The ScoutConnect staff is once again updating our MSHSAA St. Louis’ area team rankings, with the fifth week of the Missouri high school baseball season under our belt. Again, this ranking only includes teams in the St. Louis’ area. 

We’ve detailed some movement in our top-10 below, highlighting a few teams on the rise, two teams jumping in from last update, and a few teams that are playing well, though on the outside looking in

THE TOP 10…

+ Francis Howell (15-1) remains at the top of our board for the fifth straight week, as the Vikings put together arguably their most impressive showing of the season, which says a lot given the toughness of their schedule. They played seven games this past week, and won all of them, starting off with a conference series sweep of Troy (8-0, 6-1). Then, head coach Tony Perkins’ club traveled over to the center of the state and won the Columbia Tournament, which is widely regarded as one of the state’s premier events. They bashed a top-ranked Staley club 15-2 in the opener, defeating St. Elizabeth (12-4), Hickman (17-7), Nixa (2-0), and Grain Valley 6-0 in the championship game. Francis Howell’s ability to limit runs and score them in bunches is deadly and this is unquestionably the top team in St. Louis, if not the entire state. 

+ Vianney (17-0) remains the only undefeated team on our rankings, as the Griffins’ three win week has them at 17-0 on the year. They swept conference foe CBC (8-7, 9-0) before taking on reigning Class 3, now in Class 4, state champion Duchesne and beating them 12-0. 1B Nolan Jaworowski (2025; Cincinnati) has homered five times and driven in 20 runs this season, and others like INF Logan DeClue (2026), INF Logan Baumann (2026), INF Trey Jozwiakowski (2025; Central Missouri), and RHP/INF NIck Steurer (2025; Truman State) are all swinging it well. Vianney will be challenged again this week when they face off against conference rival SLUH this upcoming Tuesday and Thursday. 

+ Fort Zumwalt West (16-4) stays put at No. 3 after a 5-2 week. The Jaguars beat North Point and swept Liberty (10-1, 7-2) in a conference series to start things off before they too headed to the Columbia Tournament. There, Fort Zumwalt West picked up wins over Blair Oaks (7-2) and Battle (11-0), with a loss to Platte County (9-8) in pool play and another to Grain Valley (8-6) in the tournament’s semi-finals. INF/RHP Brendan Pyle (2026: Loyola Marymount) continues his heavy contributions on both sides of the ball, slashing .361/.487/.508 with a 1.58 ERA in 17 ⅔ innings of work. LHP Alex Wheeler (2025) and RHP/INF Carter Perry (2025; Jefferson JC) have combined to allow six earned runs over 44 ⅔ innings on the hill, while stellar sophomore OF Michael Wolff (2027) is slashing .491/.600/.636 in 55 at-bats. 

+ Eureka (11-5) continues to occupy the fourth spot on our rankings, as the Wildcats went 4-2 on the week. They swept Parkway West (16-1, 13-3) handedly before making their way over to the Columbia Tournament, where they defeated Nixa (5-4) and Hickman (4-2). They did lose twice, falling to Truman (3-0) and losing in walk-off fashion to Rock Bridge (1-0) in a nine inning game. Their wins, coupled with the tightness of their losses to two quality clubs, is why Eureka isn’t dropping down our board in this update, as we still believe the Wildcats are amongst the area’s premier programs. Their pitching staff has been stellar – RHP Jaxson Joggerst (2026; Indiana), RHP Ben Lackey (2026), RHP Michael Siebels (2025; Jefferson JC), and RHP Ralph Gianino (2025) all have an ERA of 2.00 or lower in 14 innings of work. 

+ Bumping up one spot on our list is SLUH (12-2-1), who now sit at No. 5 overall. The Jr. Billikens have won six straight games, allowing two runs or less in five of those games, with three shutouts. This week, SLUH picked up a series sweep of DeSmet (4-0, 1-0) and beat Belleville West (IL) 10-5. RHP Brady Nolan (2026) and RHP James Unwin (2025; Dennison) have been excellent on the hill, each of them posting ERAs under 2.00 in 17+ innings of work, respectively. INF/RHP Cole Chambers (2027), C Logan Studer (2026), INF Tyler Rasch (2027), and Jack Friedman (2026) are all performing at the plate as well. 

+ Festus (10-3-1) drops one spot in this update, but it was more SLUH rising than the Tigers dropping. They did not lose this past week, sweeping Windsor (10-0, 5-3) with wins over North County (8-4) and Hazelwood West (8-2) as well. OF Brady Nolen (2025; Crowder JC) improved his triple-slash on the year to a ridiculous .511/.591/1.133 with 15 extra-base hits, including four home runs, and a perfect 13-for-13 on stolen base attempts. LHP/1B Jackson Smith (2026) is slashing .413/.509/.630 in 46 at-bats and owns a 2.21 ERA over 19 innings on the hill, striking out 26 to just five walks. 

+ Lindbergh (12-3) sticks at No. 7 overall and are coming off a 3-1 week, where the Flyers defeated Kirkwood (13-2) and Webster Groves (5-3) before splitting a conference series with Marquette (7-5 L, 4-3 W). OF Ethan Cantareira (2025; Lindenwood) has started to heat up at the plate, now slashing .378/.481/.733 in 45 at-bats with nine extra-base hits, three of them home runs. INF Luke Seiler (2025) has been performing all spring, bringing a .467 batting average with a 1.240 OPS in 45 at-bats to this lineup everyday. RHP/INF Jack Politte (2027) keeps getting it done on the mound, now holding a 1.79 ERA over 27 ⅓ innings. 

+ Rockwood Summit (10-4) is up one spot, now at No. 8, after a highly impressive week that included a sweep of previously ranked Lafayette (11-5, 17-6) and a 13-4 win over Republic. The Falcons have won four straight and are starting to find their groove in all areas of their game. RHP Gave Sieve (2025; Missouri Southern) and LHP Zach Halim (2025; Wallace-Dothan CC) have surrendered a combined six earned runs across 28 ⅔ innings on the mound, while INF Wyatt Schneider (2026) is slashing .350/.458/.475 on the year to lead the offense. 

+ Oakville (9-4) is back on these rankings after falling out last update, jumping in at No. 9. The Tigers went 3-1 on the week, defeating Lafayette (3-1), Parkway Central (3-2), and Ladue (2-1), with a loss to Parkway South (6-5). Pitching has and will continue to be what carries this club, as LHP Jack Werkowitch (2025; Lindenwood) and LHP Kaleb Owens (2026) have surrendered just three earned runs between the two of them in 45 ⅓ innings. RHP/1B CJ Lake (2026) is starting to find his groove on the mound too, adding even more firepower to one of the area’s top pitching staffs. 

+ We do have a team that is cracking these rankings for the first time, as Union (15-3) jumps in at No. 10. The Wildcats have won nine straight games and have allowed two runs or fewer in five of those games, pitching three shutouts. Their three top arms have all been spectacular, as RHP Kasey Griffin (2025; Heartland CC, 1.57 ERA), RHP Klay Muser (2026; 0.61 ERA), and LHP Logan Hansel (2026; 0.29 ERA) look capable of shutting an offense down on any given day. How much the Wildcats’ offense continues to perform may be the ultimate difference maker for this club, but Union has the arms to really make some noise once District play rolls around. 

+ Lafayette (8-7) falls out of the rankings after a loss to Oakville (3-1), two losses to Rockwood Summit (11-5, 17-6), and a win over Francis Howell North (11-5). 

NEXT UP…

+ St. Dominic (12-5-1): The Crusaders only played twice this week, falling to Francis Howell Central (2-1) and beating Lutheran St. Charles (11-1). Still, they’re a talented bunch that’s having a successful season, winning nine of their last 10. 

+ Duchesne (13-3): Now in Class 4, the reigning Class 3 state champions continue to look like one of the area’s top clubs. They had won 11 in a row before falling to Vianney (12-0) this past week. OF Jack Burle (2025; St. Louis CC) leads the way offensively, slashing .409/.587/.727, while RHP/INF Jackson Nikodym (2026) has a 2.10 ERA in 20 innings on the hill to match a .357/.438/.536 triple-slash of his own. 

+ Warrenton (11-4): The Warriors rebounded after a mini scuffle a few weeks ago, winning all three of their games last week and outscoring their opponents 32-2. C Austin Haas (2025) and INF Colin Disilvester (2025) have both been red hot at the plate, while talented sophomore RHP Carter Martin (2027) continues to throw the ball well on the mound. RHP Jake Kirkpatrick (2027) is another sophomore to keep an eye on for this club, as he owns a 1.22 ERA over his 23 innings of work. 

+ Francis Howell Central (10-7): Keep an eye on the Spartans, who have won seven of their last eight games, including a 4-1 showing this past week. They beat St. Dominic (2-1) on Monday to kick things off, swept Fort Zumwalt South (11-2, 14-3), and split their conference set with Francis Howell North (8-1 L, 4-0 W). INF Carter Radeke (2027) has led this offense all spring and highly talented junior OF Cooper Demanuele (2026) is starting to heat up as well. 

+ North Point (13-6): The Grizzlies are a team we’ve been following all season and they’re coming off yet another strong showing, picking up three wins after starting the week with a loss to Fort Zumwalt West (9-2). They swept Fort Zumwalt South (7-2, 12-6) and ended things with a 11-2 victory over Holt. INF Joe Gonzales (2025) has a .423 batting average and .516 on-base percentage in 52 at-bats, while RHP Gus Nenninger (2026), RHP Jaymeson Brown (2026), and RHP Jack Cowling (2025; Evansville) are all showing well on the mound. 

+ Marquette (10-5): The Mustangs were highlighted as a team to watch last week, following that up with a win over Chaminade (12-7) and a conference split with Lindbergh (7-5 W, 4-3 L). OF/LHP Caden Throneberry (2026; Mizzou) and 1B/RHP Keller Costello (2025; Rockhurst) have been leading this club on both sides of the ball throughout the spring. 

Author: Diego