Bee’s Best: Rivals Franklin, Elk Grove headline Sacramento’s HS baseball scene
The Franklin Wildcats ended last season on a high note and have not let up on the gas much since.
Champions of CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I baseball in 2023 and 2025, the Elk Grove Unified School District powerhouse debuts as The Sacramento Bee’s top-ranked squad this spring. Franklin has bolted to a 5-0-1 start amid typical ambitious scheduling by longtime coach Bryan Kilby.
With 2025 Bee Player of the Year Dylan Minnatee and a host of other anchors back in stride, Franklin opened this campaign with a 1-1 tie to Del Oro of Loomis, a game called due to darkness before Daylight Saving Time became everyone’s ally.
The Wildcats defeated Whitney of Placer County (5-4), Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills (7-4), River City of West Sacramento (10-8) and Tracy (4-0) before dropping a 3-1 game in extra innings to West Park of Roseville on Monday.
What’s it all mean? Well, it’s another example of sustained success for Franklin, which entered this season with a state-leading 136 victories for this decade, according to Cal-Hi Sports. That’s remarkable, considering all of the state-ranked powers who play in the Bay Area and Southern California.
Minnatee is signed with LSU and batted .476 last season and is at a .458 clip now. Sophomore catcher Brandon Williams is back, and the pitching staff is strong again with Kyle Timmons (0.00 ERA so far), David Hernandez (0.78 ERA, 11 strikeouts), Minnatee (14 innings pitches, 12 strikeouts) and Ryan Cody (11 innings pitched, 15 strikeouts).
Cody is the younger brother of Tyler Cody, who starred in the outfield in the section title game last spring against St. Mary’s of Stockton, and the brothers are the son of Franklin athletic director Mike Cody, the school’s founding baseball coach who has helped the program ever since.
Franklin’s Delta League rival since opening in 2002 has been Elk Grove, and the storied Thundering Herd is Bee-ranked second. West Park of Roseville is ranked No. 3 and looks to win the Metro League championship, as does No. 8 McClatchy, winners of that league for the better part of 15 years.
Elk Grove started 5-0 before falling to defending CIF NorCal champion De La Salle of Contra Costa County. Cal-bound senior Chase Groves is back for another title run. Sophomore infielder Jayden Hernandez is batting .647 with Hudson Hall batting .450 and Groves .429. The Herd pitching staff includes Anthony Bascherini (0.00 ERA so far), Ethan Bagwill (0.00) and Chase Dyer (0.64).
SFL depth
Sierra Foothill League member Jesuit is ranked fourth and Folsom is fifth. Del Oro of the SFL is ranked ninth, Whitney 12th, Granite Bay 15th and Oak Ridge 20th.
The SFL has been a powerhouse league in all sports, with Folsom football winning a CIF State crown last fall and the basketball team winning the CIF Northern California Division I title earlier this month.
Jesuit under decades-long coach Joe Potulny entered Tuesday with no local losses, dropping games to St. Mary’s of Stockton and San Jose power Bellarmine.
Parker Lippp leads Jesuit in batting at .429, with Stevie Hughes hitting .368. Lipp and teammates Colson Street and Tyler Haddad sport 0.00 earned run averages as the Marauders have more stout pitching, including Sammy Kane, who is 2-1 with an 0.67 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.
Folsom has been led by the hot bats of Gavin Tietz (.462), Kamren Avila (.409) and Manny Orange (.379), with strong pitching from Alex Blount (0.00 ERA), Caden Heitmeyer (0.70) David Engelken (4-0).
West Park uprising
West Park has its best team since opening in Placer County in 2020. The Panthers moved to 9-1 after defeating Franklin. Arizona-bound third baseman Ayden Deome drove in 49 runs a year ago, and fellow returner Jace Oliver batted .457. Returning pitchers include Preston Davis and Mason Zobel.
This season, Jayden McNeal leads the Panthers in batting average at .545 (to go with a team-best 17 runs scored), followed by Nick Pajcin (.400 with 10 RBI) and Ethan Silva (.393). Parker Mitchell has an 0.00 ERA, and Bradley Hunter has a 1.91 ERA.
Founding program coach Ben Petersen went through the growing pains with a new program, going 5-23 in 2022, 12-16 in 2023 and 16-14 in 2024. The Panthers went 24-8 last season.
The Bee’s Top 20
(Records entering Tuesday)
1. Franklin (5-0-1)
2. Elk Grove (5-1)
3. West Park (8-1)
4. Jesuit (4-3)
5. Folsom (8-1)
6. Vacaville (8-2)
7. Roseville (6-2)
8. McClatchy (9-2)
9. Del Oro (4-3-1)
10. Rio Americano (9-2)
11. Bradshaw Christian (6-1)
12. Whitney (2-3)
13. Twelve Bridges (6-1)
14. Bella Vista (5-3)
15. Granite Bay (2-3)
16. Woodcreek (5-5)
17. Vista del Lago (7-3)
18. Christian Brothers (6-5)
19. Inderkum (4-3)
20. Oak Ridge (2-4)
Bubble: Bear River (8-1); Rocklin (0-5-1); Wheatland (7-1); Woodland Christian (9-1).