Two weeks into the Missouri high school baseball season and it’s time for an update to our ‘Small School’ rankings. 

To see our preseason rankings, click HERE. 

It’s important to note that these rankings do not cover the entire state. Our coverage map from a rankings standpoint, in Missouri, includes mostly the city of St. Louis, extending downward to Jackson, Missouri. That doesn’t mean we’re not covering other areas of the state, but from a consistency standpoint, we will only rank teams that fall inside our coverage area. It’s also important to note that these are just initial rankings, and they will fluctuate throughout as the season rolls on and game play starts. 

There’s plenty of movement throughout our list in this update, including a new No. 1, and several shifts across the board. Continue reading below to see where these teams fit, in our opinion, after the first two weeks of the MSHSAA season. 

THE TOP FIVE…

+ There’s a new No. 1 on our board, as Fort Zumwalt West takes over the top spot after a 6-1 start to the season. The Jaguars have a handful of notable wins on their schedule, taking down Timberland (3-1), Seckman (5-4), CBC (11-9), Troy (8-7), and a win over rival Francis Howell (3-1) in the Troy Tournament Championship game that ultimately vaulted them to the top spot. 

+ The next two spots on our rankings are occupied by a pair of teams that each bump down one slot in No. 2 Francis Howell (4-2) and No. 3 Eureka (5-1). The Vikings only two losses on the year came to No. 1 Fort Zumwalt West and against cross-state foe Edwardsville, with wins over Union (6-1), Fort Zumwalt South (13-0), St. Dominic (13-2), and Eureka (4-3). As for the Wildcats, their only loss this season came to the aforementioned Vikings, with victories against Francis Howell Central (3-1), North Point (2-1), Gateway Legacy (8-3), Troy Buchanan (4-0), and DeSmet (11-0). 

+ Jackson (5-0) and Vianney (5-2) stay put at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, in this update. The Indians traveled up to St. Louis and swept the St. Charles West tournament, beating SLUH 8-7 in the championship game, and picking up a 13-2 win over Sikeston when they returned back home. Vianney’s resume is impressive, as they beat Lindbergh (3-2, 6-4) twice, and picked up a cross-state win over Triad (4-1), who’s one of the top teams in Illinois. As for their two losses, the Griffins fell to two ranked opponents, Missouri’s Oakville (3-2) and Illinois’ O’Fallon (3-1). 

ON THE RISE…

+ Two teams on the rise in this update are No. 6 Lafayette (5-1) and No. 7 Oakville (4-1), each of which played each other in the season’s first two weeks and split their series. Aside from that, Lafayette has wins over Webster Groves (14-5), Northwest Cedar Hill (10-2), Lindbergh (1-0), and Ladue (7-0). Oakville’s resume is eerily similar, as they too have wins over Northwest Cedar Hill and Webster Groves, and they also beat Vianney (3-2). 

+ Down towards the bottom of our board, St. Dominic (6-3) and Festus (4-2) each climb up a spot. Now at No. 13, the Crusaders have two ranked wins, beating Union (10-0) and Rockwood Summit (5-4). They’ve also taken down Fort Zumwalt South (12-3), Holt (10-0), and swept a double-header against Webster Groves (6-5, 1-0). Their three losses came to Francis Howell (13-2), Francis Howell Central (6-4), and Marquette (5-2). Festus hasn’t lost to an in-state team in the early going, with their two losses coming to two strong programs from Kentucky. In their wins, the No. 14 ranked Tigers have scored more than 10+ runs in each of their four victories, and they’ve allowed a run or less in three of those four games. 

DROPPING DOWN…

+ Lindbergh (2-3) drops three spots on our rankings, falling from sixth to now sitting at No. 9 overall. The Flyers lost all three games against ranked opponents in the season’s first two weeks, getting swept by Vianney (3-2, 6-4) and losing a 1-0 game to Lafayette. Their two wins came against Mehlville (12-5) and Lutheran St. Charles (9-2). 

+ North Point (5-4) and CBC (2-3) both drop out of the rankings in this update, after starting the spring at No. 12 and No. 13, respectively. Both are talented clubs that we were high on in the preseason for a reason, and we expect to see them jump back into this list at some point in the near future. 

STAYING PUT…

+ Three teams are staying put from their initial preseason ranking in this update. SLUH (3-1) holds onto the eighth spot after winning three games against St. Charles West (7-0), Liberty Wentzville (4-0), and Parkway South (12-2), with a 8-7 loss to Jackson mixed in. Seckman (4-2) and Rockwood Summit (4-1) remain at No. 10 and No. 11, respectively. The Jaguars two losses came to Timberland (8-6) and Fort Zumwalt West (5-4), with wins over CBC (1-0), Francis Howell North (4-3), Francis Howell Central (2-1), and rival Fox (7-0). In their four wins, Summit has thrown two shutouts and allowed six runs in total, with their only defeat coming to St. Dominic (5-4). 

NEWCOMERS TO KNOW…

+ Francis Howell Central (3-2) makes their debut after a strong start to the season that’s been met with a tough opposing schedule. They’ve taken games from North Point (3-0) and St. Dominic (6-4), and also have a win over Gateway Legacy (4-1). In their losses, the Spartans played Eureka (3-1) tough on opening day, and also lost a one run affair to Seckman (2-1), who’s also ranked. This is a young, talented, and well-coached bunch that’s capable of making some noise once conference play rolls around. 

+ Fort Zumwalt East (3-1) pops into these rankings in the final spot. The Lions’ lone loss came this past week on spring break to Mexico (5-4), with wins over Duchesne (8-2), Kirkwood (9-3), and Jefferson City (7-2). They’re strong defensively through the middle of the field and have an excellent duo of arms on the mound in RHP Dominic Pandolfo (2027; Lindenwood) and RHP Kevin Morgan (2027).