MaxPreps 2016 Georgia preseason high school baseball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard

1. Parkview (Lilburn)
Head coach: Chan Brown
2015 record: 34-2

The Panthers won the Class 6A state championship and finished the year ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 50 National Baseball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. Coach Chan Brown has led one of the nation's top programs to three state titles in the past five seasons. Parkview returns two of its top players from last year in catcher Austin Biggar and pitcher Will Ethridge. Biggar batted .370 with 11 home runs while Etheridge posted a 13-0 pitching record.

See last season's Georgia baseball computer rankings

2. Greenbrier (Evans)
Head coach: Jason Osborn
2015 record: 29-4

Six starters return for a Greenbrier team that defeated Gainesville for the Class 5A state championship. Among them are senior infielder Ty Snipes, junior infielder Garrett Marchmen and senior outfielder Braz Staples. Snipes batted .426 with three home runs while Staples batted .359 and Marchmen batted .400 with seven doubles. Snipes also went 4-0 on the mound while Connor Hogan is the top returning pitcher with a 6-1 record.

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3. Walton (Marietta)
Head coach: Shane Amos
2015 record: 30-7

The Raiders lose only two starters from last year's team that reached the Class 6A championship series against Parkview. The entire infield returns, including shortstop Carter Kieboom, who batted .340 with five home runs and 31 RBIs last year. In the outfield, junior Jason Rooks is one of two returning starters after hitting .382 with 13 doubles and 10 home runs. The pitching should also be sound with Zac Kristofak leading the way. He went 11-1 as a junior with 80 strikeouts.

See last season's Georgia baseball playoff brackets

4. Pope (Marietta)
Head coach: Jeff Rowland
2015 record: 24-9

The Greyhounds have one of the top players in the nation in Joshua Lowe, a pitcher/third baseman who could be drafted in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft in June. He's one of three Pope players, pitchers Matt Rowland and Cameron Allison are the other two, who could be drafted. Pope reached the Class 6A semifinals last year before falling to Parkview. The Greyhounds also have one of the state's top junior pitchers in Ryan Webb, who could be drafted in 2017.

See last season's Georgia baseball stat leaders

5. Lambert (Suwanee)
Head coach: Rick Howard
2015 record: 20-9

After winning the Class 6A state championship in 2014, the Longhorns exited the playoffs early last season. Although Lambert returns five starters from last season, former MaxPreps Sophomore of the Year Seth Beer is not one of them. He left school early to enroll at Clemson. Lambert also has a new coach in Rick Howard. He takes over for athletic director Drew Ferrer, who coached the team on an interim basis when Jamie Corr resigned following the 2014 season. Top returning players include senior catcher Kyle McCann and senior pitchers Cole Varner and Turner Scruggs.