With the baseball season underway nationwide, USA TODAY High School Sports is debuting the return of Super 25 Computer rankings after a hiatus. The rankings will be computed weekly and posted on the site.
In the first computer rankings of the season, two teams from California, two from Texas and one from Arizona occupy the top 5 through Sunday’s games.
MORE: Super 25 Computer rankings and rankings for every state
Deer Park (Texas) opens at No. 1 with a 26-0 mark and is followed by Orange Lutheran (Orange Calif.), Coppell (Texas), Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.) and Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.).
The rankings are determined by Ken Massey and are designed to reward teams for their performance, and objectively quantify those performances. Strength of schedule is built into the model. The model also corrects for home field advantage. Teams lose less for a loss on the road and gain more for a win on the road. Margin of victory also is factored in. Because some of the data is based on past performances, the computer will be more accurate as the season progresses.
The second five is Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.), St. Thomas Catholic (Houston), JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), North Davidson (Lexington, N.C.) and Davis (Calif.).
The latest Super 25 Expert rankings will be released Wednesday.