Top 10 teams to watch this season
It's getting into the thick of baseball season, and multiple Daily News area teams have made strong first impressions.
Here are 10 teams from the Daily News area — in alphabetical order — to watch this season.
Birmingham
One of the CIF City Section's top teams has had one of the toughest nonleague schedules after winning a City Section Open Division title last season. The Patriots' only three losses this season have come against Westlake, Crespi and Hart.
Carlos Esparza, a junior, had at least two hits in three straight games against El Camino, Thousand Oaks and Sylmar.
Burroughs
The Bears are tied for second place in the Pacific League with a 5-1 record and sport a 12-2 overall mark.
Burroughs won a CIF Southern Section Division 5 championship in 2022 and have since moved up to Division 4. Pacific League first-team and three-year starter Nate Chapman returns for his senior year in the infield on an upperclassman-heavy team.
Chaminade
Head coach Kyle Wilkerson has called 6-foot-1 Cal Poly commit Vinny Van der Wel “one of the best returning offensive players in the league.” The senior leads the team in hits with 15 and is hitting .319 with eight RBIs in 14 games.
Matt Churchill returns at catcher and hits for power. The Eagles' pitching situation was up in the air at the start of the season after senior Jordan Rodarte had to undergo Tommy John surgery, but Chaminade has found success with sophomores Jackson Schroeder and Eli Stephens as well as junior Adam Batmanian.
Hart
Head coach Jim Ozella announced his retirement after 25 seasons and this year's team could send him out on a high note. Hart beat three Mission League teams in St. Francis, Sierra Canyon and Crespi in nonleague play and is on an eight-game winning streak.
Senior Brayden Jefferis, a Michigan commit, is in his fourth year as starting shortstop and is the leadoff hitter after leading the team in stolen bases, hits and RBIs last season while hitting .345. Pitcher and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo commit Troy Cooper is a threeyear starting pitcher and posted a 1.54 ERA last season as a junior.
Harvard-Westlake
The Wolverines have depth in pitching and hitting this season, which has them on top of the Mission League standings. They hold a 10-1-1 overall record and their only loss this season is to Orange Lutheran — the team that eliminated them from the postseason last year.
Pitcher and Wake Forest commit Duncan Marsten is catching his stride after struggling with injuries in previous seasons and helped lift Harvard-Westlake to a win over league rival Notre Dame on March17. Bryce Rainer starts at shortstop as a Texas commit and the No. 39 MLB prospect.
Notre Dame
Levi Sterling gives the Knights a chance in any game. The Texas commit and No. 40 MLB prospect leads the team with a .333 batting average, 15 hits and 11 runs while contributing as a pitcher as well.
Dartmouth commit Nate Kugler has thrown 252/3 innings and owns a 1.09 ERA with 20 strikeouts and has given up just six runs. Kai Gonzaga and Dominic Cadiz have emerged as reliable hitters. The former is hitting .304 with 14 hits, three doubles and two triples while the latter hits .304 with a team-high 12 RBIs and seven doubles.
Royal
The Coastal Canyon League looks to be competitive this season, especially between Royal, Moorpark and Simi Valley.
The Highlanders have a talented sophomore class and got out to an 11-4 overall start. Sophomore Isaiah Tillman is tied for most hits on the team with 14 and has logged eight RBIs while hitting .311. Junior Zachary Nagy also has 14 hits and is hitting .304 with six RBIs.
Sophomore Dustin Dunwoody is 3-2 on the mound with a 2.45 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings.
Sierra Canyon
Julian Areliz is a 6-foot-2
UC San Diego commit who brings toughness after missing last season due to injury. Head coach Tom Meusborn said Areliz will fill multiple roles this season.
Junior Andrew Nelson returns as a starting outfielder who can play in left or center field. Gavin George (Puget Sound) adds experience in the outfield, leadership and energy, according to Meusborn.
Westlake
Westlake is coming off a CIF Southern California Regional Division III championship and hit the ground running with a 9-0 start that included wins over Sierra Canyon and Simi Valley.
Nolan Johnson (Miami) has a team-high 17 RBIs, 15 hits and a .536 batting average in addition to three home runs. Noah Stead is close behind with 18 RBIs and a .529 batting average. Noah Stead leads the team in home runs with five.
Dylan Volantis (USC) is 4-0 on the mound with a 0.30 ERA, having given up one run while recording 36 strikeouts in 23 innings.
West Ranch
The Wildcats are unbeaten in the Foothill League behind its allaround depth. Eight players have logged five or more RBIs this season and Miles Topping is tied with Aidan Bunch for the lead with nine.
Landon Hu is the top West Ranch hitter in terms of hits (14) and batting average (.421).
Stanford commit Nolan Stoll holds down the outfield and has driven in six runs this season. Nine different pitchers have thrown for at least one complete inning. Jackson Banuelos (Cal State Northridge) set a program record when he struck out 13 hitters in 6 1/3 innings against Castaic.