Week One Power Rankings

by Micah Rodriguez

Early returns are in; week one Power Rankings have arrived. Now through the first week, some teams played more games than others so take these inaugural rankings with a grain of salt.

San Luis Obispo Blues

Taking the top spot in the inaugural 2026 summer rankings, the Blues finished week one 4–1 and are currently atop the Northern Division. After faltering to the Sonoma Stompers on opening day 7–2, the Blues ran off four consecutive wins. It started with a 10–0 win over the Stompers and culminated in a three-game sweep of the Menlo Park Legends, where the Blues outscored the Legends 23–4. 

The Blues' success can be attributed to having the third-highest team average at .296, leading the league in extra-base hits, a 3.30 team ERA good for fourth-best in the league, and high-octane arms. In 43.2 innings, the Blues staff have struck out 59, good for a 12.16 K/9, the highest mark in the league. Their 1.08 staff WHIP is second-lowest in the league, behind the Foresters, who have only played in two games.

Rising redshirt sophomore Spencer Gallimore has been dominant in his two appearances on the bump. The right-hander has not allowed a run over nine innings. Coming off a strong season at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Gallimore has punched out 11 and boasts a .89 WHIP. Right-handers Titus Gocke and Quincy Winkler have each made two appearances spanning six innings and allowing one run apiece. 

Offensively, rising seniors have carried much of the load. Infielder Brendan Comerford has started in every contest and holds a .304 average in 23 at-bats with three doubles. He is joined by outfielder Mason Ashlock, who has also started every game with a .273 average, five RBIs and one big fly. In a smaller sample size, outfielder Cesar Chavez from California State University Los Angeles has five hits in 12 at-bats with four RBIs and no strikeouts.

Sonoma Stompers

Coming in at second in the inaugural rankings, the Stompers are the only team to defeat the Blues. After prevailing on opening day 7–2, the Stompers did get shut out in their second matchup with the Blues, 10–0. However, they responded with back-to-back wins, defeating the Walnut Creek Crawdads 6–4 and the San Francisco Seagulls 14–12. To cap off their week, the Stompers dropped a tight matchup with the Alameda Merchants 8–7 to finish 3–2, good for third in the Northern Division. 

Now, team stats for the Stompers are not yet jumping off the page. They hold a 6.40 team ERA and a .210 team average. However, the Stompers pace the league in walks with 37, and their .380 team on-base percentage ranks sixth. And while the team numbers are not at the top half of the league, the Stompers are still finding ways to win tight ballgames, thanks to some big contributors offensively. 

Rising junior catcher Hunter Carlson has been one of the very best hitters in the league. After hitting .290 with seven home runs and 12 doubles at Georgia State, Carlson has started the summer going 9-17 with ten RBIs – leading the league – two home runs, and five walks. Rising junior utility player Trent Keys joins Carlson in the lineup, hitting .353 with a .522 on-base percentage. Sharing plate duties with Carlson is rising sophomore Angel Garcia. In 13 at-bats, Garcia is hitting .308 with four walks. If the rest of the lineup can get going to support Carlson and company, the Stompers could get a whole lot more dangerous. 

And while the Stompers team ERA sits in the mid-6s, rising junior Shawn McBroom was effective in his lone start. The right-hander, who is returning for his second summer with the Stompers after throwing in their 3–2 divisional round victory last season, spun five strong innings in the opening day victory over the Blues. McBroom scattered five hits and struck out two. 

Conejo Oaks

The Oaks come in at third in the inaugural rankings after finishing opening week 2–0. It is difficult to rank a team after two games, but coming off back-to-back championships, the Oaks have a strong track record. The Oaks defeated the Orange County Riptide 7–4 on opening day and walked off the Academy Barons in the eleventh inning, 5–4 in a thriller. 

The Oaks' undefeated start can largely be attributed to their pitching and steady defense. After one week, the Oaks – albeit in a two-game sample size – hold the second-lowest ERA in the league, only trailing the Foresters. The Oaks infield defense has also been standout. In their 5–4 victory, the Oaks turned five double-play balls. Offensively, the Oaks are hitting a respectable .257, but they do not strike out. The Oaks have only struck out ten times, or five times per game, which is the lowest mark in the league. 

Rising sophomore second baseman and left fielder Nate Lopez has been a catalyst at hitting in the two hole. Lopez has four hits in ten at-bats, including a game-tying home run in the eighth inning against the Barons. Rising junior outfielder Brandon Contreras played in their opening day contest, going 3–5 with two RBIs. Rising senior first baseman Dylan Jackson recorded two hits in his lone start against the Barons, including a walk-off blast over the left field fence in the eleventh. 

Through two games, starting pitching has looked extremely sharp. Rising redshirt sophomore Will Kaczynski tossed three innings on opening day, allowing one run and striking out five. Rising junior Hunter Hammond got the nod in game two and went four strong innings, surrendering one unearned run and allowing two hits and one walk. Rising sophomores Ty Hanley and Arnold Wu, along with rising junior Matthew Sanders, form a strong back end of the bullpen. 

Walnut Creek Crawdads

The Crawdads finished their opening week 2–1, good enough to earn a fourth-place slot in the inaugural power rankings. After falling 6–4 on opening day to the number two team, the Stompers, they responded with a 4–3 victory over the Alameda Merchants and a 9–4 win over the San Francisco Seagulls. 

Early on, it has been a mixture of solid pitching and production behind the plate. A .234 team average and 3.46 ERA do not jump off the page, but it has been enough for the Crawdads to have success. 

Offensively, the trio of rising redshirt freshman TJ Woodson and rising sophomores Peyton Rowles and Dylan Perez all have three hits in ten at-bats. Woodson, hitting in the nine hole, has registered hits in all three games. 

On the mound, rising senior Jeremy Jones got the nod on opening day. The right-hander threw four strong innings, allowing two runs and showing off his strikeout stuff with five punchouts. The duo of rising senior Alex Gomez and rising sophomore Myles Brand was effective in the win over the Merchants. Gomez started and went three strong innings with four strikeouts. Brand got the win, closing out the final three innings, allowing one unearned run and striking out two. 

Santa Barbara Foresters

A perennial powerhouse, the Foresters only played two games this week. Similar to the Conejo Oaks, it is difficult to rank a team so early in the season, but the Foresters looked dominant in their two contests, defeating the Philippines Baseball Group 13–1 and Santa Maria Indians 14–0. 

The Foresters have allowed a single earned run in 16 innings, and the staff has added 17 strikeouts in that span. And offensively, they currently pace the league with a .380 team average including eight extra-base hits and only striking out 12 times. 

On the mound, the starting pitching rising sophomore duo of Jack Fowler and Tanner Grove were electric in their first starts of the summer. On opening day against the Philippines Baseball Group, Fowler shoved, going five innings while recording five strikeouts and only allowing one hit. Not to be outdone, Grove struck out five in four innings against the Indians, only allowing two hits. 

Contributions up and down the lineup have propelled the Foresters' offense. Rising junior outfielder Kurt Ippolito is tied for the batting average crown amongst qualified hitters through two games. Ippolito has six hits in ten at-bats, including three doubles. Throughout the rest of the lineup, rising sophomores Joshua Woodworth and Wylan Nelson, along with rising juniors Zane Becker and Makani Nabarro and rising freshman Marcus Greis are all hitting north of .300.

The Foresters play the Conejo Oaks on Tuesday. With each team sitting at 2–0, this will be a daunting early-season test for both teams as they look to solidify themselves as top teams in the Southern Division.

Orange County Riptide

The Riptide finished their opening week 3–1, with three wins against affiliate teams and their only loss coming in their third game of the season against the Oaks, 7–4. 

The Riptide are hitting .285 as a team, the fourth-highest number in the league. The staff has worked a 3.34 ERA with 25 strikeouts over 35 innings.

Offensively, rising senior Alex Dolan finished the first week hitting .462 with three walks. Dolan also leads the league with eight stolen bases through four contests, an astonishing mark. Rising redshirt freshman Jarett Sabol was named the Hitter of the Week from June 1 - June 7. Sabol recorded four hits in ten at-bats with five RBIs. In the Riptide's 8–6 victory over the San Diego Waves, Sabol launched his first home run of the season to give the Riptide a 6–5 lead in the bottom of the seventh. 

On the mound, rising junior Jake Valenzuela is the Riptide's only qualified arm. In appearances against the San Diego Bombers and Waves, the right-hander has totaled four innings allowing two hits and racking up three strikeouts. 

Arroyo Seco Saints

The Saints finished their opening week with a 6–5 win against the Academy Barons and a 16–9 offensive outburst against the San Diego Bombers after dropping their opening day matchup 12–7 against the San Diego Waves. 

Offense has been an early-season calling card for the Saints. Their .330 team average only trails the Foresters, and so does their .451 on-base percentage. Rising junior infielder Brayden Flores is tied for the league lead in batting average, sitting at .600 with six hits in ten at-bats while racking up a monstrous eight RBIs through two games. Rising sophomore outfielder Canon King is hitting .583 with three doubles, and rising junior infielder Juan Pablo Manzo is hitting .300 with four RBIs. 

On the mound, the Saints currently hold a 7.33 team ERA. Rising sophomore Cash Carroll had one of the best performances of the week out of the bullpen against the Bombers. The right-hander was untouchable through six innings, only allowing three hits and striking out nine in the process. 

Academy Barons

The Barons are coming off an opening week that saw them just fall short in two straight games. After a 5–1 win over the Philippines Baseball Group on opening day, the Barons lost 6–5 to the Arroyo Seco Saints and then fell 5–4 to the Conejo Oaks in eleven innings. They were a couple of swings or pitches away from finishing 3–0, but that's baseball.

First-baseman Jason Del Villar has established himself as one of the premier power hitters in the league. The right-hander has gone deep in all three games and leads the league in home runs with three. Rising juniors Nigel Buckley and Nathaniel Williams have supported Del Villar in the lineup, hitting .385 and .364, respectively. Rising senior outfielder Eiji Sawamura is second in the league with four stolen bases. 

So far, the Barons do not have any pitchers that have qualified. Despite that, their 2.89 team ERA trails only the Foresters and the Oaks for the top mark in the league. The staff has punched out 31 batters in 28 innings. In the back end of the bullpen, Amari Yolas has an eclectic fastball that sits 90-93 and will be a weapon late in games for the Barons.

San Francisco Seagulls

The Seagulls finished their opening week 2–2, closing out one-run wins against the Menlo Park Legends, 12–11, and 5–4 over the Alameda Merchants. They fell to the Sonoma Stompers and Walnut Creek Crawdads later in the week. 

At the plate, rising freshman Tanner Wall led the way offensively. The utility player hit .455 with two doubles. Rising senior Davis Germann, fresh off an All-OVC Second-Team selection in his second season with the Seagulls, is hitting .389 with two doubles through the first four games. The Seagulls .259 team average is fifth best in the league. 

On the mound, rising sophomore Finn Whalen was named Pitcher of the Week for June 1 - June 7. Whalen got the opening day nod for the Seagulls and tossed a gem. The right-hander went 5.2 innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs while striking out six. Joining him in the starting rotation is rising sophomore Declan Mendel. In his start against the Alameda Merchants, the right-hander went 4.2 innings allowing four hits, and two earned runs while adding five strikeouts.

Menlo Park Legends

The Legends finished opening week winless, but they played against some of the league's top talent. After dropping their opening day contest to the San Francisco Seagulls 12–11, they were swept by the San Luis Obispo Blues to finish 0–4. 

In their opening day matchup with the Seagulls, Dane LeBlanc was a workhorse. The right-hander struck out ten over six innings of work. The highest strikeout total in any game across the league so far this season. He worked around five walks and three hits to allow four runs (two earned) in the one-run loss.