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. The top 4 teams in the coaches rankings released on Monday are in line to host a regional, while teams 5-8 will be the 2nd seed in those regionals (1 & 8, 2 & 7, 3 & 6, 4 & 5, if they play out that way). 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
- Dale, 2. Preston, 3. Silo, 4. Byng, 5. Calera, 6. Tushka, 7. Colbert, 8. Latta
The only change in 2A this week is Tushka and Colbert swapping spots. Tushka is 9-2 in September including a win over Calera this week. Usually that would give the Tigers an edge over Calera in the rankings, but looking at the totality of their seasons, Calera still gets the slight edge.
Dale, Preston, and Silo have separated themselves from the rest of the class. Byng still has the talent to contend and Calera has pitching that keep them in games.
Big game this week: #1 Dale vs #5 Byng (Thursday)
Class A
- Okarche, 2. Canute, 3. Navajo, 4. Arapaho-Butler, 5. Rattan, 6. Cameron, 7. Union City, 8. Wright City
The only change in the rankings this week is Navajo at #3 and Arapaho-Butler at #4. The Indians won the Hammon Warrior Classic while Arapaho-Butler dropped 2 games to Dale and Ft Cobb-Broxton.
Rattan stays at #5 after even though they dropped 2 games. They both were to Silo. The Rams are 7-0 against Class A competition this year including 2 wins over #5 Cameron.
Union City gets the nod at 7 with a win over Wright City earlier in the season.
Big games this week: #2 Canute vs #4 Arapaho-Butler (Tuesday)
Class B
- Calumet, 2. Ft Cobb-Broxton, 3. Dover, 4. Stuart, 5. Hammon, 6. Leedey, 7. Asher, 8. Tupelo
A new week, a new #1 (again). Leedey, Stuart, and Ft Cobb-Broxton all have been ranked #1 after I tabbed Calumet in the top spot in week 1. But each week after being ranked in the top spot, those teams lost multiple games.
Looking at the totality of the season, Calumet has been the most consistent. That is why I got them at #1 in the final rankings. Ft Cobb-Broxton beat Calumet and Leedey in their only 2 games vs Class B competition so far.
Dover moves up into the 3rd spot after going 11-1 against Class B competition this season. Their 1 loss came all the way back in their first game of the season vs Leedey.
Hammon moves up to #5 over Leedey at #6 after beating the Bison for a 2nd time this season this weekend.
Tupelo gets the 8th spot in their debut in my rankings. They’re record of 8-11 is deceiving as 9 of their losses have come against Class 2A teams. They are 6-1 vs Class B teams including wins over Stuart, Moss, Kiowa, and Battiest. (Their loss is vs Moss.)
Big game(s) this week: Districts
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