The end of the school year brings a highly anticipated time for most students. Summer is around the corner, along with that two and a half month break from learning. To some the most exciting part of this time of year is baseball. The GHSA baseball state playoffs occurs in late April and ends in late May. The deeper in the playoffs teams get the focus shifts away from school toward the final teams in each of the eight classes. The college scouts are out and teams gear shoot for the highest team award in the state. With elite schools in every class, here’s a rundown on the outlook of all eight brackets.
Class A Private
Mount Paran Christian is the number one ranked team in the class according to Maxpreps, they finished the season with a 25-2 record to earn a first place standing in Region seven. Wesleyan ended their season as number two in the class with a record of 25-4. The bracket is geared for a potential final four matchup between the top two schools in the class. The class’s top five is rounded out with North Cobb Christian, Savannah Christian and Fellowship Christian landing in the ranking in that order. Savannah Christian and Fellowship Christian have a chance to meet up in the elite eight and determine who punches their ticket to the final four.
Class AA
Pace Academy finished in first place following th regular season after they went 23-4, on their way to a region six championship. The second best team is Lovett, who was placed on the other side of the bracket putting off a potential matchup with the Pace until the championship game.
Thomasville and Callaway are the third and fourth teams in the class. Both teams find themselves as the only top five team in their respective quadrant. While Cook at number five in the class, landed in the same quadrant as Lovett after finishing second in their region.
Class AAAA
North Oconee is arguably the best team in the state, surprisingly ranked number two in Georgia while also earning the national ranking of the 17th best team of the country. They finished the season with an outstanding 29-1 record to earn first place in the AAAA class. Undefeated at home and head into the postseason on a commanding 26-game winning streak. Marist finished their season with a 23-7 record to land the number two ranking in the class. The number three team in Benedictine ended the regular season with a 24-4 record. Both teams are on the same quadrant in the playoffs, gearing fans up for a potential treat in the elite eight. Thomas County Central is the fourth-highest ranked team with a 22-7 record,luckily for them they’re devoid of any top five team in their quadrant.
Class AAAAAA
The number one team in this class is also the number one team in the state, Houston County finished their 2022 campaign with a 23-4 record. Houston County finished undefeated at home and heads into the playoffs on a 10-game winning streak. Their strength of schedule gave them the edge over North Oconee. Allatoona is second int he class but far from a slouch, they finished the season 27-3 while surprisingly finishing second in their region. The bracket is set up to where the only way these teams face off is in the championship. Four games will decide if these tow titans clash on the biggest stage.
The remaining top five teams consist of Richmond Hill, Glynn Academy and Lassiter in that order. Glynn Academy is the lone top five team in their quadrant while Richmond Hill and Lassiter have a chance at meeting up in the second round.
Class AAAAAAA
Lowndes earned the number on ranking in the 7A class after a 22-7 finish to their 2022 season with a 13.5 strength of schedule. Despite being the second next team in the class, Etowah didn’t even win their region. Their regular season ended with a 23-7 record with an even more demanding 13.7 strength of schedule.
Parkview landed the third spot in the final regular season ranking for the 7A class. The 2022 campaign ended for them with a 24-6 record and a comfortable number one seed in the state playoffs. Woodstock finished with a record identical to Etowah but strength of schedule proved to be the determining factor in them earning the fourth spot in the rankings.
Any tournament with a large number of teams is always exciting because of its unpredictability and potential heroics in pursuit of a championship. March madness is a national phenomena but perhaps. May Madness should be getting more attention with as much baseball being played and multiple trophies on the line.
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