota (Fla.) HS (29-3)
2008
Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey, N.J. (33-0)
Lake Brantley HS, Altamonte Springs, Fla. (30-4)
Plano West HS, Plano, Texas (40-2)
2009
Farragut HS, Knoxville, Tenn. (39-5)
Owasso (Okla.) HS (34-4)
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