The Los Angeles Daily News 2026 preseason baseball rankings:
1. Harvard-Westlake: The Wolverines are loaded, starting with James Tronstein, a Vanderbilt commit, Jake Kim (UCLA), and Ira Rootman (Texas). Justin Kirchner (Yale), Jake Chung (Brown), James Venick (USC) and Evan Alexander (Penn) will be the top arms on the mound.
2. Notre Dame: The Knights return the deepest bullpen in the area, and maybe SoCal, with seniors Juju Diaz-Jones and Holden Newhouse, plus juniors AJ LaSota and Beckett Berg.
3. Sierra Canyon: Tom Meusborn might have his best team yet. Mikhal Johnson, who is a standout football player, has one of the biggest bats in SoCal. Pitcher Sean Parrow is committed to LSU. Brayden Charness, Armando Solorio, Dezi Delgado, Isaias Tirado and Greyson Gullage will be big-time contributors.
4. Royal: Big arms coming back this spring: Dustin Dunwoody (Arizona), Dean Barkman (UC Santa Barbara) and Colten Rainer (UCLA). Top hitters Peyton Visage and Noah Vasquez will be leaned on to provide from the plate.
5. Oaks Christian: Lions have one of the best catchers in California in Carson Sheffer (Oklahoma State), plus first baseman Luke Puls (Princeton), Christian Ipsen, Jack Brinkman and Chad Rolison. Coach Rick Hirtensteiner is in year two after leading Oaks to a 20-9 campaign last spring.
6. Simi Valley: The Pioneers were 23-6 last year and return top-end talent in senior left-handed pitcher Kyle Casey, junior center fielder Evan Rodriguez, and senior shortstop Danny Pina. Coach Scott Vermette has two lefties in his pitching rotation in Casey and Trent Nelson.
7. Westlake: The defending Marmonte League champions return six all-league performers, including a standout sophomore in Holden Backus at catcher. Caden Atkinson returns to the mound after being named Marmonte Pitcher of the Year in 2025. Blake Miller is a top player at shortstop.
8. Valencia: Tim Pannell is looking to have a strong senior class to win a Foothill League title in 2026, and he’s got a good chance with LHP Justin Gaisford, Catcher Tyler Wertz, third baseman Zach Davis and shortstop Cole DeYoung. RHP Dexton Otton, RHP Steven Genovese, LHP Justin Gaisford and LHP Jordan Ramos make up the pitching rotation for the Vikings.
9. Calabasas: It’s about the pitching for the Coyotes. Right-handed senior pitcher Luke Szymanski and sophomore righty Jayden Singer will lead the way. Senior outfielder Nathan Rosenfeld and junior shortstop Trevor Chang are top returners in the field. Coach Thomas Cassidy anticipates senior third baseman Harrison Beck will have a big season after a promising fall and winter season.
10. Birmingham Charter: Coach Matt Mowry returns for his 20th season with top returners in sophomore catcher Jordan Lindsay, junior shortstop Julius Monroe-Truitt, sophomore pitcher Carlos Acuna, and senior first baseman Sebastian Valdez. Senior Aidan Martinez and junior Nathan Soto will be good from the bump, too.
Bubble: Chaminade, El Camino Real, Grace Brethren, Castaic
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