There are always big doings in small-school rivalries.
And neighboring foes Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart and Beal City are always dueling to get the edge on each other.
So the change at the top of the latest high school baseball state rankings is no small matter. In a dramatic move, Sacred Heart leapfrogged Beal City to land the No. 1-ranking in Division 4 in the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association poll.
Beal City is the reigning state champion and was the preseason favorite. But after a doubleheader split with Sacred Heart, the Aggies saw their status fall from No. 1 to No. 3 – and watched the Irish soar from No. 3 to No. 1.
It’s not hyperbole to say these two have battled from the beginning. After all, Sacred Heart won the first MHSAA baseball state championship in 1971 and Beal City won the last one in 2023. Expect this small-school battle to rage on all season – and beyond.
There was one other change at the top in this week’s poll as Birmingham Brother Rice supplanted Northville as the No. 1-ranked team in Division 1. Flint Powers remains the top-rated team in Division 2 while Algonac holds onto its top billing in Division 3.
Here is a look at the MHSBCA state rankings for April 24, 2024.
DIVISION 1
1. Birmingham Brother Rice
2. Northville
3. Bay City Western
4. Zeeland East
5. West Bloomfield
6. Detroit Catholic Central
7. Rockford
8. Mattawan
9. Allen Park
10. Saline
11. Jenison
12. Novi
13. Birmingham Groves
14. Portage Northern
15. Sterling Heights Stevenson
16. Birmingham Seaholm
17. Battle Creek Lakeview
18. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
19. Forest Hills Central
20. Anchor Bay
DIVISION 2
1 Flint Powers
2. New Boston Huron
3. Forest Hills Eastern
4. Adrian
5. Freeland
6. Stevensville Lakeshore
7. Allendale
8. Coopersville
9. Spring Lake
10. Pontiac Notre Dame
11. Petoskey
12. Williamston
13. Standish-Sterling
14. Southgate Anderson
15. North Branch
16. Saginaw Swan Valley
17. Portland
18. DeWitt
19. Grand Rapids South Christian
20. Armada
DIVISION 3
1 Algonac
2. Detroit Edison
3. Clinton
4. North Muskegon
5. Ottawa Lake Whiteford
6. Bridgman
7. Brooklyn Columbia Central
8. Watervliet
9. Traverse City St. Francis
10. Onsted
11. Ecorse
12. Charlevoix
13. Montrose
14. Pewamo-Westphalia
15. Niles Brandywine
16. Grass Lake
17. Laingsburg
18. Gladstone
19. Kingsley
20. Lansing Catholic Central
DIVISION 4
1. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
2. Fowler
3. Beal City
4. Plymouth Christian
5. Muskegon Catholic Central
6. Kalamazoo Hackett
7. Riverview Gabriel Richard
8. Rudyard
9. East Jordan
10. Indian River Inland Lakes
11. Marine City Cardinal Mooney
12. Norway
13. Merrill
14. Ubly
15. Gaylord St. Mary
16. Portland St. Patrick
17. Maple City Glen Lake
18. Painesdale Jeffers
19. Johannesburg-Lewiston
20. Unionville-Sebewaing
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