ESPNHS Colorado

After games ending Saturday, May 19

The playoffs have a way of shaking things up, and that's exactly what has happened to some of our top teams in the POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings. Top-seeded Grandview is out after falling early in the Class 5A state tournament and not being able to recover in the consolation bracket. So too is Dakota Ridge, which suffered a similar fate. And Faith Christian, everyone's trendy pick in Class 3A, fell short of its goal as well. The new No. 1, a previously unranked Legend squad, holds the mantle until someone can knock them off before they hold the state championship trophy this weekend.

1. Legend (19-4) Last week: NR

2. Cherry Creek (21-3) Last week: No. 2

3. Highlands Ranch (17-7) Last week: No. 8

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Saturday, May 12

The state tournaments have been set, and all 10 of our teams ranked in the POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings have made the cut. That means these teams took care of business in their respective district tournaments. Now, the question is, which ones are ready to step up in the face of tough competition and justify their seeding? Grandview and Cherry Creek have nabbed the top seeds in the 5A bracket, but seeds only take you so far this time of year. Soon we'll find out which team is best, once and for all.

1. Grandview (19-2) Last week: No. 1

2. Cherry Creek (19-2) Last week: No. 2

3. Dakota Ridge (17-4) Last week: No. 3

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Saturday, May 5

The playoffs begin in earnest shortly, and there's a new No. 1 in the POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings to kick it all off. Grandview used its last game of the regular season effectively, beating previous No. 1 Cherry Creek, 10-3, to claim the top spot, and we can only hope that the two best teams in Colorado meet up again in the postseason. Dakota Ridge stays firm at No. 3 and Air Academy, playing as well as any team in the state, makes a big leap up to the No. 4 spot after earning a big victory over Cheyenne Mountain.

1. Grandview (17-2) Last week: No. 2

2. Cherry Creek (17-2) Last week: No. 1

3. Dakota Ridge (15-3) Last week: No. 3

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Saturday, April 28

With the regular season starting to wind down, our top teams haven't moved, but there's been plenty of moving and shaking near the bottom of the POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings. Cherry Creek and Grandview continue to battle for top honors with Dakota Ridge and Cheyenne Mountain not far behind. But below them, two hot teams -- Faith Christian and Regis Jesuit -- are making a move to the top while some teams, such as Montrose, Canon City and Highlands Ranch, still have plenty left to prove. And new squad Air Academy, a high-scoring club, has joined the fray and hopes to make a deep run toward the postseason.

1. Cherry Creek (15-1) Last week: No. 1

2. Grandview (14-2) Last week: No. 2

3. Dakota Ridge (13-3) Last week: No. 3

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Saturday, April 21

There's all kinds of ways to get into the POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings. You can win all of your games by a healthy margin, like Cherry Creek has done all season long to lock down our top spot. You can win big games and take care of business at a regular clip like Cheyenne Mountain, the No. 4 team, has done. You can keep your head above water thanks to a plethora of talent, which is how Highlands Ranch has survived in the top 10. Or you can roll off a huge winning streak after a slow start, which is how Regis has returned to the top 10. At what is just about the midpoint in the season, there's still plenty to be learned about many of these teams.

1. Cherry Creek (12-2) Last week: No. 1

2. Grandview (11-2) Last week: No. 4

3. Dakota Ridge (10-3) Last week: No. 2

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Saturday, April 14

There's been no shortage of offense so far in the Colorado baseball season, and some of the state's hottest hitters are moving up in the POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings. Cherry Creek, our No. 1 squad, plated 40 runs last week in its three victories. Another team off to a hot start, Grandview, scored 38 over its last three games. Wheat Ridge added 44 on the week, and Faith Christian scored 26...in one game. These numbers are fun to look at now, but when the playoffs come around, it'll be the pitching that will likely stand tall. Of course, some of these teams have that going for them, too.

1. Cherry Creek (9-1) Last week: 1

2. Dakota Ridge (8-2) Last week: 3

3. Cheyenne Mountain (9-3) Last week: 4

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Saturday, April 7

Cherry Creek and Longmont are off to hot starts this season, making them the top two teams without much argument in the POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings. But it's the teams below the front-runners who have been jockeying for prime position as the season really gets revved up. Montrose, which started 8-1 before finally dropping its first game last week, moved up three spots to No. 5 and could be a team to be reckoned with. Keep an eye on a hot Grandview team as well. And don't forget about Highlands Ranch, which has played a remarkably difficult schedule but could be up in the top three again in no time.

1. Cherry Creek (6-1) Last week: No. 1

2. Longmont (9-1) Last week: No. 2

3. Dakota Ridge (7-2) Last week: No. 5

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

We're not going to dock Highlands Ranch too much for testing itself against some very tough competition at the National High School Invitational in North Carolina last week. While a 4-3 record this early in the season would likely get a lesser team bounced, the Falcons played tough in a field of some of the nation's top teams, and standout Ryan Burr pitched well enough to earn ESPNHS All-Tournament honors. Idle Cherry Creek holds on to our top spot, while Longmont moves into second in this week's POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

1. Cherry Creek (4-1) Last week: No. 1

2. Longmont (7-1) Last week: No. 4

3. Cheyenne Mountain (5-1) Last week: No. 2

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Monday, March 26

It's always tough to really grasp what teams are truly top of their classifications early in the season, but we have forged ahead anyway in Week 1 of the POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings. The reason it's so tough is because many teams play unbalanced schedules. Take Regis, for example, which started its season with current No. 1 Cherry Creek and later plays top teams from Oregon and Arizona. Rocky Mountain, to its credit, has embarked on a tour of baseball-rich Arizona, playing some of the state's top teams. As a result, the records are skewed. But it's early, so we'll wait to see if those teams bounce back from some early adversity and get back on the winning side of things. In the meantime, there are plenty of teams getting things done at home, including a host of teams on the bubble who are just waiting for their chance to crack the top 10.

1. Cherry Creek (4-1) Last week: No. 4

2. Highlands Ranch (3-1) Last week: No. 1

Cheyenne Mountain (5-1) Last week: No. 3

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Sunday, March 11

Some spectacular endings paved the way for Chaparral, Lewis-Palmer and Faith Christian to earn state championships over the weekend and earn high finishes in the POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings. Lewis-Palmer held on to the top spot after a late 3-pointer helped seal the victory for the Rangers. Chaparral took the second spot thanks to a buzzer-beating tip-in by senior Josh Adams. And Faith Christian's narrow one-point win over Kent Denver was enough to bring home the hardware.

1. Lewis-Palmer (27-1) Last week: No. 1

2. Chaparral (25-3) Last week: No. 2

3. Sierra (25-1) Last week: No. 3

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Sunday, March 4

With the Class 4A and Class 5A teams in the state semifinals, we're down to our penultimate POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings. A Class 4A state title for Lewis-Palmer will keep the Rangers in the top spot in our rankings, but anything short will usher in a new top team. Chaparral is still knocking on the door after advancing to the 5A state semifinals, and some 3A teams join the ranks this week after making some deep runs in their respective tourneys. The finish is shaping up to be a great one.

1. Lewis-Palmer (25-1) Last week: No. 1

2. Chaparral (23-3) Last week: No. 2

3. Sierra (25-1) Last week: No. 3

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

ESPNHS has announced its preseason all-state baseball teams, so feel free to start debating the Colorado selections.

It's no surprise that players like Highlands Ranch's Ryan Burr or Liberty's Brent Williams are on our squad. But take a look at who else made the team, and then reach out on Twitter @CParishESPN to tell us who you think should have made the cut.

Click here for the Colorado All-State baseball team.

Click here to check out the other states across the country.

After games ending Sunday, Feb. 26

Here's why the state tournament is so crazy - you can be the top seed in our POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings one week, and you can be out of them entirely the next. That's what happened to three-time reigning champ Regis Jesuit, which will not be a four-time champ after losing to Poudre by three points early in the tournament. Our new No. 1 is Lewis-Palmer, playing as well as anyone in the state right now after winning its 24th consecutive game. Three teams have fallen out of the top 10 this week, and there may be more depending on how the playoffs continue to shake out.

1. Lewis-Palmer (24-1) Last week: No. 2

2. Chaparral (20-3) Last week: No. 3

3. Sierra (22-1) Last week: No. 8

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Sunday, Feb. 19

The end of the regular season provided quite a shakeup, as some teams ended strong while others stumbled down the stretch. The good news is that now it's time to end the hypotheticals and let these teams settle who is best in the state tournament. The brackets were released over the weekend, and now we get to the fun part - letting these teams whittle down to a select few. There's only one team out of the rankings this week, making room for Aurora Central - a team that could be very dangerous in the tournament. We'll find out soon as the tourney tips off this week.

1. Regis Jesuit (20-3) Last week: No. 1

2. Lewis-Palmer (22-1) Last week: No. 3

3. Chaparral (20-3) Last week: No. 4

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.

After games ending Sunday, Feb. 12

No week has provided a shakeup quite like this one. Two unbeatens suffered their first casualties, while others suffered similar fates. Highlands Ranch, which just two weeks ago looked like it could run the table and finish unbeaten, has slipped to sixth. And three-time reigning state champ Regis Jesuit, which at one point looked like it could be out of the running entirely, now sits atop our POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings. A salute to Denver East for returning to the top three as well as Lewis-Palmer, a team that hasn't lost since the season opener and now sits third in our rankings.

1. Regis Jesuit (17-3) Last week: No. 6

2. Denver East (17-3) Last week: No. 4

3. Lewis-Palmer (19-1) Last week: No. 7

Click here for the full POWERADE Colorado Weekly Rankings.