St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) starts 2023 season on top
GAINESVILLE — The 2023 high school baseball season is underway for the teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll.
And at the top are two teams who finished the previous two seasons at the peak of the rankings after long playoff runs.
St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park), which was the 2A state runner-up two years ago and finished No. 1 in the final 2021 all-classification regional rankings, and was No. 2 in the final 2022 rankings, starts the 2023 season there again.
The Spartans, who lost in the Region 1-2A final to North Florida Christian (Tallahassee) last May, are off to a 3-0 record, including a win against current No. 16 Bolles (Jacksonville).
SJCD received three of the nine first-place votes and edged No. 2 Columbia (Lake City) by four total voting points for the No. 1 ranking.
The Tigers are looking to repeat a 2022 season where they advanced to the 5A state semifinals for the first time in school history and finished on top of the final poll.
Columbia, which will be a legitimate threat to win the 5A state title, also received a first-place vote and has started this season 3-1 with wins over two Georgia teams and No. 18T Santa Fe (Alachua) with their only loss 5-4 to No. 3 Bartram Trail (St. Johns).
Bartram Trail, which has three players headed to either Florida or FSU, received the most first-place votes with five but is just behind Columbia at No. 3.
The Class 7A Bears, who were eliminated in the Region 1-7A final last spring by Hagerty (Oviedo), are 3-0 in 2023 with wins over Columbia, RV First Coast (Jacksonville), and RV Fletcher (Neptune Beach), and they are ranked No. 16 statewide in the latest Prep Baseball Report poll.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) is ranked 4th.
The Conquerors, who saw their season end at St. Johns Country Day in a region semifinal last season, are 2-0 to start with wins over Fletcher and a playoff team from 2022 in Stanton (Jacksonville). Trinity Christian, which has three of the nation’s highest-rated freshmen in Brady Harris, Brayden Harris and Ethan Wheeler, is ranked No. 22 in the Prep Baseball Report rankings.
Rounding out the top five is Gateway Conference Runners-up Sandalwood (Jacksonville). The Saints, who lost in the opening round of the 7A playoffs at Hagerty, finished the final 2022 rankings tied for 7th.
Clay (Green Cove Springs) leads off the second five, as the Blue Devils start the season 3-0 with wins over Episcopal, RV Baker County (Glen St. Mary), and Keystone Heights.
The Villages, who advanced to their first state semifinal appearance in school history in 2022, starts the new season at No. 7. The Buffalo moved up from 3A to 4A, and start this season 2-1 with wins over Deltona and RV Eustis with the only loss 7-4 to No. 8 Lake Minneola (Minneola).
Lake Minneola lost to New Smyrna Beach in the Region 1-6A semifinal last May and finished in the honorable mention category. The Hawks start 2023 in the top ten after wins against The Villages, RV Forest (Ocala), and Umatilla.
Rounding out the top ten are two 3A teams, No. 9 Providence (Jacksonville) and No. 10 Trinity Cathoic (Ocala).
The Stallions were only 15-13 in their first season under Tommy Boss, and lost at home to The Villages 1-0 in a Region 1-3A semifinal. But Providence is 3-0 to start the new season and has beaten Wolfson (Jacksonville), RV Fleming Island (Orange Park), and St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine).
Trinity Catholic was upset by Fernandina Beach in the region semifinal round, but starts 2023 in the 10 ten with a 3-0 record.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls volleyball, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL POWERED BY ANYTIME FITNESS OF GAINESVILLE – 2023 BASEBALL POLL #1
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, final 2022 record, current record through 2/27, and total voting points)
1. St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) (2A) (3) (23-5) (3-0) – 169
2. Columbia (Lake City) (5A) (1) (22-9) (3-1) – 165
3. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (5) (21-9) (3-0) – 162
4. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (20-9) (2-0) – 132
5. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (7A) (18-7) (1-0) – 122
6. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (18-11) (3-0) – 109
7. The Villages (4A) (20-8) (2-1) – 106
8. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (19-8) (3-0) – 104
9. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (15-13) (3-0) – 86
10. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (19-9) (3-0) – 76
11. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (17-4) (2-0) – 71
12. Suwannee (Live Oak) (4A) (24-5) (1-1) – 68
13. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (7A) (17-6) (3-0) – 62
14. Hernando (Brooksville) (4A) (20-9) (2-0) – 51
15. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (21-7) (1-1) – 47
16T. Bolles (Jacksonville) (3A) (10-13) (1-1) – 32
16T. DeLand (7A) (15-11) (2-1) – 32
18T. Ridgeview (Orange Park) (5A) (8-15) (4-0) – 31
18T. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (20-7) (1-1) – 31
20. Fort White (1A) (16-7) (1-1) – 26
Also receiving votes: Newberry (1A) (14-8) (2-0) – 23; University (Orange City) (7A) (25-6) (0-2) – 20; Eustis (4A) (16-13) (2-1) – 19; Forest (Ocala) (6A) (18-6) (1-2) – 16; Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (17-9) (1-1) – 14; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (16-10) (3-0) – 13; Dixie County (Cross City) (1A) (13-10) (1-1) – 12; Flagler Palm Coast (7A) (10-16) (2-1) – 11; Fernandina Beach (3A) (16-10) (1-2) – 9; Oak Hall (Gainesville) (2A) (14-4) (2-0) -9; First Coast (Jacksonville) (6A) (16-9) (2-1) – 8; Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (14-12) (2-1) – 7; North Marion (Citra) (4A) (12-13) (1-1) – 6; Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (3A) (16-5) (1-1) – 5; Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (23-4) (0-2) – 5; Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (17-11-1) (2-0) – 5; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (4A) (13-13) (1-1) – 4; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (6A) (9-14) (2-1) – 4; University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (22-7) (0-2) – 3.
