Prep Baseball Report

PBR Power 25: 2020 Preseason


PBR Staff
Prep Baseball Report of NC

The PBR Power 25 is the only North Carolina High School Baseball poll that captures every team in North Carolina, regardless of classification or affiliation.  The PBR Power 25 is voted on by PBR staff and posted every other week, once the high school season begins.

This is the 2nd year for the PBR Power 25 in NC and it features some familiar names as 17 teams from the Final PBR Power 25 of 2019 are in the initial rankings for 2020.  The 2020 rankings are led by defending NCISAA 4A State Champions, Charlotte Christian.  In the release, eleven programs that played in a Regional Final or State Championship in 2019, including 3 defending State Champions.

Below you can see the full PBR Power 25 with information on each club and a link to the program's Preseason Preview, for those that returned their questionnaire.  PBR will continue to run the PBR/NCBCA Poll in 2020.  While the PBR Power 25 is an internal voting process for PBR, the PBR/NCBCA Poll is administered by PBR but all of the voting is done by NC High School Coaches.  The past two years the Coaches Poll was limited to the four classifications within the NCHSAA.  We are excited to announce we will run a Private/Independent School Poll with NC Coaches in 2020.

PBR continues to be the number 1 source for high school baseball coverage in North Carolina and across the country.  Our coverage of North Carolina has already begun and you can see some of the information in the links below:

 

2020 Preseason PBR Power 25

 

1 Charlotte Christian

Defending NCISAA 4A Champion | Entire starting INF and top 3 arms are committed | Two underclass arms over 92 in the preseason

Full PBR Preview Here
2 Reagan

NCHSAA 4A Regional Final in 2019 | Return entire lineup and pitching staff | Staff features 4 potential aces

Full PBR Preview Here
3 Corinth Holders

NCHSAA 4A State Runner Up | Return a lot of talent from 2019 | 3 Division I commits on the bump

Full PBR Preview Here
4 DH Conley

NCHSAA 3A Regional Final in 2019 | Star power on the bump should lead them into 2020 | Dangerous club if they score consistently

Full PBR Preview Here
5 North Lincoln

NCHSAA 2A State Champion in 2019 | Return most of their key cogs from a young team in 2019 | PItching staff will need to deveop depth, but top guys can lead them

Full PBR Preview Here
6 Northwest Guilford

Repped NC in the USA Baseball NHSI in 2019 | Return a lot of key pieces with talent up the middle & on the mound | Joey Rezek will lead the offensive charge


7 Randleman

NCHSAA 2A State Runner Up | Return their pitching staff and add talent to create depth | Will be very strong up the middle defenisvely | Lost some big power, but have several players ready to help handle the load.

Full PBR Preview Here
8 Myers Park

Magical 2019 season ended early in the state playoffs | Return a lot of depth to a potent lineup | Crawford Wade has developed into a legitimate ace


9 Providence

25 wins and undefeated in conference in 2019 ended in the 4th round | Big expectations again in 2020 with Jerzembeck leading the staff and a transfer SS committed to App St.

Full PBR Preview Here
10 New Hanover

One of the more historic runs in NC HS Baseball may not be over as the Wildcats look to get back to a 4th consecutive State Championship Series | Talent on the mound should carry the Wildcats early


11 Cuthbertson

2nd Rd Appearance in 2019 will not satisfy the 2020 club | One of the deepest pitching staffs in NC | John Newton could carry this offense for stretches as needed

Full PBR Preview Here
12 Oak Grove

2019 saw a lot of injuries but also ended within a couple of hits of a 3A Regional Final | Healthy and deep a run could be ahead of Oak Grove in 2020

Full PBR Preview Here
13 Wesleyan Christian

State Runner Up in the NCISSA 4A in 2019 | New coach in 2020 but the roster is loaded with high end talent | Depth on the mound should get WCA off to a quick start.


14 Fike

A club that was somewhat quiet in 2019, just kept winning, piling up 22 wins. The roster returns some depth with an intriguing 1-2 punch on the mound. SR Chad Bean is fun to watch when he has the ball


15 Holly Springs

Regional Final and 21 wins in 2019 | The Hawks are not looking to rebuild, but reload | There is not as much depth on the mound as in 2019, but there is plenty and the offense could be very explosive at times

Full PBR Preview Here
16 Fuquay-Varina

2018 saw a state championship... 2019 was a bit of a different story for the Bengal Tigers | Arms will lead the resurgance in 2020 with as many as 5 potential high end arms on the staff | This group should grow offensively throughout the year.


17 Alexander Central

24 wins and a 4th round appearance in 2019 sets the stage for 2020 | Bryson Hammer continues to mature on the mound and the stuff is for real -- he should set the tone

Full PBR Preview Here
18 Christ School

Talent floods the lineup led by Isaiah Lowe, Andrew Grande, and Michael Posse | On the mound Posse will team with Lowe and Parker Johnson |


19 Davie

Davie returns most of its lineup and 5 arms with experience. They may miss an ace with pure swing and miss stuff, but this is an older club that should play defense at a high level and encourage the arms to pound the zone | Offensively, they will be tough outs 1 - 9.

Full PBR Preview Here
20 Marvin Ridge

Since 2015 the Mavs have won 2 state tiltes, made 1 other state championship, and lost in a Regional Final -- Culture matters | There is talent on the bump back from the 3A Runner Up in 2019

Full PBR Preview Here
21 Green Hope

Strong 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation with Norris and Heintz | Payten Green can be a catalyst for the Falcon offense in 2020


22 Midway

21 wins and undefeated in conference play in 2019 | Loose a high end arm from last year, but there is plenty of depth and a potential ace in Culbreth | Cameron Barefoot can be a spark to lead the club offensively


23 East Surry

23 wins in 2019 with a trip to the 3rd round | Return a draft follow on the bump with Keener, plus UNC football commit Boaz can log important innings |

Full PBR Preview Here
24 West Forsyth

An 18 win season hardly seems like a down year, but for the Titans it may have been | Healthy moving toward 2019 this group has 3 Division I arms leading the way

Full PBR Peview Here
25 Rosewood

2019 saw 23 wins, an undefeated run in the conference, and a State Runner-Up at the NCHSAA 1A level | Coach King did not have a SR on the roster in 2019 - returning a lot of experience and a club that knows how to get through the post-season | Tanner Capps & Will Harris could be primed for big seasons.