I’ll admit that before I started Sooner State Baseball Report, my knowledge of small school baseball was not that great. I graduated from Shawnee High School (let’s just say it was a while ago) and my twin boys who graduated in 2022 went to a 6A school. I was used to teams being in districts and how teams finished in those districts was how they were grouped in the postseason.
During the first year of covering Fall baseball for SSBR (in 2023) I soon came to realize that for the Fall season (and Spring season for Classes 2A and lower) that the postseason assignments were based on the OSSAA rankings provided by the coaches. It also became apparent to me that some of the teams’ rankings were “questionable” at best.
These “questionable” rankings became so egregious that I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I began giving commentary on these rankings and continued that through the Fall season last year. However, while I was giving my “constructive criticism” last year, I thought of some lessons I’ve been taught over the years. Lessons like if you see a problem, find a solution. I don’t know what kind of solution I can provide (other than suggest that coaches’ rankings be made public), but I do know that I can provide what I would think would be a fair rankings for each team.
Last year I began to rank my top 10 in each class about half way through the Fall season. This year, I’m going to shorten that to my top 8 for each class – teams that if the season ended today should host a regional. Let’s call it my “Eight For State” (shout out to Blake Gamble for coming up with that in a convo we had this Spring).
Below you will see who I have as the top 8 in each class. What makes my rankings a little different is they are based not just on potential, but also on results and strength of schedule. At some point those factors have to be considered and teams rewarded or dinged as such.
These rankings reflect performance up to this point and will change as the season goes on.
Class 2A
- Preston, 2. Byng, 3. Silo, 4. Dale, 5. Colbert, 6. OCA, 7. Calera, 8. Latta
The top 4 stay the same. The only team of the four that had a loss was Byng and that was to Class A #1 (SSBR Elite Eight #2) Okarche. Preston won their own tournament, Silo went 3-0 in Missouri, and Dale sits in Monday’s championship game of Hydro-Eakly Labor Day Tournament.
The 2nd 4 is where the changes are. Colbert slides up to #5 this week on the strength of a 2-1 week and overall schedule. OCA drops one spot after being run ruled in their game at Okarche. Latta slides to #8 on the back of a 1-2 week.
Big game this week: #8 Latta vs #2 Byng (Thursday)
Class A
- Okarche, 2. Navajo, 3. Canute, 4. Arapaho-Butler, 5. Wright City, 6. Cameron Yellowjackets, 7. Wister Wildcats, 8. Rattan Rams
The top 4 are the same teams, but 2-4 switch places. Okarche stays #1 after going 3-0 winning the Roff Tournament. Navajo moves up 2 spots to #2 after a 3-1 week including a win vs Canute. Canute and A-B drop after both losing twice last week.
The 2nd 4 saw 3 teams not play a game last week due to weather, but Cameron slips to #6 after losing to Moss.
Big games this week: #3 Canute vs #2 Navajo (Tuesday); #1 Okarche vs #5 Wright City (at SSC on Saturday)
Class B
- Leedey, 2. Stuart, 3. Calumet, 4. Ft Cobb-Broxton, 5. Dover, 6. Hammon, 7. Asher, 8. Mill Creek
Class B saw the most changes this week as that class is wide open this year.
Leedey claims the top spot this week on the back of an 11-2 record losing only to (A) Drummond earlier in the season and (2A) Dale this week in the H-E Tournament. They play #4 FCB on Monday in the tournament’s final four.
Stuart remains at #2 after finishing runner up to Preston in the Preston Invitational. Calumet drops from the top spot after 2 losses in the Roff Tournament.
The 2nd 4 sees Dover at #5 riding a 9 game winning streak. Hammon comes in at #6 this week. Asher beat Mill Creek in the championship game of the Caney Tournament. They also beat then #7 Coleman in the semis. Mill Creek stays in the rankings at #8 with an 11-1 record.
Big game(s) this week: #1 Leedey vs #4 FCB (Monday at H-E Labor Day); #7 Hammon vs #1 Leededy (Tuesday)
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