Trey Sofio
Louisiana Scouting Director

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The 2017 high school season came to end last weekend, as twelve teams from around the state were crowned state champions. It has been awhile since we updated the Power 25 rankings, but here is our final rendition of the 2017 Power 25.

+ After a state title run in Division-I, the John Curtis Patriots also take home the final Power 25 No. 1 ranking. After winning the Catholic League regular season title, the Patriots ran the table in the postseason, eventually defeating Catholic(BR) in the state final 5-0. Throughout the 2017 campaign, the offensive firepower up and down the lineup was the calling card for the Patriots. However, the pitching staff tossed back-to-back shutouts in the state tournament, as the quality of the Patriots defense was also on display. Tulane recruit, 2018 1B Cade Beloso (John Curtis) gave the Patriots big production, for virtually, the entire length of the season, concluding with a 3-run home run in the state final. Looking ahead to the 2018 season, the Patriots only lose one senior off the 2017 state championship team, Southern recruit, 2017 OF/RHP Austin Haensel (John Curtis), but Louisiana State recruit, 2018 IF/RHP Will Ripoll (John Curtis) will be eligible after having to sit out this past spring.

+ After checking-in at No. 11 in the last regular season update of the Power 25, Central(BR) caught fire in the class 5A playoffs, eventually captured the state crown, check-in at No. 2 in the final Power 25. Louisiana State recruit, 2017 RHP Ma’Khail Hilliard (Central(BR)) took it to another gear down the stretch, and was a dominant front-end starter. In semi-final action, Hilliard tossed a complete game, picking up a victory, and sat 88-91 mph for the entirety of his outing. The Wildcats got production up and down during their postseason run, with 2018 OF/LHP Brant Husser (Central(BR)) leading the charge offensively, as well as on the mound, in addition to 2018 SS Hunter Hebert (Central(BR)), and 2018 OF Carson Balthazar (Central(BR)).

+ Although they would eventually come up short in the state championship game, the West Monroe Rebels had one of the most dominating seasons from a Louisiana class 5A team that our scouting staff can recall. Along with John Curtis, the Rebels had arguably the most potent, and explosive lineups in the state of Louisiana. Louisiana State recruit, 2017 OF Jacob Pearson (West Monroe) finished off an illustrious career with West Monroe hitting over.500 and racking up a double-digit home run total. The Rebels will surely miss Pearson, along with Louisiana Tech recruit, 2017 SS Taylor Young (West Monroe) in the years to come, but the future still looks bright. Louisiana-Lafayette recruits, 2019 IF/RHP Tom Biggs (West Monroe) and 2019 IF Carson Jones (West Monroe), along with other highly talented underclassmen like 2019 IF/RHP Chase Dejean (West Monroe) look to return to the state championship again in the near future.

+ The 2016 class 4A state champions, and No. 1 team in the Power 25, Teurlings Catholic, once again claims a state title, and checks-in at No. 4 in the final Power 25. The Rebels were moved to Division-II for this year’s state playoffs, capturing the first state title in the brand new classification. Louisiana-Lafayette recruit, 2017 SS/RHP Hayden Cantrelle (Teurlings Catholic) and Louisiana State recruit, 2017 OF Nick Webre (Teurlings Catholic) finish their highly productive careers with back-to-back state championships. The Rebels will surely miss the offensive firepower of Webre and Cantrelle, in the years to come, but Coach Mike Thibodeaux has established Teurlings Catholic as one of the premier programs in the state, which pumps out consistent high-level talent yearly.

+ Rounding out the top five of the final 2017 Power 25 is Barbe high school. The Bucs were stunned in the first round of the class 5A playoffs, which prevented the Bucs from possibly winning a fourth state title in a row. The 2017 Barbe Bucs were a veteran group, and will have to replace numerous  starters before next season.  Although, the Barbe Bucs are one of the premier high school programs in the entire United States, the program will surely miss having McNeese State recruit, 2017 LHP Adam Goree (Barbe)to pitch in a big game, as well as his brother, McNeese State recruit, 2017 OF Alex Goree (Barbe) patrolling the outfield.  Barbe finished the 2017 season 29-5 in the regular season, winning the district 3-5A crown, and collecting the No. 2 seed in the 5A playoffs.

To see the final Power 25 rankings, click HERE.

The Prep Baseball Report Louisiana summer event schedule will kick-off Saturday May 20, 2017 at St. Thomas Aquinas high school in Hammond, LA with the annual Underclass Trials. Over 800 college coaches and professional scouts subscribe to the PBR services. Make sure to check out one of our several events scheduled for this summer by clicking HERE. Can’t make it to an event this summer? Begin your recruiting process by filling out the FREE player profile, HERE.

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