As the 2025-26 school year comes to an end, it’s been another interesting year for the Prep Zone Power Poll.

And the final baseball poll ended up with two state champions at No. 1 and No. 2. 

Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) captured its second state title in school history and first since 2015. The Conquerors (27-8) lost the first game of their three-game Region 1-2A final against No. 4 Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville), but rallied to win the next two games to advance back to Fort Myers for the third straight year.

Trinity Christian, who finished as 2A runner-up in 2025, defeated Lakeland Christian, 7-2, in the state semifinal and True North Classical (Miami), 8-4, to capture their first state title in 11 years. The Conquerors were nearly the unanimous top-ranked team, receiving nine of the 10 first-place votes.

Finishing at No. 2 is 1A state champion St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park). The Spartans (26-8) advanced to their third straight state title game and won the 1A championship for the second time in three years with a 6-2 win over Orangewood Christian (Maitland) in Fort Myers. St. Johns Country Day went through the postseason without a loss and received the other first-place vote.

Buchholz (Gainesville) was the 6A state runner-up for the third straight season, and they moved up to third in the final poll. The Bobcats (25-8) also didn’t lose a game in the Region 1-6A playoffs, winning the region final for the second straight year at Pace. Buchholz slipped past Martin County (Stuart), 3-2, in 9 innings in the state semifinal game before losing for the second year in a row to St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) in the 6A state championship game.

Bishop Snyder was No. 4. The Cardinals (23-8) came that close to knocking off eventual state champion Trinity Christian in the Region 1-2A final. Bishop Snyder defeated No. 20T Providence (Jacksonville) in the regional quarterfinal and No. 10 Bolles (Jacksonville) in the regional semifinal round.

Rounding out the top five is Spruce Creek (Port Orange). The Hawks (26-5) were upset two games to one by eventual 7A state semifinalist Hagerty (Oviedo) in the Region 1-7A semifinal.

Rural state champion Union County (Lake Butler) makes the huge leap from receiving votes in the previous poll to No. 6 in the final rankings. The Tigers (24-7) swept through Madison County and Lafayette (Mayo) to advance to Fort Myers. Union County blanked Cottondale in the state semifinal, taking them into a state championship game showdown with regional rival Trenton. Union County was down to their last strike before rallying with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie Trenton and walked off in the bottom of the eighth for a 10-9 win and Union County’s first state baseball title since 2012.

Creekside (St. Johns) is No. 7, followed by rural state runner-up Trenton at No. 8. Rounding out the top 10 are ninth-ranked Trinity Catholic (Ocala), which was eliminated by Trinity Christian in the Region 1-2A semifinals, and Bolles.

Among the Mainstreet Daily News area teams in the second 10 are No. 11 Suwannee (Live Oak), who lost to eventual state champion South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) in the Region 1-3A final. Columbia (Lake City) finished 18th, with Newberry and Saint Francis Catholic Academy (Gainesville) receiving votes. The Wolves won their second consecutive district title and finished 22-6 with a playoff win.

Two big movers into the second 10 are 12th-ranked Clay (Green Cove Springs) and No. 14 South Sumter (Bushnell), neither of who were ranked in the previous poll. Clay (19-14) upset Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach) in the Region 1-4A final to advance to the 4A state semifinal against Jesuit (Tampa), which knocked off the Blue Devils, 5-2, and won the state title against Bishop Moore (Orlando).

South Sumter (19-12) beat Palatka, 17th-ranked North Marion (Citra), and No. 16 Hernando (Brooksville) on the road to advance to the 3A state semifinals. The Raiders were eliminated in Fort Myers by North Broward Prep, 4-0.

Besides Clay and South Sumter, moving into the final rankings are North Marion and Mount Dora Christian Academy, who finished tied for 20th with Providence and Beachside (St. Johns). Dropping out of the previous poll were Bartram Trail (St. Johns), Vanguard (Ocala) and Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville).

The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Be Well Fitness.

THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL– 2026 BASEBALL POLL #4 (FINAL POLL)

(School, followed by classification, first place votes, final 2026 record, and total voting points)

Teams in bold are inside the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area

1. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (9) (27-8) – 199

2. St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) (1A) (1) (26-8) – 191

3. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (25-8) – 176

4. Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (2A) (23-8) – 161

5. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (26-5) – 146

6. Union County (Lake Butler) (Rural) (24-7) – 142

7. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (23-5) – 134

8. Trenton (Rural) (23-6) – 119

9. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (2A) (22-7) – 118

10. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (19-9) – 92

11. Suwannee (Live Oak) (3A) (19-14) – 87

12. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (4A) (19-14) – 76

13. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (24-7) – 75

14. South Sumter (Bushnell) (2A) (19-12) – 72

15. Fernandina Beach (3A) (23-6) – 65

16. Hernando (Brooksville) (3A) (23-8) – 51

17. North Marion (Citra) (3A) (20-8) – 32

18. Columbia (Lake City) (5A) (16-11) – 24

19. Montverde Academy (2A) (17-10) – 19

20T. Beachside (St. Johns) (5A) (17-11) – 18

20T. Mount Dora Christian Academy (1A) (24-7) – 18

20T. Providence (Jacksonville) (2A) (13-13) – 18

Also receiving votes:  Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (19-9) – 13; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (16-11) – 11; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (3A) (22-4) – 10; Eustis (4A) (17-15) – 9; Saint Francis Catholic Academy (Gainesville) (1A) (22-6) – 4; Newberry (2A) (18-7) – 2; Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (6A) (15-15) – 2.