View the Final USA Today/NFCA High School Top 25
Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City, Texas), the Texas 5A state champion, claimed the No. 1 spot in the final USA Today/NFCA High School Top 25 Poll, released Thursday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Elkins began the season ranked No. 1 and finished 39-0 in one of the toughest prep divisions in the nation. Along the way, Elkins defeated No. 3 Pacifica, No. 8 LaPorte and No. 11 Tomball. The Knights also knocked off then-No. 2 Flowing Wells and Mater Dei, who climbed as high as No. 4 in the national rankings this season.
Head coach James McClanahan will receive the national championship trophy at the 2004 NFCA Convention in Las Vegas.
The Knights defeated 11th-ranked Tomball 3-1 in the championship game. Pitcher Ragan Blake completed her season with a 31-0 record and a 0.08 ERA for Elkins.
Cactus (Glendale, Ariz.) is second after cruising through the Arizona prep ranks with a 38-0 record. The Cobras were led by sophomore Stacie Chambers, who hit 20 home runs this season, the third-best single season total for a prepster in history.
Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.) finishes third after taking national-runner up honors a year ago. Head Coach Rob Weil's squad won the CIF Division III championship with a 31-2 record.
St. Amant (La.) won its third consecutive Louisiana 5A title and checks in at fourth, while defending national champion Bartow (Fla.) won the 4A crown in Florida, finishing with a 31-1 record.
Santiago (Corona, Calif.) won the CIF Division II title and is sixth. North Carolina champion Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.) is seventh, while LaPorte (Texas), runners-up to Elkins in the 5A Region III tournament is eighth.
Notre Dame (Salinas, Calif.) is ninth, followed by Hillcrest (Simpsonville, S.C.), which won its third consecutive state title. Texas 5A runner-up Tomball is 11th.
Garland (Texas), which lost in the 5A semifinals is 12th, followed by undefeated St. John Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.), who won the New Jersey Class A parochial title. Deer Valley (Phoenix, Ariz.) is 14th while Florida 2A champion Hollywood Christian rounds out the top 15.
Southwest Miami and Palm Harbor (Fla.) are No. 16 and No. 17, respectively. Naples rounds out five teams from the Sunshine State in the poll at 18th. Kansas 6A champion Olathe East is 19th, followed by Beaverton (Ore.) at No. 20.
Freedom (Oakley, Calif.) is 21st, followed by Riverside Poly (Calif.) and Crowley (Texas). Viriginia prep champion Stonewall Jackson (Manassas) is 24th and Stevens Point (Wis.) rounds out the poll after claiming its fourth consecutive state championship.
