Step up to the plate and get ready for some bold predictions! Publisher Joshua Grine and Intern Andres Grine are about to unveil their picks for the semifinals and ultimate state champions across all five classifications of the 2024 New Mexico high school baseball state tournament. From the big hitters in 5A down to the underdog stories in 1A, they've got you covered with their insights, analyses, and fearless forecasts. #nmpreps
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State Home: 2024 New Mexico High School Baseball
Joshua GrineÂ
It's been a while since NMPreps dived into baseball, but this season, we've been shining the spotlight on players from every corner of the state, showcasing their top performances and recapping thrilling games. Now, let's be real—I'll probably get more wrong than right with these picks, but hey, where's the fun without a little risk?
5A Baseball Semifinals: No. 1 La Cueva, No. 3 Cleveland, No. 5 Sandia, No. 7 Carlsbad—Okay, so maybe I've already lost some credibility by leaving off No. 2 Rio Rancho, but let's roll with it. Carlsbad stuns Rio Rancho, while Sandia pulls off a small upset over Organ Mountain.
5A State Champions: No. 3 Cleveland.
4A Semifinal Selections: No. 1 Goddard, No. 2 Grants, No. 5 Artesia, No. 6 Albuquerque Academy. Once again, I'm venturing into upset territory, likely setting myself up to be proven wrong. But where's the fun without a little chaos? Artesia, the 5th seed, derails 4th-seeded St. Pius X's postseason journey in a stunning upset during the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Albuquerque Academy, seeded 6th, stuns 3rd-seeded Belen, just as they did to a 5-4A rival in last year's quarters.
4A State Champion: As for the state championship, I'm giving a nod to Grants (call it a hometown bias), although Goddard looks formidable. "Hail to Thee Grants High" indeed!
3A Baseball: We all know why there won't be any picks, but you also know who I'm rooting for!
2A Semifinal Selections: No. 1 Santa Rosa, No. 2 Loving, No. 3 Tularosa, No. 4 Menaul/Oak Grove. Here, I'm sticking with the favorites, bringing an end to my spree of upsets. However, keep an eye on No. 6 Eunice, who might challenge 3rd-seeded Tularosa. And let's not overlook No. 8 Texico, coming off a wild first-round game. Could they ride that momentum to shake up the bracket? "The Intern" Andres Grine seems to think so! Will it be chaos or status quo?
2A State Champ: Loving Falcons, because why not throw in an upset?
1A State Champ: I might be late to the party, but with Grady upsetting Mesilla Valley and Melrose dominating Magdalena in the first round on Wednesday, I'll stick with the 1-seed Logan to take it all. And just for the fun of it, let's say Melrose pulls off an upset against 2-seed Gateway Christian in the semifinals.
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Andres Grine "The Intern"Â
5A Semifinal Picks:
No. 1 La Cueva Bears
La Cueva had a fantastic season. I think they have the star power to close out the whole thing, but I am slightly concerned with Eldorado, who will beat Rio Grande in a 9 over 8-matchup. Especially after Eldorado upset earlier in the year by a score of 7-5; that being said, La Cueva will beat Mayfield, squeak by Eldo, and defeat Organ Mountain to book their ticket to the state title game.
No. 4 Organ Mountain Knights
I have the Knights making it to the semis this season, but I am not confident. Las Cruces will upset Sandia again like they did in a 12 over 5 matchup earlier in the season. I could see the Bulldawgs defeating Organ Mountain and going on a Cinderella run. The only thing stopping me from doing that is Organ Mountain defeated Las Cruces 3 times during the season. I also think that if Sandia defeats Las Cruces, they will go to the semis. Organ Mountain will make the semis, where they lose to La Cueva.
No. 2 Rio Rancho Rams
Rio Rancho had an incredible season where they were 22-4 while also playing the hardest strength of schedule. The Rams are a loaded team that will beat Clovis, barely beat Carlsbad, lose to Cleveland, and miss the state championship. Rio Rancho only struggled with 3 teams, La Cueva, Sandia, and Cleveland, who they lost to recently. The Storm will carry that confidence and go on to defeat the Rams.
No. 3 Cleveland Storm
Cleveland got off to a slow start, and I thought they had no chance at even making the semifinals, but man, did they close out the season strong. I think Cleveland will beat Piedra Vista, barely beat Los Lunas, who upset Volcano Vista in an 11-over-6 matchup, and go on to beat Rio Rancho in The Battle for Rio Rancho, where they will face arch-rivals La Cueva again, as they have done so many times in other sports.
5A Championship Pick:
No. 1 La Cueva Bears
La Cueva will add their 9th title to the trophy case in a massive game against Cleveland, where they will win a tough rivalry game to win the state title. Once again, Cleveland will fail to defeat La Cueva in the state title game.
4A Semifinal Picks:
No. 1 Goddard Rockets
Goddard has had a phenomenal season, defeating plenty of 5A teams. They are the team to beat in this tournament, but it won’t come easy for any team across the Rockets. I think Goddard will defeat Kirtland Central pretty easily, beat Valley, who will beat Bloomfield, and go on to beat Artesia and go to the state final.
No. 5 Artesia Bulldogs
Artesia played a challenging schedule going 13-13 but did great in district play. However, this young team will defeat Santa Teresa, who I really liked this season to go on a run, but got a tough draw against Artesia, and they will lose in the first round. Artesia will beat the No. 4 St. Pius, who will beat Chaparral in the first round. Artesia will be unable to defeat Goddard, who they lost to twice in the season.
No. 2 Grants Pirates
Grants have had a very good season, and they will match that great season with a trip to the semifinals. They had solid wins this season and dominated the competition in their district. I believe Grants will beat Portales easily, beat Hope Christian, who will beat Bernalillo in the first round, and then go on to lose to the Belen Eagles in the semifinals.
No. 3 Belen Eagles
Belen has kind of slipped under the radar and been dominating. The Eagles had huge wins earlier in the season and closed out the season well. Belen will beat Aztec easily, beat Albuquerque Academy, and go on to book a ticket to the state title. They will slightly upset the Pirates in the semis, where they will face the number one seed, Goddard Rockets.
4A Championship Pick:
No. 1 Goddard Rockets
The Rockets will capitalize on a fantastic season and win the state title against Belen. This game will be extremely close and could go either way. This will be their sixth state title; they haven’t won one in seven years.
3A Semifinal Picks:
No. 1 Cobre Indians
Cobre is a deadlock to make the semifinals. West Las Vegas got severely underseeded, and they will, unfortunately, pay the price for it and have to play Cobre in the second round. Cobre has been a fantastic team in 3A and will remain one in the tournament. Cobre will beat West Las Vegas to go to the semis and inch by NMMI.
No. 4 NMMI Colts
I am not confident in this pick because I think Santa Fe Indian has a real chance of beating the Colts. However, the Colts will squeak by to play Cobre in the semifinals. NMMI will barely lose to Cobre in the semifinals, just missing out on the title game. (I am even less confident in this pick than Santa Fe Indian vs. NMMI.
No. 3 St. Michael’s Horsemen
I am confident St. Mike’s will make the semifinals and beat East Mountain to advance to the state title. The Horsemen will beat Ruidoso and East Mountain to go to the finals. They have had a great season, and I think they will make the state title and play the Cobre Indians.
No. 2 East Mountain Timberwolves
East Mountain will be a team to look out for in the playoffs. I do think they were slightly 'overseeded'. I think East Mountain will defeat Robertson in a close game and barely lose to St. Michael’s.
3A Championship Pick
No. 1 Cobre Indians
It seems chalky to take 3 number one seeds, and I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that. I find it hard to take anyone else but Cobre in this class.
2A Semifinal Picks:
At the time of writing this, their playoffs had already started, but I correctly picked all of the round of 12 where we saw no upset; that being said, here is 2A.
No. 8 Texico Wolverines
Santa Rosa has had a fantastic season, and I don’t see them losing by a big margin to Texico, even though they also had a great season. Texico has played Santa Rosa plenty of times and defeated them. If they get one solid outing from one of their arms, their offense can outrun the Lions. I think Texico will pull off an 8-over-1 upset and defeat Santa Rosa. I also have the Wolverines advancing to the final and defeating McCurdy in the semifinals.
No. 5 McCurdy Bobcats
I have the Bobcats advancing and beating Menaul in a close game. This is a solid lineup that shouldn’t be taken lightly. They played a tough schedule and still came away with great wins. I think their offense can fuel the 5-over-4 upset against the Owls. However, I don’t think that offense will be able to beat Texico.
No. 3 Tularosa Wildcats
Tularosa will advance to the semis in a close game against Eunice. They will beat them barely and lose to the Falcons in the semis, just missing out on the title game. I think Loving will get a bit of scare, though, and barely be able to fend off the Wildcats.
No. 2 Loving Falcons
Loving can cruise by Rehoboth Christian easily and beat Tularosa in a low-scoring, close game. They will eventually face Texico in the final, where they will lose to the Wolverines.
2A Championship Pick
No. 8 Texico Wolverines
Texico will pull off the massive upset to claim their 7th title. I could be completely wrong about this pick. If Texico were to lose to any team, it would be to Santa Rosa. It would be an extremely close, high-scoring affair even if they do. That being said, if Santa Rosa were to win, they would win the title because I don’t think that path to the title from that side of the bracket is challenging. However, Texico will complete a Cinderella run to defeat Loving in the state final.
1A Semifinal Picks
The first round also happened, but I did expect Grady to upset Mesilla Valley Christian, who I viewed as a weak 4 seed.
No. 1 Logan Longhorns
Logan has had a dominant season and will continue that dominance and defeat Grady in the semifinal in a high-scoring affair where they will face the winner of Melrose and Gateway Christian.
No. 5 Grady Bronchos
Grady defeated Mesilla Valley Christian in the first round. However, Logan can squeak by the Bronchos and advance to the title game.
No. 3 Melrose Buffaloes
Melrose has been an extremely good team, and it could honestly be viewed as a 1 seed rather than a 2. Melrose will defeat the No. 2 seed Gateway Christian to advance to the title match. I don’t think this game will be very close.
No. 2 Gateway Christian Warriors
I don’t think Gateway will come out prepared for the charge Melrose has for them, where they will lose to Melrose in the semifinals, missing out on a chance to win their 6th title.
1A Championship Pick
No. 3 Melrose Buffaloes
Melrose has had a fantastic season, and they will continue into the postseason, where they will defeat the No. 1 seed Logan Longhorns. Logan beat them earlier in the season, but it took them extra innings to do that. Melrose also defeated them. This is a good matchup for the Buffaloes, where they will win their 4th state title.
Team Previews
First Round Previews & Predictions
5A Baseball Game Previews & Predictions
4A Baseball Game Previews & Predictions
3A Baseball Game Previews & Predictions
