CIF North Coast Section final high school baseball rankings: Nationally-ranked Granada easy choice at No. 1
A remarkable baseball season ended with the coronation of one of the greatest teams in North Coast Section history.
Granada’s 2024 squad not only won its first NCS title — with an epic 1-0 victory over six-time defending Division 1 champion De La Salle that took 14 innings and two days to complete — but they also won the CIF Northern California Division crown.
The boys from Livermore went into that game ranked No. 5 in the state and No. 17 in the country by SBLive Sports, a rankings they will no doubt improve upon in final evaluations. In fact, they improved to No. 3 in California and No. 5 in the nation.
Granada also won the nationally-attended Bishop Gorman Tournament in Las Vegas, and the East Bay Athletic League crown, no minor feat, considering other ranked squads De La Salle and San Ramon Valley were a part of.
The Matadors are the obvious No. 1 team in the SBLive Sports final NCS rankings:
2024 SBLIVE SPORTS FINAL NCS BASEBALL RANKINGS
1. Granada (32-1)
Where does one begin? Simply stellar in every regard. A 241-61 run differential, a .325 team batting average, and an utterly remarkable 1.22 team ERA, led by Stanford-bound Parker Warner (13-0, 0.93 ERA) and Jake Sekany (10-1, 1.85). Key relievers A.J. Hattaway, Luke Palma and Logan. Robinson gave up one earned run in a combined 45.1 innings. Warner (.530 on-base, 29 RBI, 10 doubles), Mikey Boyd (.396, 35 RBI) and Riley Winchell (four HRs, 34 RBI) led the offense, but catcher Tommy Brown (35 runs) and A.J. Martinez came up with some key, clutch hits. Truly historic season.
2. Cardinal Newman (28-5)
A rising state power from Santa Rosa won its third straight NCS D2 title — 1-0 over Redwood — and doubled down with the CIF NorCal D2 championship with tough wins over Chico (2-1) and Elk Grove (5-3) before a 10-3 triumph over Redwood in the finals. Like Granada, pitching was superb for the Cardinals with a 199-77 run differential and a 1.75 team ERA, led by Josh Jannicelli (12-1, 0.73) and Jack Pezzolo (9-1, 1.24). A balanced offensive attack was led by Sam Valenti (.422, 38 hits, six doubles, three homers), Pezzolo (34 hits, 26 RBI) and Tanner Bradley (.356, 36 hits).
3. De La Salle (21-8)
By any other standards, an outstanding season but considering the Spartans had won the last six NCS D1 crowns and last two NorCal D1 championships, this De La Salle squad fell a little short, largely because of Granada. There were no banners for these Spartans, who put up a huge run differential disparity, 230-75, keyed by one stretch of six straight wins by a combined count of 101-10 against top competition. The Spartans always play a rugged schedule and were led by senior second baseman Hank Tripaldi (.425, 34 hits, 27 RBI, 13 doubles, four HRs) along with sophomore shortstop Tyler Spangler (.364, 28 hits, 4 HRs), a Stanford commit. Outfielders Joe McGee (.374, 34 hits) and Alec Blair (.373) were two other offensive stars. Starting pitchers R.J. Meyn (8-1, 1.66) and Jack Karst (6-1, 0.56) led a staff with a team ERA of 1.82.
4. Redwood (28-5)
A little like De La Salle and nemesis Granada, if not for Cardinal Newman, the Giants would have had a truly banner season. As it was, the Giants had a fantastic season, also giving up less than 100 runs (93) while scoring 210. They won the Marin County Athletic League with a 14-2 mark and scored some big postseason wins over Petaluma (3-2), Ukiah (9-2), Carmel (2-1) and defending NorCal D2 champion St. Ignatius (6-5). Junior OF Sam Gersch (.464), sophomore 2B Theo Trono (.411), senior pitcher and infielder Rex Solle (.386) and sophomore Jack Moseley (34 RBI) had monster years at the plate, while four pitchers — Solle (6-2, 2.08), Chas Veley (6-0, 1.48), Matthew. Knauer (4-0, 1.96) and Jack Gurley (4-0, 0.71) were simply outstanding.
5. Acalanes (23-4)
The Dons, coming off a state championship football season, used many of the same athletes to register a stellar baseball season. Another team led by a stellar pitching staff, the Dons gave up just 72 runs, recording a 1.82 team ERA, led by Peter Thorn (9-0, 1.29) and Branson Smith (4-0, 1.43). David Gonzales led the team with 24 RBI.
6. College Park (19-8)
The Falcons, under longtime coach Andy Tarpley, always play a rugged schedule and it sure seemed to pay off late as they looked as good as anyone, winning 10 of 11 before De La Salle ended their season in the NCS D1 semifinals, 7-3. Nathan Leffel (.409, 36 hits, 24 RBI) led the team in hitting and was an effective pitcher (2-1, 0.84 ERA). Diego Emerling led the team in wins (five).
7. James Logan (22-4)
Pitching was again - do we sense a theme — the name of the game as the Colts gave up just 77 runs while sporting a 2.30 ERA, led by sophomore Westley Vega (9-0, 1.61). Senior shortstop Jesus Vasquez (.468) and senior catcher Trevian Martinez (.405, 32 RBI) had monster years at the plate.
8. San Ramon Valley (16-11)
Don’t be fooled by the record. The Wolves were absolutely stacked this season and had some huge wins, including 8-2 over De La Salle in the EBAL playoff semifinals. The Wolves held an early 4-0 lead over Granada in the EBAL title game before the Matadors struck for six in the fourth to largely derail what could have been a truly special season. Top football prospect Marco Jones led the team in RBI (26) while Colin Linteo led in slugging percentage (.597), doubles (10), runs (29) and hits (30). Charles Reiland (7-4, 1.68) led the team in wins and strikeouts (58).
9. San Marin (22-9)
Another squad loaded with pitching, the NCS D3 champion Mustangs allowed just 82 runs all season while scoring 216. Marin County Athletic League Pitcher of the Year Sean McGrath (11.1, 1.37) and Tyler Keehn (7-2, 3.30) led a staff with a team ERA of 2.21. Senior catcher Cole Chamberlain (6-2, 215) led the team in virtually all offensive categories including home runs (10), average (.375), runs (34) and hits (35). He’s signed to the University of Texas.
10. Justin-Siena (18-10)
Talk about catching fire at the right time. The Braves tail-spinned at the end of the regular season, losing 3 of 4, 4 of 6 and 6 of 9 before winning five in a row by a remarkable 62-4 count en route to their sixth NCS crown and first since 2015 with a 6-1 D4 win over St. Mary’s. Justin-Siena then manhandled Piedmont (11-1) and King’s Academy (10-2) in the NorCal D4 playoffs, before losing 1-0 in the finals to Central Catholic-Modesto and one of the top players in California, TP Wentworth, who threw a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts. The Braves had some big bats supplied by junior infielder Noah Giovannelli (33 hits, 30 runs), senior utility man Sam Denkin (25 RBI), senior infielder Everet Johnson (5 homers) and junior catcher Jake Fletcher (.666 slugging, 30 hits, .385). Sophomore Griffin Messenger (5-0, 2.02) and Luke Giusto (6-4, 1.97, 52 Ks, 42.2 innings) led the staff.
On the bubble: Benicia 18-9, Casa Grande 19-9, Heritage 20-6-1, Monte Vista 15-12, Pittsburg 20-7
MITCH STEPHENS