Rane Paulson
Rane Paulson
Rane Paulson
Familiarity skews most polls and that’s especially true in high school sports. While that partially explains why so many familiar faces occupy steps on the ladder in our first baseball Power Rankings of the season, the teams still have to back it up on the field.
Box checked for perennial playoff power Round Rock, as the Dragons dispatched their first three district foes enroute to a 14-1-1 start. Less obvious is #2 Dripping Springs. While always good, the Tigers figure to be exceptional this season with virtually everyone back from a team that just missed the fourth round in 2024. Half their losses came in the stacked Five Tool Invitational Tournament; their two 5-inning wins to open district play provided a clue as to just how good the Tigers may be.
Everyone else through at least Liberty Hill (if not lower) could make an argument that they belong on top. At this point we can’t really argue with any of them, so expect plenty of movement in the weeks ahead.
Spring Break is here to mess up the pitching rotations of pretty much everyone so it will be interesting to see how this week shapes out. And like the Hubble Space Telescope getting its “corrective lenses,” our poll will come into sharper and surer focus as the season wears on.
With all that said, here’s our first crack at the 2025 Austin area Baseball Power Rankings.
VYPE's Austin Baseball Rankings
1. (NR) Round Rock Dragons (6A) 14-1-1 (swept Vista Ridge; def. McNeil)
2. (NR) Dripping Springs Tigers (6A) 9-6 (swept Akins)
3. (NR) Westlake Chaparrals (6A) 11-2-1 (split with Lake Belton)
4. (NR) Lake Travis Cavaliers (6A) 7-5-3 (swept Bowie)
5. (NR) Rouse Raiders (5A) 11-3-2 (swept Glenn)
6. (NR) Vandegrift Vipers (6A) 11-3 (split with Stony Point)
7. (NR) Buda Johnson Jaguars (6A) 12-4 (swept New Braunfels Canyon)
8. (NR) Liberty Hill Panthers (5A) 10-4 (swept Leander)
9. (NR) Cedar Ridge Raiders (6A) 9-4 (swept Hutto, def. Westwood)
10. (NR) Anderson Trojans (5A) 9-5 (swept Austin LASA)
11. (NR) Weiss Wolves (5A) 9-3-2 (split with East View)
12. (NR) Hays Hawks (5A) 8-4-1 (split with Cedar Park)
13. (NR) San Marcos Rattlers (6A) 8-5-1 (swept by Clemens)
14. (NR) Lockhart Lions (5A) 7-5 (split with Lehman)
15. (NR) Georgetown Eagles (5A) 6-7-1 (swept Connally, def. Marble Falls)
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In prehistoric times – i.e. about a decade or so ago – Liberty Hill was a sleepy 4A powerhouse playing the likes of Llano, Burnet, Lampasas and others. For a few years, it became an unofficial tradition that the first baseball game K-MAC Sports, VYPE Live’s precursor, would broadcast was the season-opener between Liberty Hill and a still relatively new, hard-charging 5A Rouse team. It was usually cold and maybe a little drizzly and the baseball was not exactly mid-season form – but it was baseball, and it set the table for better games to come.
Fast forward to 2025, when Liberty Hill and Rouse will meet for a couple of afternoon matinees this Spring Break week as established 5A powers and intense District 25-5A rivals.
Both squads are off to good starts this season, tied at 2-0 atop the 25-5A standings. Liberty Hill (2-0, 10-4 overall) entered the season with a chip on its shoulder. Coach Brandon Creek’s Panthers roared to a 24-win season last year, only to get swept from the playoffs in the first round by Kerrville Tivy in two intense games. Although the Panthers don’t have a ton of guys back from last year’s squad, they appear to have supplemented their returnees with newcomers from their always solid JV teams.
Rouse (2-0, 11-3-2) went a bit further last season. Coach Chad Krempin’s Raiders got red-hot in the playoffs, finally falling in the State Semifinals and finishing 2024 with an impressive 34-10 mark. Like their exurban rivals, Rouse is “rebuilding” on paper, but their skeleton appears to have fleshed out fast.
While District 25-5A has been bunched like grapes the past few seasons, there appears to be a bit more separation in the early going. Whatever happens in these early-season clashes between Rouse and Liberty Hill, this week’s games will mean a lot more than those chilly non-district tune-ups of a decade ago.What: Liberty Hill vs. Rouse
When: Tuesday 3/18 & Wednesday 3/19 - 12:50 Pregame; 1:00 First Pitch
Where: Liberty Hill HS; Rouse HS
Who: Michael Rose
Watch:https://www.vype.com/ANDhttp://vypelive.com/web/broadcast/index
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