Class 6A State runner-up Buchholz finishes No. 1
GAINESVILLE — The 2025 high school baseball season ended with no state titles for area teams, but several finished second in their respective classification.
A total of three teams finished as state runner-up and all three finished in the top three of the final all-classification regional rankings for this season.
Buchholz (Gainesville) finished as the unanimous number one team in The Prep Zone Power Poll with all nine first-place votes.
The Bobcats (33-3) won their first 21 games, a school record, and advanced all the way to the state championship game to finish as state runners-up for the second straight year.
Buchholz, which finished No. 11 in the state and No. 24 nationally by MaxPreps, ended up with a state-high 33 wins before losing in the FHSAA Class 6A state championship game in Fort Myers to St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale).
Class 2A state runner-up Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) was a unanimous No. 2 team.
The Conquerors (30-5) advanced to the state semifinals at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers for the second straight year. They edged Berkeley Prep (Tampa), 1-0, to advance to the 2A state title game, where they were knocked off by The First Academy (Orlando).
Another state runner-up, St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park), is 3rd.
The Spartans (26-9), who moved up from fifth in the previous poll, were 1A state champs a year ago and advanced back to Fort Myers this spring. SJCD edged Brito (Miami) in the semifinals before dropping the state championship game to Canterbury (Fort Myers).
Spruce Creek (Port Orange) finished 4th. The Hawks (30-4) were eliminated in the Region 1-7A final by Hagerty (Oviedo) in three games.
Rounding out the top five is Rural State Runner-Up Lafayette (Mayo).
For the second year in a row, the Hornets (25-3), who were 8th previously, advanced to the state semifinals. They knocked off No. 7 Trenton, 5-1, to advance to the title game. Holmes County (Bonifay) walked off in the bottom of the 7th to beat Lafayette, 2-1, leaving the Hornets as the state runners-up again.
Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) is 6th, followed by Trenton (25-4), which advanced back to Fort Myers for the second straight year.
Clay (Green Cove Springs), which was knocked out in the Region 1-4A final, is 8th, while Episcopal (Jacksonville) and Suwannee (Live Oak) round out the top 10.
The 9th-ranked Eagles (22-8) lost at Trinity Christian in the Region 1-2A semifinal, and the No. 10 Bulldogs (23-10), who moved up five spots, lost at eventual 3A state runner-up South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) in the Region 1-3A final.
Moving into the final poll is Hernando (Brooksville) at No. 14.
The Leopards (20-16) advanced to the 3A state semifinals, knocking off RV North Marion (Citra), No. 20 The Villages, and RV Umatilla to win Region 2-3A as a No. 7 seed. Hernando was eliminated by South Walton in Fort Myers.
Also moving in is 16th-ranked University Christian (Jacksonville), while West Nassau (Callahan) and Vanguard (Ocala) fell out.
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 bi-weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL– 2025 BASEBALL POLL #3 (FINAL POLL)
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, final 2025 record, and total voting points)
1. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (9) (33-3) – 180
2. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (30-5) – 171
3. St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) (1A) (26-9) – 159
4. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (30-5) – 151
5. Lafayette (Mayo) (Rural) (25-3) – 142
6. Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (2A) (23-8) – 127
7. Trenton (Rural) (25-4) – 118
8. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (4A) (22-11) – 112
9. Episcopal (Jacksonville) (2A) (22-8) – 98
10. Suwannee (Live Oak) (3A) (23-10) – 93
11. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (18-13) – 76
12. Providence (Jacksonville) (2A) (15-12) – 66
13. Columbia (Lake City) (5A) (17-12) – 64
14. Hernando (Brooksville) (3A) (20-16) – 62
15. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (17-11) – 52
16. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (21-11) – 48
17. Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (6A) (19-10) – 34
18. South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (23-6) – 24
19. St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine) (1A) (21-9-1) – 23
20. The Villages (3A) (23-8) – 17
Also receiving votes: Umatilla (3A) (19-16) – 16; Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (23-10) – 13; Mount Dora Christian Academy (1A) (18-15) – 9; North Marion (Citra) (3A) (16-13) – 7; Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (21-6) – 6; West Nassau (Callahan) (3A) (19-12) – 6; Keystone Heights (2A) (19-9) – 1.