FHSAA Baseball Rankings: Central sits atop Region 1-1A; Pensacola Catholic ranked No. 11
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties still have two baseball teams within the top 100 of the FHSAA after the latest rankings were released on Tuesday.
Pensacola Catholic is No. 11 in the state with a rating of 18.265, and is sits second in Region 1-3A, a few points behind Jacksonville's Trinity Christian Academy (21.358).
Also in the top 100 is Central, ranked first in Region 1-1A with a rating of 11.119 – the fourth-best rating in all of Class 1A. Central has just one loss on the season, falling to the Crusaders last week.
District tournaments for baseball begin on April, stretching until May 2. In Classes 2A-7A, the winner of each district tournament advances to the regional tournament, followed by the next four-best teams, according to the FHSAA rankings, as at-large bids. In Class 1A, it’ll be the two district champions plus the next two highest teams in the regional rankings.
Here's a breakdown of each class and the state rankings for area teams.
Class 6A
Pace (10.161) – first in District 1-6A, eighth in Region 1-6A, 25th in Class 6A, 104th overall
Tate (8.192) – second in District 1-6A, 12th in Region 1-6A, 34th in Class 6A, 152nd overall
Gulf Breeze (3.366) – third in District 1-6A, 16th in Region 1-6A, 51st in Class 6A, 252nd overall
Milton (1.781) – fourth in District 1-6A, 19th in Region 1-6A, 58th in Class 6A, 300th overall
Navarre (0.739) – fifth in District 1-6A, 21st in Region 1-6A, 67th in Class 6A, 330th overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Chiles (District 2), Tocoi Creek (District 3), Hagerty (District 4) and Pace (District 1). The four at-large bids would go to: Buchholz (District 3), Fleming Island (District 3), Oakleaf (District 3) and Winter Springs (District 4).
The four quarterfinal matchups in Region 1 would be:
No. 1 Chiles vs. No. 8 Pace
No. 2 Tocoi Creek vs. No. 7 Winter Springs
No. 3 Hagerty vs. No. 6 Oakleaf
No. 4 Buchholz vs. No. 5 Fleming Island
Class 5A
Escambia (8.582) – first in District 1-5A, third in Region 1-5A, 19th in Class 5A, 135th overall
Booker T. Washington (-3.811) – fourth in District 1-5A, 17th in Region 1-5A, 64th in Class 5A, 436th overall
Pine Forest (-5.295) – fifth in District 1-5A, 18th in Region 1-5A, 67th in Class 5A, 464th overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Lincoln (District 2), Clay (District 3), Escambia (District 1) and Englewood (District 4). The four at-large bids would go to: St. Augustine (District 4), Beachside (District 4), Columbia (District 2) and Ridgeview (District 3).
The four quarterfinal matchups in Region 1 would be:
No. 1 Lincoln vs. No. 8 Ridgeview
No. 2 Clay vs. No. 7 Columbia
No. 3 Escambia vs. No. 6 Beachside
No. 4 Englewood vs. No. 5 St. Augustine
Class 4A
West Florida (6.958) – third in District 1-4A, eighth in Region 1-4A, 21st in Class 4A, 179th overall
Pensacola (-11.072) – fifth in District 1-3A, 19th in Region 1-4A, 78th in Class 4A, 532nd overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Arnold (District 1), Bishop Kenny (District 3), Wakulla (District 2) and Santa Fe (District 4). The at-large bids would be earned by Yulee (District 3), South Walton (District 1), Suwannee (District 2) and Baker County (District 3). West Florida, despite being ranked eighth, would be bumped out since Santa Fe is ranked 10th in the region.
The four quarterfinal matchups in Region 1 would be:
No. 1 Arnold vs. No. 8 Sante Fee
No. 2 Bishop Kenny vs. No. 7 Baker County
No. 3 Wakulla vs. No. 6 Suwannee
No. 4 Yulee vs. No. 5 South Walton
Class 3A
Pensacola Catholic (18.262) – first in District 1-3A, second in Region 1-3A, fifth in Class 3A, 11th overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Trinity Christian Academy (District 2), Pensacola Catholic (District 1), Bolles (District 3) and Keystone Height (District 4). The at-large bids would go to Providence School (District 3), Episcopal School of Jacksonville (District 3), Marianna (District 1) and Fernandina Beach (District 3).
The Region 1 quarterfinals would look like:
No. 1 Trinity Christian Academy vs. No. 8 Fernandina Beach
No. 2 Pensacola Catholic vs. No. 7 Marianna
No. 3 Bolles vs. No. 6 Episcopal School of Jacksonville
No. 4 Keystone Heights vs. No. 5 Providence School
Class 2A
L.E.A.D. Academy (-14.387) – fifth in District 1-2A, 16th in Region 1-2A, 81st in Class 2A, 560th overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: St. Johns Country Day (District 2), North Florida Christian (District 1), Oak Hall (District 4) and University Christian (District 3). The four at-large bids would go to: St. Joseph Academy (District 2), Christ's Church Academy (District 2), St. John Paul II (District 1) and Saint Faint Francis Catholic (District 4).
The Region 1 quarterfinals would look like:
No. 1 St. Johns Country Day vs. No. 8 Saint Francis Catholic
No. 2 North Florida Christian vs. No. 7 St. John Paul II
No. 3 Oak Hall vs. No. 6 Christ's Church Cademy
No. 4 St. Joseph Academy vs. No. 5 University Christian
Class 1A
Central (11.119) – first in District 1-1A, first in Region 1-1A, fourth in Class 1A, 86th overall
Jay (0.610) – third in District 1-1A, fifth in Region 1-1A, 20th in Class 1A, 332nd overall
Northview (-0.467) – fourth in District 1-1A, sixth in Region 1-1A, 22nd in Class 1A, 352nd overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the two Region 1 automatic bids would be: Central (District 1) and Holmes County (District 2). The two at-large bids would go to Paxton (District 2) and Baker (District 1).
The Region 1 semifinals would be:
No. 1 Central vs. No. 4 Baker
No. 2 Holmes County vs. No. 3 Paxton
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: FHSAA baseball rankings sees Pensacola Catholic sit at No. 11 overall