By Greg Williams
West Virginia Director of Scouting

As we prepare for a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC to jump start the 2015 season with a week's action at the Mingo Bay Classic, we devote this week to our preseason Elite 8 rankings in each classification. Over the next three days we will reveal our top eight teams in each class. Today we take a look at Class A.

preseason class a elite 8

Rank	School	Notes
1	Notre Dame	The Irish have made back-to-back trips to Charleston, losing to Man in last year's title game. Although a significant portion of the Irish starting lineup graduated, leaving questions at a number of positions, look for them to continue to make noise in Class A.
2	Man	The Hillbillies look to defend their 2015 state title and return enough talent to make a return trip to Charleston a possibility.
3	Moorefield	The Yellowjackets come off a 21-9 campaign in 2014 and are the odds on favorite to push Notre Dame for the Region 2 berth in this year's state tournament.
4	Clay-Battelle	Region 1 Preseason Player of the Year and two-time Class A all-state selection Kurt Latocha looks to lead the Cee Bees to Charleston.
5	Charleston Catholic	Connor Golden (Marietta College) has departed, but much of the young roster that finished 21-11 in 2014 returns.
6	Parkersburg Catholic	The Crusaders return more than enough offense to compete for a spot in Charleston. Pitching depth could be the issue in their march to the state tournament.
7	Greenbrier West	The Cavaliers were hit hard by graduation but will still trot out six seniors that should make significant contributions. A ramped up schedule heavy with games against bigger schools always makes them dangerous come playoff time.
8	Bishop Donahue	C Alex Riedel, RHP Jesse Padlow (5-2) and IF/OF Brett Moore (.365) provide the Bishops with strong senior leadership coming off a 14-12 campaign in 2014.

Elite 8 Preview Schedule

March 26: Class A Preseason Elite 8
March 27: Class AA Preseason Elite 8
March 28: Class AAA Preseason Elite 8