National High School Top 50: May 23 | Preseason National High School Top 50
It is hard for any team to win a state title, but it is much harder to do that and finish the season undefeated. In a rare feat, the Perfect Game/Rawlings High School Top 50 saw two teams do that this season as Shawnee (Okla.) finishes the year as our National Champion and Calvary Christian (Fla.) finished at No. 3. The final top five also has Archbishop McCarthy (Fla.) at No. 2, Eastlake (Calif.) at No. 4 and Pope (Ga.) at No. 5.
Shawnee has established itself as one of the premier programs in not only the state of Oklahoma but the entire country. With their third straight title, longtime coach Todd Boyer moves on from coaching to take on the role of AD for the school, but he has certainly left a lasting legacy in terms of on the field success. The Wolves received a number of contributions from everyone on the roster, but senior Jake Taylor stood out. The Oklahoma State commit hit over .500 for the season and hit nine home runs, one of which was in the state championship game to give Shawnee the big lead.
Archbishop McCarthy is no stranger to being ranked near the top of the rankings as they started in the No. 3 spot and finish as the No. 2 team in the country. The Mavericks turned in an outstanding season that culminated in their sixth state title in the last seven years. Senior Joe Perez (second round, 53rd pick, Astros) did a lot of the heavy lifting early on in the year but after he went down with a torn UCL the depth of the Mavericks shined and carried them to the state finals.
One of the best stories of the season was that of Calvary Christian of Clearwater, that had a loaded roster this year with a ton of returning talent. Catcher Matheu Nelson, a junior Florida State commit, had a monster of a season and sophomore Louisiana State commit Christian Cairo is also a strong piece moving forward. The Warriors and coach Greg Olsen put together one of the strongest seasons in the state of recent memory.
One of the more consistent teams this season was Eastlake (Calif.) and they polished off a season with only four losses and a state championship. They downed former No. 5 team Rancho Bernardo (Calif.) and were led by PG All-American Ben Ramirez. The roster is deep with Division I baseball commits (Ramirez has signed with Southern California) and they turned in an extraordinary run of consistency throughout the season to finish as the top-ranked team in the state.
In a year full of wackiness and upsets in the GHSAA playoffs, Pope (Ga.) hung through to defeat Lee County (Ga.) in the state championship. The Greyhounds had one of the deepest rosters in the state and it paid off as they lose only one game in the entire playoffs en route to their state title. Players such as senior lefthander Ryan Webb and sophomore shortstop Buddy Floyd stepped up and helped the team lose only six games throughout the year.
Congratulations to all of the teams who have secured state titles and in total the final Top 50 has 28 state champions and they are as follows:
- Shawnee (Okla.)
- Archbishop McCarthy (Fla.)
- Calvary Christian (Fla.)
- Eastlake (Calif.)
- Pope (Ga.)
- Moody (Texas)
- Jackson (Ohio)
- Jefferson City (Mo.)
- Helena (Ala.)
- Etiwanda (Calif.)
- Canterbury (Fla.)
- La Cueva (N.M.)
- Wylie (Texas)
- Clovis (Calif.)
- TC Roberson (N.C.)
- Port Neches-Groves (Texas)
- Puyallap (Wash.)
- Northwestern (S.C.)
- El Toro (Calif.)
- Malvern Prep (Pa.)
- Basic (Nev.)
- Deer Park (Texas)
- Hamilton (Ariz.)
- Etowah (Ga.)
- West Lauderdale (Miss.)
- Lincoln (Fla.)
- Delbarton (N.J.)
- Loganville (Ga.)
There are 12 teams who started the year on the Preseason Top 50 and ended up on the final list, they are: Archbishop McCarthy (Fla.), Huntington Beach (Calif.), Rancho Bernardo (Calif.), Basic (Nev.), Cullman (Ala.), Hamilton (Ariz.), El Toro (Calif.), Buchanan (Calif.), Malvern Prep (Pa.), Pope (Ga.), Eastlake (Calif.) and Colleyville Heritage (Texas).
The high school season is still going on for a few states in the northeast and midwest, but in other places we have moved on to summer ball. All things considered this was another excellent high school season and we were happy to be a part of it all. The following are the Perfect Game/Rawlings National Players of the Year, and there were many deserving candidates for each category.
2017 Perfect Game/Rawlings National High School Player of the Year:
Jordon Adell, of, Ballard (Louisville, Ky.)
It's hard to overstate exactly how good Jordon Adell was this season for Ballard HS. The No. 10 pick to the Los Angeles Angels in Monday's MLB Draft put together a tremendous season that saw him hit .562 with an absurd 25 home runs and 61 RBI. Perhaps the biggest development in terms of his draft stock was his bat-to-ball skills that saw only 10 strikeouts and 35 walks. He added double-digit totals in stolen bases as well and the Louisville commit has some of the best top-line speed in the class.
2017 Perfect Game/Rawlings National High School Pitcher of the Year:
MacKenzie Gore, lhp, Whiteville (Whiteville, N.C.)
The top prep lefts drafted No. 3 overall to the San Diego Padres, Gore collected Gatorade National Player of the Year honors and comes away with the Perfect Game/Rawlings Pitcher of the Year. The future Padre was downright spectacular during his senior year with a 0.19 ERA and 158 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings pitched. It is important to note that this was not a runaway win for this award as strong seasons by both Trevor Rogers (first round, 13th pick, Miami Marlins) and Logan Allen caused them to also be considered. Rogers had excellent strikeout numbers (14.8 K/7) throughout the season with a 0.33 ERA and Allen helped carry University (Fla.) to a state title that included a no-hitter in his final start with a 0.35 ERA and 150K over 80 IP.
2017 Perfect Game/Rawlings National High School Two-Way Player of the Year:
Tanner Burns, rhp, Decatur (Decatur, Ala.)
The star of Decatur HS (Ala.) had a strong season both on the mound and at the plate. Burns went 10-1 with a 0.88ERA and a 12.69 K/7 to go along with a .467 batting average and leading the state with 16 home runs. Burns was drafted as a pitcher and his batting days are likely behind him, but he ended his high school career on a strong note with the stick. Although he was not selected on day one of the draft, Burns has been rising this spring after reaching 96 mph and holding his velocity well into outings.