SBLive’s Texas Baseball Top 25: North, South Texas teams highlight season’s first statewide rankings (March 28)

High school baseball season is in full swing in Texas with squads across the state now entering the thick of district play.

To highlight the best the top teams around the state, SBLive will release two sets of statewide rankings recognizing Texas' most elite big and small school squads on the baseball diamond.

We’re beginning by unveiling SBLive’s Texas Baseball Top 25, which seeks to rank the top Class 5A-6A teams competing throughout Texas.

In the first edition of our Top 25 for the 2022 high school baseball season, North and South Texas squads lined the top of the statewide rankings with notable East and West Texas teams making appearances too.

Did your school earn a spot in our first Top 25 of the season? Check out the rankings in their entirety below:

Editor's Note: SBLive’s Texas Baseball Top 25 and Small School Top 10 rankings are compiled by reporter Andrew McCulloch and will be released weekly throughout the regular season.

SBLIVE’S TEXAS BASEBALL TOP 25 RANKINGS (MARCH 28):

25. Corsicana (11-2-1)

• Last Week: W 4-2 vs. Cleburne; L 3-1 at Cleburne

• Up Next: at Midlothian, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; vs. Midlothian, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1st; vs. Whitney, Noon Saturday, April 2nd

24. Brownsville Veterans (17-1-1)

• Last Week: W 7-0 vs. Brownsville Lopez; W 15-0 at Brownsville Lopez

• Up Next: vs. Weslaco East, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Weslaco East, 7 p.m. Friday, April 1st

23. Smithson Valley (13-4)

• Last Week: W 5-1 at New Braunfels; L 4-3 vs. New Braunfels

• Up Next: vs. Schertz Clemens, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Schertz Clemens, 7 p.m. Friday, April 1st

22. Odessa Permian (20-3)

• Last Week: W 11-2 vs. Midland; W 5-2 at Midland; W 2-1 vs. Midland

• Up Next: vs. Abilene, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Abilene, 5 p.m. Friday, April 1st

21. La Joya Palmview (16-1)

• Last Week: W 17-1 at Mission Veterans; W 5-4 vs. Mission Veterans

• Up Next: vs. Rio Grande City, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Rio Grande City, 7 p.m. Friday, April 1st

The Rio Grande Valley's top two teams in 5A — La Joya Palmview and Brownsville Veterans — highlight this portion of our first high school baseball rankings of the season. Palmview plowed past District 30-5A foe Mission Veterans for an impressive pair of victories last week to boost their district title odds. The Lobos have dominated their competition throughout the RGV and beyond with significant wins against Edinburg Vela, Los Fresnos, Corpus Christi London, Harlingen, San Antonio Central Catholic and Bishop (twice). La Joya Palmview boasts one of the deepest and most effective pitching staffs in the state having tossed five shutout victories during the team's first 17 games of the 2022 campaign. The Lobos have allowed an average of 2.7 runs per game for the month of March, which has them positioned to battle Rio Grande City in two consecutive district contests this week for for the top spot in the 30-5A district standings. Brownsville Veterans has also thrived behind the strength of its pitching staff to get off to one of the fastest starts among 5A and 6A teams throughout the RGV and South Texas, but the Chargers have added an extra level of pop at the plate. Brownsville Vets has already built up a +110 run differential through its first 19 regular-season games of the year. The Chargers have handed several teams their worst defensive showings of the season. In two days of tournament play, they battered Corpus Christi Veterans, Harlingen, Harlingen South and Sharyland Pioneer for 40 runs and +22 collective run differential in four big victories. The Chargers have looked virtually untouchable two weeks into the District 32-5A schedule. They blasted crosstown rivals Brownsville Porter and Lopez, sweeping the two-game season series against both teams. So far Brownsville Vets has allowed one earned run in 28 innings against other 32-5A squads.

Smithson Valley earns the No. 23 spot this week to put a second 6A San Antonio-area team in this version of the statewide rankings. The Rangers split a pair of district games with New Braunfels, winning the first on the road 5-1 and losing the second at home 4-3. The one-run loss to the Unicorns represents the first blemish on Smithson Valley's resume in District 27-6A play. The Rangers now find themselves thrust into the middle of crowded playoff hunt within their district. The Rangers are locked in a four-way tie for first place in 27-6A at 3-1 with Cibolo Steele, Schertz Clemens and New Braunfels. Smithson Valley, however, finished non-district play with a stronger slate of quality victories than many of its district rivals after beating Alamo Heights, Harlingen, San Antonio Madison, San Antonio O'Connor, Boerne Champion and San Marcos.

Finally, a 6A West Texas power and one of the top 5A teams throughout North Texas fill in the final two spots in this edition of SBLive's Texas Baseball Top 25. Odessa Permian takes the 22nd spot after the Panthers crushed Midland in a three-game series sweep last week to strengthen its grip on the top of the District 2-6A standings. Permian extended its active winning streak to seven games following the season sweep of district rival Midland. The Panthers have been pounding their opponents since a 22-8 home loss to El Paso Americas. They've experienced an offensive explosion since then and have outscored El Paso Cornado, Midland and Odessa High 70-23 during the last seven district contests. There are few West Texas teams that Permian hasn't defeated already. The Panthers are sitting pretty at 10-0 against District 2-6A competition and own a 3.5-game lead over second place Wolfforth Frenship.

Corsicana collects the last spot in this week's rankings and slides in at 25th. The Tigers were also on a major roll before they ultimately split a two-game weekend series against Cleburne with a 4-2 home win and a 3-1 road loss. Saturday's defeat marked just the second loss of the season for Corsicana and its first since late February, when the Tigers were stifled 6-2 by 6A Mansfield Lake Ridge. Corsicana hasn't just win though, the team has done it convincingly. After suffering their first loss of the 2022 campaign, the Tigers came roaring back to win 10 of the their next 11 games. Corsicana's talented pitching staff also collectively tossed seven complete game shutouts during that stretch where their opponents averaged 0.8 runs per contest. Having already split their season series with a likely playoff-bound Cleburne club, the Tigers will likely need to win three out of four upcoming games against Midlothian and Red Oak to fully guarantee themselves a District 14-5A championship

20. Prosper (12-5)

• Last Week: L 12-2 at Denton Guyer; W 8-4 vs. Denton Guyer; L 6-1 at Southlake Carroll

• Up Next: vs. McKinney, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at McKinney, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1st

19. Barbers Hill (15-5)

• Last Week: W 10-0 vs. Beaumont United; W 17-0 at Beaumont United

• Up Next: vs. Crosby, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Crosby, 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 1st

18. Denton Guyer (14-5)

• Last Week: W 12-2 vs. Prosper; L 8-4 at Prosper; L 13-9 vs. Argyle (8 innings)

• Up Next: at Denton Braswell, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; vs. Denton Braswell, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1st

17. San Antonio Reagan (11-4-1)

• Last Week: L 3-2 at San Antonio Churchill

• Up Next: at San Antonio Roosevelt, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at San Antonio Lee, 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 1st

16. Austin McCallum (14-3)

• Last Week: W 3-0 vs. Lockhart; W 10-9 at Lockhart; L 9-7 vs. Pflugerville Hendrickson

• Up Next: vs. Austin Travis, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Austin Travis, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1st; at Round Rock Cedar Ridge, 11 a.m. Saturday, April 2nd

The District 5-6A duo of Denton Guyer and Prosper represent the final two DFW teams to crack this week's edition of SBLive's Texas Baseball Top 25 after a week of squaring off against one another. Guyer and Prosper split their two-game set with the Wildcats winning the first contest 12-2 before the Eagles got their revenge with an 8-4 victory in their second game Friday. Both the Eagles and Wildcats, though, ended the weekend in the L column after Guyer was bested by Argyle 13-9 in a high-scoring, extra-innings affair and Prosper fell at Southlake Carroll 6-1. Both teams have built impressive resumes after playing difficult non-district schedules. Denton Guyer beat Rockwall and Coppell twice each highlighting its early-season strength of schedule, while Prosper has twice defeated Lucas Lovejoy in addition to winning non-district games against Ennis and New Braunfels. The Wildcats and Eagles head into this week locked in a three-way tie for first with McKinney Boyd. Guyer is set to play a two-game set against Denton Braswell on Tuesday and Friday, and Prosper will face McKinney twice in district action this week.

Barbers Hill becomes the second defending 2021 state championship team to crack our first statewide rankings of the season at No. 19. The Eagles might be the hottest 5A team in state heading into the final week of March. They're off to an incredible start against their foes in the early weeks of District 21-5A competition. Barbers Hill has bashed Beaumont United and Port Arthur Memorial to the tune of four straight shutout wins to begin district play with a bang. The Eagles collectively outscored the Timberwolves and Titans 60-0 in to move to 4-0 in one of East Texas' toughest districts. Barbers Hill has faced a who's who schedule of the top teams on the baseball diamond from all around the Houston area and collected marquee wins against Houston Kinkaid, Kingwood Park, Alvin, Pearland Dawson and Porter. The Eagles have also reached the 10-run mark in seven of their 20 total games. They'll have their biggest test in 21-5A play due up this week when Barbers Hill meets rival Crosby for two games in a matchup between the district's only remaining squads that are still unbeaten against District 21-5A opponents.

Austin McCallum and San Antonio Reagan, the highest-rated team from the Alamo City to make its season debut in this week's statewide rankings, take the 16th and 17th spots, respectively, after both teams ended last week on sour notes. McCallum shutout District 17-5A adversary Lockhart for a 3-0 win Tuesday and then completed the season sweep by rallying for a 10-9 road win Friday night. However, the Knights fell 9-7 to Pflugerville Hendrickson in their final game of the weekend, which brought an abrupt end to the team's seven-game winning streak. McCallum has been slugging the ball all season to secure a number of impressive wins against Manor, Del Valle, Austin Akins, Lake Travis, Dripping Spring and Georgetown East View. The Knights are also the only team in this edition of SBLive's Texas Baseball Top 25 to eclipse the 10-run mark eight times during their first 17 games of the season to place them in a two-way tie for first in the 17-5A district standings with Austin Anderson. McAllen will have a chance to flex its muscles again this week against Austin Travis, which is still winless in district play, twice and in a non-district showdown with Round Rock Cedar Ridge. San Antonio Reagan lost its only game of the week in a 3-2 defeat to San Antonio Churchill, but should be poised to get back on track this week against San Antonio Roosevelt and San Antonio Lee. The Rattlers have downed most of the San Antonio area's top teams in 5A and 6A and nearly scored significant wins against Lake Travis and Flower Mound. Prior to its stumble versus Churchill, San Antonio Reagan had tallied a +60 run differential stretching across an 11-game winning streak.

15. PSJA High (17-2)

• Last Week: W 4-2 vs. La Joya; W 10-5 at Edinburg North

• Up Next: vs. Edinburg, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th

14. Abilene Wylie (11-3)

• Last Week: W 17-0 vs. Lubbock; W 17-1 at Abilene Cooper

• Up Next: at Lubbock Monterey, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; vs. Lubbock Monterey, 5 p.m. Friday, April 1st

13. Humble Summer Creek (14-3-1)

• Last Week: W 9-2 at Houston C.E. King; W 4-3 vs. Houston C.E. King

• Up Next: vs. Humble Atascocita, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Humble Atascocita, 7 p.m. Friday, April 1st

12. Flower Mound Marcus (12-4-2)

• Last Week: W 11-0 at Plano; W 9-0 vs. Plano

• Up Next: vs. Coppell, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Coppell, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1st

11. Fort Bend Travis (16-3)

• Last Week: W 13-1 at Fort Bend Bush; W 10-0 vs. Fort Bend Clements

• Up Next: at Fort Bend Dulles, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Fort Bend Elkins, 7 p.m. Thursday, March 31st

Two more Houston-area 6A squads sit right on the cusp of our top 10, as Fort Bend Travis and Humble Summer Creek earn spots at No. 11 and 13, respectively. Few teams have enjoyed Fort Bend Travis' level of early-season success. The Tigers tallied victories against Pearland Dawson, Channelview, College Station A&M Consolidated and Katy Cinco Ranch during a dominant eight-game winning streak to open the 2022 season. Travis topped the six-run mark in each of those victories and defeated those non-district opponents by 5.4 runs per win. The group suffered its only three losses of the season all within a week of one other. The Tigers lost 6-2 to both Katy and Klein Collins, and were also on the wrong end of a 2-0 shutout against Cypress Ranch. Despite that rough patch, though, Travis has been even better afterwards. The team has won another six games in a row as district play gets underway in 20-6A. The Tigers have only allowed two total runs in four district wins and head into the final week of March tied for first in their district with Fort Bend Ridge Point. Summer Creek, on the other hand, has been navigating a difficult schedule that has included matchups against many of the best North and East Houston-area teams. The Bulldogs shutout reigning 5A state champion Barber's Hill, topped Conroe Grand Oaks in extra innings, beat Manvel twice and added wins against Conroe, Magnolia West and The Woodlands in tournament play too. The team tied Cypress Woods in another tournament game and its only three losses so far to Fort Bend Elkins, Katy and Katy Cinco Ranch were by a combined four runs. When the Bulldogs are on the winning side, however, it's often far more lopsided with Summer Creek hanging an average of 8.0 runs per victory on each of its opponents.

Sandwiched between Humble Summer Creek and Fort Bend Travis is another DFW-area 6A powerhouse fresh off back-to-back shutout wins last week. Flower Mound Marcus grabs the 12th spot in this edition of SBLive's Texas Baseball Top 25 after snagging an 11-0 road win and a 9-0 home victory over Plano for the season sweep. It's a telling sign that the Marauders are gaining their mid-season form after a rigorous beginning to the 2022 campaign after a 2-2-1 weekend tournament showing in California during the first week if the regular season. Marcus buzzed straight through its first set of Texas teams to win five in a row versus Amarillo, Arlington, Arlington Martin, Ennis and Mansfield and outscored those teams 42-3 in the process. The Marauders were also tripped up in a 4-3 loss at Southlake Carroll and a 9-2 loss against Keller in mid-March, but appear to be playing their best baseball of the season now that district play has begun. Marcus owns a 4-0 record and a +34 run differential against District 6-6A squads after earning season sweeps against Plano and rival Flower Mound. The Marauders have big back-to-back district matchups against Coppell coming up this week with sole possession of first place in 6-6A up for grabs between them.

Abilene Wylie, meanwhile, makes an appearance at 14th to become the highest-rated 5A squad from West Texas in this week's statewide rankings. The Bulldogs bounced back in a major way after their six-game winning streak was snapped by Lubbock Cooper last Saturday. In the week since, Wylie walloped Lubbock and Abilene Cooper collectively outscoring its District 4-5A foes 34-1 in two games. The Bulldogs have now managed to post double-digit run totals in five of their first 14 contests this season and are sitting in second place one game behind Lubbock Cooper in the 4-5A district standings.

Pharr-San Juan-Alamo takes the final spot inside our top 15, making PSJA High the highest-ranked team from the Rio Grande Valley to make an appearance this week. The Bears earned a crucial 4-2 victory against La Joya last week to fend off the Coyotes from claiming a share of first place in a deep District 31-6A. Then they followed that up with a 10-5 road win over Edinburg North to pick up the team's seventh straight victory. PJSA High has found almost every way to win against its 31-6A competition, claiming three one- or two-run victories and three shutout wins by 10 runs or more. The Bears have also secured non-district wins against many of the top teams across South Texas to bolster their strong record with victories against Corpus Christi Flour Buff, Corpus Christi London, Corpus Christi Tuloso-Midway, Eagle Pass, Laredo United and Rio Grande City. PSJA High will complete the first round of its district schedule at home against Edinburg on Tuesday night in the Bears' only upcoming game of the week.

10. El Paso Americas (20-2)

• Last Week: W 5-3 at El Paso Socorro; W 8-1 vs. El Paso Socorro

• Up Next: vs. El Paso Coronado, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at El Paso Coronado, 6 p.m. Friday, April 1st

9. North Richland Hills Birdville (13-2-1)

• Last Week: W 1-0 vs. Denton Ryan; W 6-2 Denton Ryan; W 5-0 Keller Fossil Ridge

• Up Next: at Grapevine, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; vs. Grapevine, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 1st; vs. Aledo, Noon Saturday, April 2nd

8. Corpus Christi Ray (18-3)

• Last Week: W 8-4 at Victoria West; W 3-1 vs. Corpus Christi King

• Up Next: vs. Victoria East, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Gregory-Portland, 7 p.m. Friday, April 1st

7. Georgetown (14-2)

• Last Week: W 13-1 vs. Georgetown East View; L 6-4 at Leander; W 7-4 vs. Round Rock; W 12-2 vs. Round Rock

• Up Next: vs. Leander Rouse, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Liberty Hill, 7 p.m. Friday, April 1st; vs. Austin Vandegrift, Noon Saturday, April 2nd

6. Mansfield Legacy (12-2)

• Last Week: W 9-6 at Burleson Centennial; W 3-2 vs. Burleson Centennial

• Up Next: at Burleson, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; vs. Burleson, 7 p.m. Friday, April 1st

Class 5A teams dominate this portion of the Top 25 after 6A squads took the top five spots in this week's rankings. Mansfield Legacy and Georgetown are the first 5A teams to check in at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. Mansfield Legacy rebounded from a rocky 1-2 start that featured a pair of 5-3 losses against Birdville and Mansfield Lake Ridge. Since then, the Broncos have reeled off 11 straight victories including a 3-0 mark in one-run games. Legacy has already positioned itself as an early frontrunner for the District 8-5A title by taking season sweeps from Mansfield Timberview and Burleson Centennial and averaging 12.0 runs per district game. Georgetown earns the top spot among Cen-Tex teams represented in this week's statewide rankings. The Eagles faced a minor setback last week when they lost their second game of the season in a 6-4 road loss to Leander in District 25-5A, but still closed out the weekend with wins in three of their last four games. The squad pummeled Class 6A Round Rock in a Saturday doubleheader that featured 19 runs for Georgetown. The team possesses one of the state's most potent lineups that has helped the Eagles score five runs or more in 13 of their 16 games. They're undefeated in those 13 games which included notable wins against Eagle Pass, Boerne, Prosper, Smithson Valley and Highland Park. However, Georgetown's loss to Leander drops the team into a three-way tie for second place in 25-5A with Cedar Park and Leander at 3-1 in district play trailing first-place Leander Rouse, which remains unbeaten in District 25-5A.

Birdville lands at No. 9 in this edition of the SBLive Texas Baseball Top 25, making the Hawks the fifth DFW-area team to crack the top 10. Like Mansfield Legacy, Birdville found its footing after an up-and-down beginning to the 2022 season. The Hawks were overmatched in losses to Tyler Legacy and Carrollton Hebron and played Forney to a scoreless tie in early March, but rolled through the remainder of their non-district schedules. Birdville claimed significant victories over Fort Worth Brewer, Lewisville, The Colony, Midlothian, Bryant (Arkansas), Keller Fossil Ridge and Haltom (twice) and drove in 7.3 runs per game over the course of nine non-district wins. The Hawks will have several upcoming opportunities to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack in the District 6-5A standings with six of their next seven games versus Grapevine, Lake Dallas and Richland, all of whom trail Birdville by two games for a share of first place.

The top-ranked teams from the Coastal Bend and West Texas complete this week's top 10. Corpus Christi Ray clocks in at eighth and El Paso Americas makes an appearance at 10th after both teams capitalized on hot starts to the 2022 campaign. Ray earned key victories against Cedar Park, Del Rio, Eagle Pass Winn, Leander Rouse and San Antonio Harlan during an 11-game winning streak to begin the season. The Texans outslugged all of their early-season opponents and owned a +56 run differential before their first loss of the season to Burleson Centennial. What has stood out most about Corpus Christi Ray so far, though, is its elite team defense and poise in high-pressure situations. Nine of Ray's 18 wins so far this season have been decided by one or two runs, and the Texans sport a 7-0 record in one-run games this year. El Paso Americas, meanwhile, was one of the first teams around the state at any classification level to reach the 20-win mark. The Trailblazers have manhandled many of the top 5A and 6A teams in and round West Texas, including a pair of New Mexico's top high school clubs. Americas has annihilated Andrews, El Paso Parkland, El Paso Chapin, Odessa Permian and Midland among others while making a convincing case for being the state's most dangerous team at the plate throughout March. The Trailblazers managed to collect 94 runs during 11 non-district games in March, including their only losses of the year thus far to Weatherford (10-9) and Canyon Randall (7-5). For the season, Americas mustered an average of 8.3 runs per game offensively ranking as one of top hitting teams anywhere in Texas. But the Trailblazers have started relying on their pitching during District 1-6A play where they've allowed 1.8 runs per contest defensively while maintaining their team's strong presence at the plate too. 

5. League City Clear Falls (20-2-1)

• Last Week: W 4-2 vs. League City Clear Springs; W 17-7 at Houston Clear Lake; L 9-7 vs. Houston St. Pius X

• Up Next: vs. League City Clear Creek, 6 p.m. Friday, April 1st

4. Southlake Carroll (15-5)

• Last Week: L 3-2 at Keller; L 4-3 vs. Keller (8 innings); W 6-1 vs. Prosper

• Up Next: vs. Keller Central, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Keller Central, 7 p.m. Friday, April 1st; vs. Lake Travis, 1 p.m. Saturday, April 2nd

3. Keller (12-4)

• Last Week: W 3-2 vs. Southlake Carroll; W 4-3 at Southlake Carroll (8 innings)

• Up Next: at Northwest Eaton, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; vs. Northwest Eaton, 7 p.m. Friday, April 1st

2. Rockwall Heath (14-3)

• Last Week: W 14-1 at Mesquite Horn; W 10-0 vs. Mesquite Horn

• Up Next: vs. North Mesquite, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at North Mesquite, 7 p.m. Friday, April 1st; vs. Plano, 1 p.m. Saturday, April 2nd

1. Katy Tompkins (17-0)

• Last Week: W 10-0 vs. Katy Seven Lakes; W 17-1 Houston Langham Creek

• Up Next: at Katy Mayde Creek, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 29th; at Katy Cinco Ranch, 6 p.m. Friday, April 1st

Katy Tompkins, the state's last remaining unbeaten team in Class 6A, earns the top spot in our first Top 25 of the season after a dominant start to the 2022 campaign. The Falcons racked up several significant win on their way to winning the Klein ISD, Tomball ISD and Montgomery/Brenham tournaments during the first month of the season. Tompkins has kept its foot on the gas as district play begins in 19-6A too. The team has scored 28 runs in its first three district games while also shutting out each of their 19-6A opponents so far. The Falcons are beating opposing teams by an average of 8.3 runs per game.

A trio of 6A DFW squads — Rockwall Heath, Keller and Southlake Carroll — check in at second, third and fourth, respectively, in the first edition of the statewide rankings. Heath earns the top spot among DFW teams this week after exploding for 24 runs last week in a pair of wins against Mesquite Horn in District 10-6A play. After capturing a state championship last year, the Hawks have looked sharp through the early stages of the 2022 campaign collecting quality wins against Abilene Wylie, Highland Park, Keller, Northwest Eaton and a season sweep of rival Rockwall. Meanwhile, no team throughout Texas is coming off a bigger week than Keller. The Indians earned a pair of one-run victories — a 3-2 home win and a 4-3 road win in extra-innings — against Southlake Carroll to earn a season sweep against the Dragons. Thanks to a six-game winning streak powered by excellent pitching, Keller has surged to the top of the standings in a deep District 4-6A. The Indians have yielded 2.0 runs per game during their current streak, and have only surrendered more than four runs once so far this season. Despite dropping back-to-back games and falling out of a tie for first place, Carroll rebounded with a strong 6-1 non-district win against Prosper on Saturday. The Dragons have played one of the nation's toughest schedules to date with wins over some of the top teams from Arizona and California in addition to Rockwall Heath, Abilene Wylie, Flower Mound Marcus, Denton Guyer and Prosper in non-district play. Southlake Carroll's success so far is a testament to the strength of the team's pitching staff, which has collectively allowed 33 runs during the Dragons' first 20 games against elite competition.

League City Clear Falls rounds out this week's top five as the Houston area's second 6A team to make an appearance in SBLive's Texas Baseball Top 25. The Knights have been one of the state's most balanced teams this year while taking down many of the top teams throughout East Texas already. Clear Falls defeated last year's 5A state champion, Barbers Hill, convincingly and also scooped up marquee victories against Friendswood, Santa Fe, Deer Park, Bellaire, Lake Travis, Kingwood and Houston Kinkaid. The Knights lost for the first time in more than a month in a 9-7 home loss to Houston St. Pius X on Monday night, but they're already off to an impressive start in District 24-6A. Clear Falls has clubbed Dickinson, Houston Clear Lake, Friendswood Clear Brook and League City Clear Springs by a combined 32-10 margin to move to 4-0 in district play.

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