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February 22, 2008

Mark Tennis
Rivals High

Contributing; Doug Huff, Andrew Drennen, Paul Muyskens
(Early-season results from some states around the nation were taken into consideration for these rankings)

At the conclusion of the 2007 high school baseball season, there were four different schools that appeared to have strong arguments to be No. 1 in the nation. Of those four, the one program with the most returning players clearly is longtime powerhouse Sarasota High of Sarasota, Fla., so it only makes sense that the Sailors are starting out 2008 as the No. 1 team in the Rivals.com FAB 50.

The defending state Class 6A champion Sailors will be going for their ninth state title under the tutelage of legendary head coach Clyde Metcalf. Six of those state championships have come under Metcalf, who enters 2008 with a 664-161 record in 25 seasons.

Leading a group of six returning starters and 14 returning letterwinners is senior righthanded pitcher-shortstop Casey Kelly, who tossed a two-hit shutout in last season's Class 6A state title game. Kelly was 11-0 on the mound with an 0.24 earned run average. As a hitter, he batted .344 with four home runs. Third baseman Mason Johnson (.348, 4 HR), pitcher-outfielder Joey Rapp (.358, 7 HR) and lefthanded pitcher Josh Renfro (3-0, 0.81 ERA) also are back. The squad's top junior is infielder Scooter Gennett (.363, 4 HR).

Two of those other four teams from last year ? FAB 50 national champion Horizon of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Seton Hall Prep of West Orange, New Jersey ? were comprised mostly of seniors and will face rebuilding this season.

The other team in that mix was Wilson of Long Beach, Calif., and although the Bruins lose some standout players ? such as CIF Southern Section Div. I Player of the Year Elliot Glynn and first-round MLB draft pick Ryan Dent ? they still have a strong enough nucleus returning to be preseason No. 1 in talent-rich California and No. 2 in the FAB 50 behind Sarasota.

Read below for the 2008 Rivals.com preseason FAB 50 national rankings for baseball:

(Listed with last year's record)
(Last season's final FAB 50 ranking in parentheses)

1. Sarasota (Sarasota, Fla.) 29-3 (2)

2. Wilson (Long Beach, Calif.) 32-3 (4)

3. Owasso (Owasso, Okla.) 35-3 (8)

4. Cypress Fairbanks (Houston, Texas) 32-7 (12)

5. Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 26-9 (nr)

6. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 27-2 (nr)

7. Calvert Hall (Baltimore, Md.) 33-0 (11)

8. Walton (Walton, Ga.) 31-7 (38)

9. Moody (Corpus Christi, Texas) 39-3 (6)

10. Catalina Foothills (Tucson, Ariz.) 25-5 (nr)

11. Plant (Tampa, Fla.) 21-5 (nr)

12. Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, Calif. 27-4 (41)

13. Paul IV Catholic (Fairfax, Va.) 27-4 (nr)

14. American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) 23-5 (nr)

15. St. John's College Prep (Washington, D.C.) 23-6 (nr)

16. Bartlett (Bartlett, Tenn.) 40-5 (23)

17. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 34-6-1 (19)

18. Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii) 29-3 (15)

19. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.) 32-5 (34)

20. Serra (San Mateo, Calif.) 24-6 (nr)

21. Tupelo (Tupelo, Miss.) 34-5 (nr)

22. Brookwood (Snellville, Ga.) 27-9 (nr)

23. Cullman (Cullman, Ala.) 48-7 (20)

24. Richland (Richland, Wash.) 24-2 (30)

25. Seneca Valley (Harmony, Pa.) 22-2 (nr)

26. Christian Brothers (Memphis, Tenn.) 40-8 (nr)

27. Katy (Katy, Texas) 32-5 (33)

28. Greenbrier (Evans, Ga.) 32-4 (17)

29. Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) 27-4 (nr)

30. James River (Midlothian, Va.) 26-2 (28)

31. Lake Orion (Lake Orion, Mich.) 31-5 (32)

32. Centennial (Bakersfield, Calif.) 29-6 (nr)

33. Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins, Colo.) 20-5 (nr)

34. Brother Rice (Chicago, Ill.) 30-12 (nr)

35. Holt (Wentzville, Mo.) 21-11 (nr)

36. Chatsworth (Chatsworth, Calif.) 29-4 (10)

37. Cottonwood (Salt Lake City, Utah) 23-3 (40)

38. George Washington (New York, N.Y.) 39-4 (nr)

39. Jesuit (New Orleans, La.) 33-6 (21)

40. Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.) 33-4 (16)

41. Langham Creek (Houston, Texas) 34-4 (25)

42. Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.) 36-4 (29)

43. Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) 20-12 (nr)

44. Jupiter (Jupiter, Fla.) 21-6 (nr)

45. Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 33-3 (1)

46. Captain Shreve (Shreveport, La.) 37-4 (nr)

47. Texarkana (Texarkana, Ark.) 22-6 (nr)

48. Grossmont (La Mesa, Calif.) 27-7 (nr)

49. Mentor (Mentor, Ohio) 28-4 (43)

50. Pleasure Ridge Park (Louisville, Ky.) 33-10

Note:Three highly-ranked preseason Florida & Texas teams that have already lost this season are Central Catholic (Clearwater, Fla.); Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.); and Klein Collins (Klein, Texas). All three would have been included had they not already have lost and could easily come back in for the first regular season rankings.

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