By Sean Duncan

The new Prep Baseball Report statewide top 25 team rankings have been released, and once again Providence Catholic sits at No. 1. Not only are the Celtics still undefeated, they?ve beaten a lot of strong teams along the way, including winning the WJOL Area Invite Tournament. With the return of Central Michigan-bound Joe Houlihan back in the lineup, Providence should be even stronger. Houlihan, who?s a three-year starter, is a top-level defender who adds more athleticism to their lineup.

The biggest surprise of the young season has to be Mundelein, who catapulted up to the No. 2 spot after sitting at No. 6 last week. The Mustangs? 11-0 record is even more impressive given who they?ve beaten and how they?ve beaten them. Last week, they swept a solid Lake Zurich squad in a North Suburban Lake two-game series by a 19-1 margin and pounded out 28 hits in the process. Then they turned around and smoked a hot Evanston squad on Saturday behind a stellar pitching performance by junior LHP Ryan Borucki (3-0). Mundelein, which has excellent starting pitching, has also knocked off Harrisburg and Westminster Christian.

O?Fallon is also red-hot to start the season. The perennially strong Panthers, who have earned two Class 4A finishes since 2006, move up to the No. 4 slot behind undefeated Plainfield North. O?Fallon plowed through a tough schedule last week that included Southwestern Conference rival Edwardsville, Belleville West, Civic Memorial and a hot Normal West club, which had 10-runned Glenwood the day before.

Another big surprise this season is Troy Triad. The Knights, who feature a lot of young talent, are 11-0 at week?s end and shoot up the rankings to No. 8. Triad is not a flash in the pan. Over the years, the program has churned out some top talent, including Kevin Hoef (University of Iowa) in 2005.

Nazareth, which is the favorite to win Class 3A, sits at No. 5, but the Roadrunners haven?t faced the level of competition some of the aforementioned programs have.

Keep an eye out for No. 10 Lyons Township. We suspect the Lions will continue to climb the rankings, as they have a strong blend of starting pitching, lineup depth and offensive firepower. LT will be tested this Saturday when it travels to rival Oak Park-River Forest for a West Suburban Silver doubleheader ? a series that will be the PBR Game of the Day.

The Class 3A defending champion Glenwood Titans dropped from No. 2 to No. 20 after stumbling twice last week to Normal West and Troy Triad. If their history is any indication, the Titans will continue to climb the ranks again throughout the season.

Waterloo is represented in the PBR Top 25 for the first time ever. The team has gotten a big boost from Belleville West transfer LHP/OF  Garrett Schlecht.

Simeon comes in at No. 9 this week, the highest a Chicago Public League team has been in many years.

No. 18 Marian Catholic is very interesting with a bunch of top-level junior prospects, including No. 1-ranked Brett Lilek, 3B Devin Pickett (Iowa) and RHP Robbie Nunn. The Spartans handed up-and-coming No. 22 De La Salle its first loss on Saturday.

Click Here, for complete Top 25 rankings