LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Five new wins kept Orange Beach atop the NFCA Spring High School Top 25 Coaches Poll for a fourth straight week, the Association announced on Thursday.
The five-time reigning Alabama state champion (36-1) Makos won all but one game this past week by six or more runs, and captured four of those contests by at least 10. Orange Beach is waiting to find out the opponent for their playoff game on Friday.
Meanwhile, Calvary Baptist Academy (35-1) remained No. 2 following its 8-0 Louisiana Division III Select quarterfinal victory over Bunkie. The Cavaliers will play D’Arbonne Woods Charter in Saturday’s state semifinals.
No. 3 South Warren (30-0) added five victories to its unblemished record and face Greenwood next later today, following Wednesday’s rainout against Daviess County.
Lake Creek (31-1) and Murrieta Mesa (22-1) complete an unchanged top five. The Lions swept West Fork in their best-of-three Texas Class 5A bi-district playoff series, while Murrieta Mesa avenged last Tuesday’s loss to Vista Murrieta with a decisive 11-2 triumph on Thursday, then rolled past Great Oak, 13-0 on Tuesday.
Melissa (30-2), Owyhee (21-2), Gray Collegiate (24-0) and Carterville (24-0) all took care of their business to gain one place each, while Destiny Christian (21-0) jumped two spots to round out the first 10 squads.
The rest of the way, the faces remained the same, just with a few tweaks in the order — most notably Skyline (17-1) going from sixth to 11th off its first defeat of the season.
State rankings submitted by the NFCA High School Steering Committee are used to compile the NFCA Spring High School Top 25 Coaches Poll. Teams are chosen based on performance, roster quality and strength of schedule.
NFCA Spring High School Top 25 Coaches Poll – April 30, 2026
|
Rank |
Team |
2026 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Orange Beach (Ala.) |
36-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Calvary Baptist Academy (La.) |
35-1 |
2 |
|
3 |
South Warren (Ky.) |
30-0 |
3 |
|
4 |
Lake Creek (Texas) |
31-1 |
4 |
|
5 |
Murrieta Mesa (Calif.) |
22-1 |
5 |
|
6 |
Melissa (Texas) |
30-2 |
7 |
|
7 |
Owyhee (Idaho) |
21-2 |
8 |
|
8 |
Gray Collegiate (S.C.) |
24-0 |
9 |
|
9 |
Carterville (Ill.) |
24-0 |
10 |
|
10 |
Destiny Christian (Calif.) |
21-0 |
12 |
|
11 |
Skyline (Wash.) |
17-1 |
6 |
|
12 |
Marist (Ill.) |
20-1 |
11 |
|
13 |
Doral Academy (Fla.) |
23-2 |
13 |
|
14 |
Thompson (Ala.) |
37-1-2 |
14 |
|
15 |
Norco (Calif.) |
22-2 |
15 |
|
16 |
Kenton Ridge (Ohio) |
20-0 |
16 |
|
17 |
Fullerton (Calif.) |
22-2 |
17 |
|
18 |
St. John Vianney (N.J.) |
14-0 |
18 |
|
19 |
Donovan Catholic (N.J.) |
16-0 |
19 |
|
20 |
Weddington (N.C.) |
19-0 |
21 |
|
21 |
Caldera (Ore.) |
17-1 |
20 |
|
22 |
La Salle Academy (R.I.) |
12-1 |
24 |
|
23 |
Mount St. Dominic Academy (N.J.) |
15-2 |
22 |
|
24 |
Penn (Ind.) |
14-2 |
23 |
|
T25 |
Barbers Hill (Texas) |
32-3 |
T25 |
|
T25 |
Montverde Academy (Fla.) |
18-4 |
T25 |
Dropped out: None.
2026 NFCA High School Steering Committee
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