Iowa high school baseball rankings: Cedar Rapids Kennedy finishes regular season No. 1 in 4A

Cedar Rapids Kennedy opened the season as a top-five team in the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 4A poll.

The Cougars wasted little time moving into second in the Class 4A rankings and assumed the top spot just before the midseason point. They didn’t relinquish it.

Kennedy closed the regular season as the No. 1 team in the final 4A poll by the IHSBCA released Monday. Teams in 3A and 4A will begin the postseason Friday with the first round of substate competition.

The Cougars opened this week with a 31-4 record and earned the top seed in 4A Substate 5. Kennedy faces Waterloo West (5-28) Friday at Herkelman Field.

“It doesn’t mean anything when you get to the (postseason) tournament but it does mean a lot as a program being thrilled with how the kids have performed consistently for the last four or five weeks,” Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer said about the No. 1 ranking. “To maintain it all the way through is a tremendous accomplishment.

“It’s very rare for a team to do that and the first time Kennedy has done that ever.”

No easy task with the strength of the Mississippi Valley Conference, which finished with six ranked teams in 4A and 3A and another that received votes. Still, the Cougars have a chance to clinch the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division title Wednesday when they host Cedar Falls, which was previously ranked.

“We have teams that knock each other around a little bit and knock some deserving teams out of the rankings,” Hoyer said. “Our conference does a tremendous job helping one another improve and develop.”

The Cougars have also reached the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2015. They are coming off a big weekend, bracketing the holiday with a 17-2 win over Independence and 10-0 victory over No. 10 Waukee Saturday.

Kennedy averages 10 runs a game behind a potent offense that has battered opposing pitchers. The Cougars leads the state with 44 home runs — more than double the closest challenger (Dallas Center-Grimes). Nolan Grawe leads the state with 14 round trippers. In his last three games, Grawe went 7-for-10 with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs.

Kennedy is fifth in the state with a team batting average at .355 and second with 349 total runs — 224 more than it has allowed allowed. The Cougars also have a whopping 141 extra-base hits for a state best .620 team slugging percentage.

Hoyer noted that he has had some good teams over the years, taking 13 teams to the state tournament and winning the 2010 4A crown. The late Bill Herkelman and Loyd Spier, the coach of the 1969 runner-up team, had strong groups. This year’s squad has entered the discussion as one of the program’s best.

“They are certainly in the conversation,” Hoyer said. “They’ve definitely earned that.”

Kennedy has been steady and constant all season. The Cougars won’t deviate from the normal approach for the Tigers or Wahawks this week. The goal continues to be daily improvement, hoping to parlay that into a second-round bye and a return to the substate finals for a shot at a state tournament appearance in their own backyard. The 3A and 4A state tournament is July 22-26 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“We’re really big on routine and keeping things as consistent as possible,” Hoyer said. “Right now, all of our focus is on Cedar Falls.”

Not much has changed in the 4A rankings. The top-six all remain the same including No. 3 Iowa City High and No. 6 Linn-Mar. The Lions are 27-9 and are the No. 1 seed in 4A Substate 6, hosting Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Friday.

“It’s a veteran group that has really bought into the process and team mentality instead of individual accolades,” Linn-Mar Coach Kyle Rodenkirk said. “I am proud of what this group has accomplished throughout the course of the season but our journey isn’t done yet, as this group is hungry.”

Iowa City Liberty also earned a spot in the 4A poll, coming in ninth.

In 3A, No. 2 Marion finished as the highest-ranked local team. Two-time defending state champion Western Dubuque is fifth, while Solon moved up a spot to No. 7 in the final poll.

Marion starts the week with a 28-4 mark. The Wolves kick off the postseason Friday at home against South Tama.

Marion has a chance to earn a second straight state tournament berth and sixth since 2017. It won the championship in 2021. The Wolves were top-ranked briefly, but the current honor reflects the way they have competed most of this season.

“I am proud of our guys,” Marion Coach Steve Fish said. “I still think the rankings are schedule driven, and we know there are some quality teams in both 3A and 4A that are not ranked.”

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Final Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 4A rankings

1. Cedar Rapids Kennedy (31-4)

2. Dallas Center-Grimes (32-2)

3. Iowa City High (31-6)

4. Johnston (30-5)

5. Ankeny Centennial (25-10)

6. Linn-Mar (27-9)

7. Davenport North (28-11)

8. Waukee Northwest (22-14)

9. Iowa City Liberty (23-13)

10. Waukee (24-15)

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Cedar Rapids Prairie (23-11), Des Moines Roosevelt (26-12), Indianola (24-11), Ottumwa (29-8), West Des Moines Dowling (18-14)

Final Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 3A rankings

1. Dubuque Wahlert (29-8)

2. Marion (28-4)

3. North Polk (21-6)

4. Sioux City Heelan (27-10)

5. Western Dubuque (24-12)

6. Davenport Assumption (21-13)

7. Solon (26-10)

8. Bondurant-Farrar (21-8)

9. Pella (22-8)

10. Grinnell (23-11)

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Algona (25-6), Center Point-Urbana (25-8), Central DeWitt (19-12), Harlan (22-8), Saydel (23-11)

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com