SBLive Iowa Top 25 baseball rankings: 9 of Top 10 teams lose last week

By Chris Short 

The top nine teams in our previous rankings lost last week. The top two teams remain the same, but there was plenty of movement. Four teams enter the rankings – Pleasant Valley, Beckman, Burlington and Ankeny Centennial, replacing Indianola, Waukee Northwest, Clear Creek-Amana and Dike-New Hartford.

1. Johnston (27-3)

The Dragons remain our No. 1 team despite two losses last week, splitting a pair with Southeast Polk and Urbandale. Miles Risley is hitting .455, and Carter Woollums has seven victories and a 1.72 ERA.

2. Davenport Assumption (24-4)

The Class 3A Knights hold onto the No. 2 spot after a 4-1 week. Tyler Welch has a sparkling 0.90 ERA and six wins. Max Stein leads the offense with a .409 batting avg.

3. Waukee (22-7)

The Warriors move up 11 spots after a perfect week, sweeping both West Des Moines Valley and Urbandale. Colin Driscoll is hitting .413, and Camden Kaufman has pitched Waukee to six victories.

4. Council Bluffs Lewis Central (22-2)

The 3A Titans keep rolling along with a 5-0 week to make it 18 straight wins, climbing eight spots.. Aron Harrington is hitting .507 with five homers and 42 RBIs. JC Dermody has pitched LC to wins seven times with a 1.08 ERA.

5. Van Meter (29-0)

The three-time defending Class 2A champions have been perfect this season and were again last week, which included a victory over Indianola. Ganon Archer has pitched the Bulldogs to seven wins with 69 strikeouots and a 0.41 ERA. He’s also hitting .460 with six dingers.

6. Grinnell (27-3)

The 3A Tigers went 5-1 last week, highlighted by a win over Indianola and a split with Norwalk. Will Doty has pitched Grinnell to seven wins with an ERA of 0.78.

7. Iowa City High (22-8)

The Little Hawks split a pair of doubleheaders with Xavier and Western Dubuque last week. Gable Mitchell is hitting .435 and has pitched City High to four victories.

8. Western Dubuque (18-4)

Garrett Kadolph leads the 3A Bobcats with a .462 batting average with 38 RBIs. Tucker Nauman has five wins.

9. Cedar Rapids Prairie (24-6)

Winners of 11 straight, the Hawks climb into the top 10. Cal Sullivan is hitting .412 with 32 RBIs, and Kam Volz has six victories.

10. Dubuque Wahlert Catholic (21-8)

Wahlert went 4-2 last week and drops four spots. Bryce Rudiger has hurled the Golden Eagles to seven wins.

11. West Des Moines Dowling Catholic (21-11)

The Maroons had a tough week, losing a twin bill to rival West Des Moines Valley, and fall seven spots. Trever Baumler is hitting .554 with 36 RBIs.

12. Cedar Rapids Xavier Catholic (23-8)

The Saints fall seven spots after splitting with Dubuque Hempstead and Iowa City and losing a single to Beckman Catholic.

13. Remsen St. Mary’s Catholic (25-0)

The Hawks hold steady and are our highest ranked 1A school. Isaiah Gerrietts is 7-0 with a 0.95 ERA.

14. Estherville Lincoln Central (25-2)

The 2A Midgets continue to roll through the competition, winning six games last week to make it 16 straight victories. Carter Snyder is hitting .393 with 32 RBIs and also has 56 strikeouts on the bump. Owen Larson has six wins.

15. Cedar Falls (20-9)

The Tigers, who drop seven positions, are on a three-game skid. Jaden Kramer has a .346 batting average and 36 RBIs, and Caleb Raisty is slashing .352. Both have homered twice.

16. Mason City Newman Catholic (24-3)

The 1A Knights cruised through another week to make it 12 straight wins. Doug Taylor and Nash Holmgaard are both hitting over .400.

17. Urbandale (19-11)

The J-Hawks did garner a doubleheader split vs. No. 1 Johnston but were swept by Waukee. Sam Harris has pitched the U to six wins, and Lukas Jellnor is hitting .406.

18. Dubuque Hempstead (14-8)

The Mustangs hold steady after splitting twin bills with Xavier and Western Dubuque. Jonny Muehring is getting it done with the bat, hitting .471 with five homers and 30 RBIs, and on the bump with four wins.

19. Pleasant Valley (18-6)

The Spartans are back in the rankings and starting to resemble last year’s 4A state champions, winning seven straight games. Drew Micek has spearheaded the offensive attack with 38 hits and 28 RBIs – both team highs.

20. New London (20-0)

The Tigers have a perfect record and outscored their four opponents 58-4 last week. Dereck Santiago has six wins and sparkling 0.68 ERA, and Kooper Schulte is slashing .509 with four home runs and 29 RBIs.

21. Lansing Kee (31-2)

The Hawks have won 20 straight since losing to the team ranked one spot in front of them in early June. Dalton Dibert has six wins, 48 strikeouts and a 2.82 ERA. Tyson Cota is hitting .484 with 44 RBIs.

22. MOC Floyd Valley (22-2)

The Dutchmen, winners of 14 in a row, move up a spot after a perfect week, highlighted by a 4-3 win over previously ranked Storm Lake. Kooper Huss has pitched his team to six wins and a 1.84 ERA.

23. Beckman Catholic (20-10)

Luke Schieltz is ripping at a .495 clip and Owen Huehnergarth is hitting .429 with 42 RBIs. Nate Offerman has six victories and a 2.04 ERA for the 3A Trailblazers, who have played one of the more difficult schedules in the state.

24. Burlington (20-4)

The Greyhounds debut, winning eight straight and are quietly putting together a nice season. Brock Dengler has six wins and a 1.91 ERA.

25. Ankeny Centennial (20-10)

The Jaguars enter the rankings after winning 13 of 14. Easton Pratt has pitched Centennial to five wins, and Damin Churchman is hitting .457 with 32 base hits.