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By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

We are trying something a little different with our team "rankings" this season. Instead of going down a rabbit hole by attempting to order teams from various parts of the state who play against vastly different levels of competition, we are going to try to compare apples to apples a bit more. Each week, we will present the schools we think are in the best position to earn state tournament berths out of their respective districts. Below are our predictions, in bracket order, for how we see the PIAA class A state tournament shaping up.

A couple of notes:

1. X-Y under "Berth" = [District]-[Bid]. For example, 3-2 is the runner-up from District III.
2. Don't kill the messenger. This is a PBR staff effort.
3. If you don't like that your team isn't included, you've got the next three months to prove us wrong!

Preseason PIAA Class A Super 16

Berth	School	Notes
3-1	Lancaster County Christian	Three state tournament berths in a row (2 district titles, 1 runner-up). Three upperclassmen starting pitchers are back, as well as six seniors in the line-up.
12-1	Girard Academy Music Program	Earned state berth in 8 of last 10 seasons. Two of three primary pitchers, along with seven starters, return.
2-1	Old Forge	Last year was the 1st time since 2008 that the district title game wasn't Old Forge vs Lackawanna Trail, and the 1st time since 2006 that Old Forge wasn't in it. Eight starters return for the Blue Devils.
4-1	North Penn- Mansfield	The Tigers 2-3-4-5 hitters are back, in addition to their top two starters and closer. Reclassified down from AA.
1-1	Christopher Dock Mennonite	A 3-time state champ in the past decade (most recently in 2010), Dock brings back its top two pitchers and five position players who received all-BAL honors.
11-1	Marian Catholic	Wide open district. Colts lost top two starters, return three who logged double-digit innings. Solid experience in junior-and sophomore-laden line-up that split w/ state semifinalist Schuylkill Haven & lost two 1-run games to strong Tri-Valley team.
5-1	Meyersdale Area	Flip a coin between the Red Raiders and Southern Fulton. Both return a ton from last year's district title tilt (won 4-3 by the Indians). The Christner brothers are Godzilla to the WestPAC's Tokyo.
3-2	Millersburg Area	Eight returning starters and three experienced pitchers return from last year's district semifinalist, which was vanquished by York Catholic (now in AA).
7-1	Greensburg Central Catholic	The Centurions return their entire starting rotation (including one of the top arms in the state) and seven line-up regulars. Reclassified down from AA.
6-2	Portage Area	Two all-conference pitchers and more than half of the line-up return for the Mustangs. Wide open district after Bishop McCort (four straight state tourney appearances) moved up to AA.
10-1	West Middlesex	The Big Reds reclassified down from AA, where they reached the district tournament the past two seasons. The last time they were in class A (2012), they earned this state tournament berth.
9-2	DuBois Central Catholic	The entire pitching staff and virtually the entire line-up returns. Lost two close games to ECC (see 9-1 below) last May.
6-1	Blairsville	Reclassified down from AA, where they won the district two years ago. Seven regular starters and virtually the entire pitching staff return.
7-3	Serra Catholic	Virtually the entire roster returns from last season's section co-champs. Top two starters are sophomores, who return for their second go-round in those roles.
9-1	Elk County Catholic	The Crusaders have reached five straight state tournaments. Five starters return. Must replace top two pitchers, but have arms ready who performed well in smaller roles last season.
7-2	Vincentian Academy	Deep pitching staff and solid top of the line-up are back for the Royals. Three losses last year were by a total of four runs.

Watch List
District I: Calvary Christian, CFS - The School at Church Farm, Delaware County Christian
District II: Blue Ridge, Lackawanna Trail, MMI Prep
District III: Antietam, Halifax Area
District IV: Canton, Millville, Montgomery Area, Muncy
District V: North Star, Southern Fulton
District VI: Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic, Juniata Valley, Northern Cambria
District VII: California Area, C.W. North Catholic, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Sewickley Academy
District IX: Clarion Area, Coudersport
District X: Cochranton, Eisenhower, Union City Area
District XI: Tri-Valley
District XII: Masterman

Season Preview Schedule

2/27-3/15: District Previews Archive
March 16: PAISAA Preseason Fab Four
March 17: PIAA Class A Preseason Super 16
March 18: PIAA Class AA Preseason Super 16
March 19: PIAA Class AAA Preseason Super 16
March 20: PIAA Class AAAA Preseason Super 16