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By Jacob Gill
Pennsylvania Assistant Director of Scouting

and PBR staff

Pennsylvania calls itself a Commonwealth, not a state, which means we like to eschew the norm. Our team rankings aren't a standard Top 25, but rather an effort to predict what everyone is striving for: state tournament berths. Instead of going down a rabbit hole by attempting to order teams from various parts of the state who play against vastly different levels of competition, we are going to try to compare apples to apples a bit more. Each update, we will present the schools we think are in the best position to earn state tournament berths out of their respective districts. Below are our predictions, in bracket order, for how we see the PIAA class 1A state tournament shaping up. A Watch List for each district is also included, with the teams on it (and undoubtedly a few we overlooked) absolutely in the mix to make the March to Medlar.

Note: X-Y under "Berth" = [District]-[Bid]. For example, 3-2 is the runner-up from District III.

2017 Preseason PIAA Class 1A Super 16

Berth	School	Notes
3-1	Millersburg Area	Defending district champ and state semifinalist has some offense to replace, but can boast the district's top pitcher fronting its staff.
12-1	Girard Academy Music Program	Won the district title in nine of the past twelve seasons and arch rival Masterman has been reclassified to 2A in the new six-class system.
4-1	Millville	2016 1A district champ graduated its staff ace, but still has three experienced arms atop its rotation. Quakers also welcome back two-thirds of starting line-up.
2-1/ 11-1	Tri-Valley	Two of top three pitchers and more than half of line-up back from last year's District XI runner-up (last year's champ is now in 2A). Chance to keep odd-year championship streak going (District XI titles in 2011, 2013, 2015).
1-1	Jenkintown	Top three pitchers return from last year's district runner-up (last year's champ is now in 2A). Just one of six losses last year came against a team in the realigned 1A, whose members the Drakes routinely posted double-digit wins against last year.
3-2	Christian School of York	Young team, but has a college-bound arm atop its rotation and should have confidence coming off a CCAC title last spring.
5-1	Meyersdale Area	State tournament runner-up welcomes back virtually its entire line-up and 100% of its innings, not to mention the district's top player.
6-2	Ferndale Area	The Yellow Jackets gave the two-time district champs their toughest game in last year's district tourney. Return seven line-up regulars and two experienced strike-throwers.
7-1	Greensburg Central Catholic	The Centurions boast two college-bound pitchers atop their rotation, although will need to reload the offense in order to earn a third straight state tournament appearance.
9-3	Oswayo Valley	Wide-open district as all the usual suspects have an element of uncertainty surrounding their pitching. When in doubt, hard to argue with a Green Wave team that has made back-to-back state tourney appearances and has an experienced group of upperclassmen returning.
9-2	DuBois Central Catholic	Defending district champ with a young, but experienced squad could get off to a slower than normal start due to staff ace being on the shelf, but he could provide reinforcements with a mid-season return.
5-2	Southern Fulton	Perhaps unwise to not slot them as the district 1-seed after back-to-back district crowns, but pitching staff is less settled than in previous years. Nonetheless, the Indians still have enough talent to earn another state tourney berth.
6-1	Juniata Valley	Seven of nine position player starters and the top four pitchers return for the back-to-back district champ Hornets.
7-2	Vincentian Academy	2016 state champ has fearsome offense, but must contend with replacing two of its top four pitchers.
9-1/ 10-1	Elk County Catholic	Eight regulars in a senior-laden line-up return for the Crusaders, who are aiming to end a two-year state tourney drought after reaching five straight from 2010-14 (including four district crowns).
7-3	Sewickley Academy	With a new coach who didn't get the job until last month, it could take a bit to find their rhythm, but the Panthers can lean on their all-section battery from day one.

Watch List
District I: Jenkintown, Delaware County Christian, Faith Christian, Plumstead Christian
Sub-region II/XI: Forest City Regional, MMI Prep, Nativity BVM
District III: Lancaster County Christian, Conestoga Christian
District IV: Sayre Area, Montgomery Area, Canton, Benton Area
District V: Forbes Road, Northern Bedford County, Shanksville-Stonycreek
District VI: Homer-Center, Saint Joseph's Catholic
District VII: Jeannette, Springdale, Rochester Area, Western Beaver
Sub-region IX/X: Clarion Area, Clarion-Limestone, North Clarion

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