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By John Nolan
Assistant Director of Scouting

June has finally arrived and the Virginia public schools have begun their march towards Championship Saturday. The last Conference championship games were completed over the weekend and Regional play opened in the North, with the rest of the Regional tournaments getting underway on Monday, June 1.

No. 2 Hickory is the top-ranked public school in this week’s Power 25. The Hawks captured the PenSouth Conference championship last week with a dominant win over a good Menchville squad. Hickory will open 5A South Regional play on Tuesday, June 2 as they host Princess Anne.

Grassfield moved up to No. 3 and is the top-ranked school in 6A after defeating No. 5 Western Branch on Saturday to capture the Monitor-Merrimac Conference championship. Grassfield opens the 6A South Regional tournament at No. 24 First Colonial. Western Branch will host Cox on Monday night in their first round matchup.

Colonial Heights enters the Top 10 for the first time this spring as they remain undefeated, capturing the Conference 25 Championship with a three-run, seventh inning rally to defeat Lafayette 3-2. The Colonials open 3A East Regional play on Monday against Thomas Jefferson.

Hanover and Glen Allen check in at No. 9 as Mother Nature spoiled what would have been a great Conference 20 Championship match-up. Both teams will advance to the 4A South Regional tournament. Glen Allen will host Denbigh on Monday in the first round.

No. 11 Loudoun Valley won a tight game over William Monroe and defeated John Champe to enter Regional play as the Conference 28 Champions and 20-2 overall. The Vikings will host Culpepper in the first round of the 3A East Regional tournament. A tip of the hat goes out to John Champe, which advances to the Regional tournament for the first time in just its second year of varsity competition.

No. 12 Nansemond River finished the season on an absolute tear after playing a meat grinder of an early schedule. The Warriors captured the Ironclad Conference Championship with a dominant win over Denbigh in the title game. Nansemond River will host No. 9 Hanover in the first round of the 4A South Regional on Monday, June 1.

Deep Run jumps to No. 13 after capturing the Conference 11 Championship with a hard-fought win over No. 14 Douglas Freeman. Deep Run will host Clover Hill on Tuesday night with Douglas Freeman playing Manchester. Both games will be played at Deep Run.

No. 22 Glenvar continued its dominance of the 2A West, capturing the Conference 38 championship with a dominant win over James River (Roanoke). Staunton River just missed the rankings this week, but captured the Conference 31 championship with a win over William Byrd.

Falling in the rankings were James River (Midlothian) and Jamestown, which were both upset early in their Conference Tournaments by Thomas Dale and Powhatan respectively. Both schools missed the Regional tournament.

Falling out of the rankings were Patriot, Millbrook, and Lee-Davis. Patriot lost to Osbourn Park in the Cedar Run Conference championship game and then was upset by Centreville in the first round of the 6A Northern Region tournament. Millbrook was upset in the conference semifinals by rival Sherando and did not qualify for the Regional tournament. Lee-Davis had a great season in the insanely deep Conference 11, but fell to Douglas Freeman in the Conference semifinals and did not qualify for the 5A South Region tournament.

Entering the rankings this week are Chantilly, Cosby, and Amherst County. Chantilly captured the Concorde Conference championship with a win over Oakton, and won its 6A Northern Region first round game over Stonewall Jackson on Friday. The Chargers host South County in the quarterfinals Monday night.

Cosby defeated Franklin County and Thomas Dale en route to winning the Conference 3 Championship. The Titans will host Colonial Forge in the first round of the 6A South Regional tournament Monday afternoon.

Amherst County defeated Harrisonburg to capture the Conference 23 Championship and finish the season 17-3. They host Sherando Monday night in the first round of the 4A North tournament.

The staff of Prep Baseball Report VA/DC determines the Power 25 rankings. Records indicated are through games on May 17.

To view the complete Power 25 Rankings, including the teams that are also being considered, CLICK HERE.