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A look at The Times’ top 25 high school baseball rankings for the Southland after the final week of the regular season:

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. NORCO (24-3); vs. Maranatha in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 1

2. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (23-5); vs. La Mirada in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 2

3. ST. JOHN BOSCO (22-5); vs. Cypress in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 3

4. ORANGE LUTHERAN (23-4); vs. Corona Santiago in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 4

5. HUNTINGTON BEACH (21-6-1); at Temecula Valley in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 5

6. CORONA (21-6); vs. Etiwanda in D1 playoffs, Tuesday 6

7. SIERRA CANYON (23-5); vs. Oaks Christian in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 7

8. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (20-8); vs. Ayala in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 8

9. AYALA (23-3); at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 9

10. CYPRESS (21-7); at St. John Bosco in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 10

11. LA MIRADA (22-6); at Harvard-Westlake in D1 playoffs, Tuesday;11

12. OAKS CHRISTIAN (22-6); at Sierra Canyon in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 12

13 GAHR (17-10-1); vs. El Segundo in D2 playoffs, Thursday; 13

14. NEWPORT HARBOR (19-9); vs. Trabuco Hills in D2 playoffs, Thursday; 14

15. CORONA SANTIAGO (18-10); at Orange Lutheran in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 15

16. TEMECULA VALLEY (24-4); vs. Huntington Beach in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; 18

17. VILLA PARK (19-8-1); vs. Elsinore in D2 playoffs, Thursday; 22

18. ETIWANDA (20-7); at Corona in Division 1 playoffs, Tuesday; 23

19. ROYAL (23-3-1); vs. El Modeina in D2 playoffs, Thursday; 16

20. AQUINAS (19-9); vs. Dana Hills in D2 playoffs, Thursday; 17

21. SANTA MARGARITA (15-13); at Rancho Christian in D2 playoffs, Thursday; 19

22. BISHOP ALEMANY (17-11); vs. Mission Viejo in D2 playoffs, Thursday; 20

23. MARANATHA (23-5); at Norco in D1 playoffs, Tuesday; NR

24. WESTLAKE (18-8); vs. Alta Loma in D2 playoffs, Thursday 24

25. GANESHA (21-3-1); at Linfield Christian in D2 playoffs, Thursday; 25

A look at The Times’ top 25 high school baseball rankings for the Southland after the 11th week of the season:

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. NORCO (23-3); Cougars are Big VIII League champions; 1

2. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (21-5); James Tronstein has reached eight home runs; 2

3. ST. JOHN BOSCO (22-5); Trinity League champions are starting to peak; 3

4. ORANGE LUTHERAN (20-4); Gary Morse, Cooper Sides are good one-two pitching duo; 4

5. HUNTINGTON BEACH (20-6-1); Complete game from Jared Grindlinger shows he’s playoff ready; 5

6. CORONA (19-6); Second-place finish in Big VIII League; 6

7. SIERRA CANYON (21-5); Sophomore Theo Swafford has come on strong as a hitter; 7

8. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (18-8); Knights clinched Mission League playoff spot; 8

9. AYALA (22-2); Palomares League champions; 9

10. CYPRESS (20-6); Crestview League champions; 10

11. LA MIRADA (21-6); Gateway League champions;11

12. OAKS CHRISTIAN (21-6); Co-Marmonte League champions; 13

13 GAHR (16-9-1); Bryce Morrison hitting .453; 15

14. NEWPORT HARBOR (19-9); Got a win vs. Huntington Beach; 17

15. CORONA SANTIAGO (18-10); Swept Corona Centennial to finish third in Big VIII League; 18

16. ROYAL (21-3-1); One-game lead in Coastal Canyon League; 12

17. AQUINAS (19-8); Ambassador League champions; 19

18. TEMECULA VALLEY (23-4); UCLA commit Taden Krogsgaard is coming through; 23

19. SANTA MARGARITA (15-13); Lost three games to JSerra; 14

20. BISHOP ALEMANY (17-9); Finish with two-game series vs. Sierra Canyon; 16

21. MATER DEI (13-11); Monarchs have three-game series vs. Orange Lutheran; 20

22. VILLA PARK (17-8-1); Second place in Crestview League; 21

23. ETIWANDA (17-7); Baseline League champions; NR

24. WESTLAKE (18-8); Shared Marmonte League title with Oaks Christian; 24

25. GANESHA (19-2-1); Have three games this week; 25

For teenagers dreaming of playing in the NFL, former Corona Centennial high defensive back Camryn Bynum has first-hand knowledge of what it takes. It involves more than a star ranking or posting videos on social media.

“It’s a simple formula to make it to where you want to go,” said Bynum, who recently signed a $60-million contract with the Indianapolis Colts and will be holding a youth camp at his alma mater on May 23.

“It’s just hard to stay on the right track and do every single thing to the best of your ability and consistently do everything the right way,” he said. “You play a few good years of high school ball, you’ll get a chance to play college ball. If you become a starter, maybe one or two years and play well enough, you’ll get a chance at the league, whether you get drafted in the first round, like everybody wants to, or you you’re an undrafted free agent. If you get your foot in the door, there’s hundreds of stories about people getting in.”

Bynum says there’s a big sacrifice that many teenagers are unwilling to accept. It’s called avoiding distractions at all costs. At least it worked for him. He didn’t start on varsity until his junior year. He became a four-year starter at Cal, was a fourth-round draft pick of the Vikings, who immediately told him he’s switching from cornerback to safety. He was ready for anything.

“I think the best way to reach the point where you want to go is to stay distraction free,” he said. “Stay working towards that goal and don’t let anything come in between. That’s been the biggest part of my journey, my faith, and being able to just trust that God will put me exactly where I need to be, but also putting in the work myself knowing that if I want to play college ball, I need to keep my grades up in high school, stay away from all the distractions, the parties, the drinking, the drugs, like a lot of people unfortunately fall into.”

His first major test was dealing with adversity. He started on JSerra’s freshman team, then transferred back home to Centennial. He said he was fifth string on the JV team. “I was literally not playing,” he said. He gave serious consideration to leaving. But Centennial coach Matt Logan and others made it clear he had to earn his playing time.

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) is tackled by Minnesota Vikings safety Camryn Bynum in 2024.

(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)

“Coach Logan, he’s like, ‘No, you gotta work. You gotta work, figure it out and grind. You’re good. You’re plenty good enough, but you have to earn your spot.’ And I remember a few other coaches telling me, ‘It’s all up to you, if you want to put the work in and you want to compete, This is a competitive program, you got to figure out how to earn your playing time.’”

Bynum went to a private coach and started training morning and night. He became stronger, faster and more confident. As a junior, he became a standout. He still uses that same private coach, Jordan Brown, in his training.

Bynum, born to a Filipino mother, now lives in the offseason with his Filipino wife and young daughter on the outskirts of Manila.

Asked if Manila traffic is worse than Los Angeles traffic, he said, “They’re both pretty bad. They’re just bad in different ways.”

His first youth camp will help raise funds for his foundation that is supporting causes such as teaching flag football in the Philippines. The camp will be for youth and high school-age players and provide a vehicle for exposure along with football development.

“We want it to be a learning environment and a competitive environment to help kids get recruited and be seen more,” Bynum said.

Just remember the path is simple but the road blocks are many to overcome.

A look at The Times’ top 25 high school baseball rankings for the Southland after the 10th week of the season:

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. NORCO (21-2); Three-game showdown this week with Corona; 2

2. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (19-4); Pitchers Justin Kirchner (8-0), Evan Alexander (7-1) are coming through; 3

3. ST. JOHN BOSCO (19-5); Jaden Jackson has become hot leadoff man; 4

4. ORANGE LUTHERAN (18-4); Trying to lock down second place in Trinity League; 1

5. HUNTINGTON BEACH (18-5-1); Lost first Sunset League game to Los Alamitos; 5

6. CORONA (18-4); Trey Ebel had 10 RBIs in game vs. Eastvale Roosevelt; 6

7. SIERRA CANYON (18-5); Trailblazers tied for second in Mission League; 7

8. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (16-7); Jacob Madrid raised his home run total to seven; 8

9. AYALA (20-2); Bulldogs are 8-0 in the Palomares League; 12

10. CYPRESS (19-5); Eight wins in the last nine games; 13

11. LA MIRADA (18-6); Sophomore Julian Pardinas is 6-1 with 1.03 ERA; 9

12. ROYAL (19-3); Another 14-strikeout performance from Dustin Dunwoody; 10

13. OAKS CHRISTIAN (18-5); Lions are tied for first place in Marmonte League; 14

14. SANTA MARGARITA (15-10); Eagles defeat Orange Lutheran, 10-9; 17

15 GAHR (13-9-1); A dangerous team for the playoffs because of tough schedule; 19

16. BISHOP ALEMANY (16-7); Battling for fourth place in Mission League; 11

17. NEWPORT HARBOR (18-7); Second place in the Sunset League; 20

18. CORONA SANTIAGO (15-10); Quality team despite being swept by No. 1 Norco; 21

19. AQUINAS (16-8); Won two of three over second-place Linfield Christian; 22

20. MATER DEI (13-8); Monarchs control their own destiny for playoff spot; 23

21. VILLA PARK (16-7-1); Showdown week with two-game series vs. Cypress; 24

22. ALTA LOMA (16-5-1); In position to win the Hacienda League; NR

23. TEMECULA VALLEY (20-4); Golden Bears are 12-0 in the Southwestern League; NR

24. WESTLAKE (16-7); Sophomore Dylan Lee had two home runs, seven RBIs vs. Thousand Oaks; NR

25. GANESHA (16-2-1); Suffered a loss to Riverside Prep; 15

A look at The Times’ top 25 high school baseball rankings for the Southland after the ninth week of the season:

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. ORANGE LUTHERAN (16-3): Went 4-0, won Boras Classic championship game; 1

2. NORCO (18-2): Three-game series this week vs. Corona Santiago; 2

3. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (17-4): Swept Sherman Oaks Notre Dame to take first place in Mission League; 3

4. ST. JOHN BOSCO (16-5): Big two home-run game for Noah Everly vs. Santa Margarita; 4

5. HUNTINGTON BEACH (16-4-1): 12-0 in Sunset League; 5

6. CORONA (15-4): Anthony Murphy raises home run total to seven this season; 6

7. SIERRA CANYON (16-4): Brayden Goldstein is delivering big hits; 8

8. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (14-6): Critical three-game series vs. Sierra Canyon this week; 7

9. LA MIRADA (17-4): Three-game series this week versus Downey; 9

10. ROYAL (18-2): So far, Highlanders have overcome pitching injuries; 10

11. BISHOP ALEMANY (15-5): A 14-13 win over Chaminade with seven runs in the bottom of the seventh was madness; 11

12. AYALA (18-2): Caleb Trugman (7-1) and Easton Sarmiento (6-1) are good pitching duo; 12

13. CYPRESS (17-5): Impressive three-game sweep of El Dorado; 13

14. OAKS CHRISTIAN (15-5): One game behind Westlake in Marmonte League title race; 14

15. GANESHA (15-1-1): Logan Schmidt hit two home runs, struck out 14 in single game; 15

16. SOUTH HILLS (17-4): Faces Alta Loma in three-game series this week; 16

17. SANTA MARGARITA (14-8): Faces No. 1 Orange Lutheran this week; 18

18. THOUSAND OAKS (15-6): Jake Ange continues to drive in runs; 19

19. GAHR (10-9-1): Important three-game series this week versus Warren; 20

20. NEWPORT HARBOR (16-6): Next up is Fountain Valley; 21

21. CORONA SANTIAGO (15-7): Troy Randall continues to hit and hit; 23

22. AQUINAS (14-7): Showdown with 18-4 Linfield Christian this week; 24

23. MATER DEI (11-7): Battling for automatic playoff berth in Trinity League; NR

24. VILLA PARK (14-7-1): Jack McGuire struck out 16 in win over Foothill; 25

25. SERVITE (13-8): Ends regular season with games versus St. John Bosco, Orange Lutheran, Cypress; 17

Senior Jayden Rojas of Bell unleashed his best pitching performance of the season on Friday, giving up one hit and no walks while striking out 14 in a 1-0 win over Roosevelt. He also drove in the game’s only run with an RBI single in the fifth inning.

Rojas retired the first 18 Roosevelt batters until giving up a leadoff single in the seventh to break up his perfect game.

“I wanted to attack,” Rojas said. “I felt more confident throwing fastballs.”

Bell improved to 19-3 and 5-1 in the Eastern League.

“He was dialed in on the mound,” coach Frank Medina said. “Extremely efficient. He is usually plagued by 3-and-2 counts and walks, but today he had no walks and most of his 14 strikeouts came on four or less pitches. He was nasty.”

Granada Hills 5, Cleveland 2: The Highlanders are surging in the West Valley League after completing a two-game sweep of the Cavaliers this week to move into third place. Nicholas Penaranda had three RBIs and Foss Bohlen threw 5 1/3 innings of hitless relief.

Birmingham 2, Chatsworth 0: Nathan Soto threw six shutout innings and closer Aidan Martinez got three strikeouts in the seventh. Martinez also had three hits.

El Camino Real 5, Taft 3: The Royals broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth to stay one game ahead in the West Valley League. RJ De La Rosa had two hits and two RBIs.

Carson 6, Banning 2: The Colts won the Marine League game. Nate Ruan, Noah Sandoval and Xavier Alllen each had two hits.

St. John Bosco 6, Santa Margarita 1: Noah Everly hit two home runs to help the Braves complete a three-game sweep of Santa Margarita.

Sierra Canyon 9, St. Francis 2: Brayden Goldstein homered, Cody Gallegos had three hits and Charlie Cummings had a two-run single.

Bishop Alemany 14, Chaminade 13: A bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh ended a wild game. Chaminade scored five runs in the top of the seventh for a 13-7 lead. Alemany scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to win. Eli Stephens hit two home runs and had six RBIs for Chaminade. Chase Stevenson had a two-run double for Alemany in the seventh.

Harvard-Westlake 10, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 4: The Wolverines took over first place in the Mission League with a three-game sweep. Freshman Nathan Englander hit a two-run home run and Ethan Price had a home run and two RBIs. Freshman Louis Lappe had two RBIs.

Loyola 12, Crespi 2: Matt Favela finished with two hits and three RBIs.

Cypress 2, El Dorado 0: Tate Belfanti struck out eight and gave up two hits for Cypress.

Los Alamitos 4, Corona del Mar 1: Logan Anderson threw a complete game and Parker Sanchez contributed two doubles.

Huntington Beach 11, Fountain Valley 1: Jared Grindlinger, Owen Bone, Ely Mason and Brayden Wood each had two RBIs.

Arlington 8, Paloma Valley 1: Carter Johnson had a three-run home run for Arlington.

Palos Verdes 3, Mira Costa 2: Kai Van Scoyoc had two hits and two RBIs and also threw five innings in Palos Verdes’ win.

Oaks Christian 7, Thousand Oaks 6: Jack Brinkman threw a scoreless seventh to pick up the save and Carson Sheffer homered for the Lions.

Newbury Park 8, Agoura 2: Carson Richter had a three-run home run and Jack Laubacher added a solo home run to power the Panthers.

Westlake 9, Calabasas 6: Leadoff hitter Blake Miller had three hits and three RBIs. Evan Barak hit a two-run home run for Calabasas.

Saugus 8, Hart 6: Joey Nuttall had three hits and four RBIs for Saugus, including a home run. Hayden Rhodes hit a home run and double for Hart.

Valencia 6, West Ranch 0: Steve Genovese threw a three-hit shutout.

Corona 9, Corona Centennial 3: Anthony Murphy hit two home runs and Tyler Ebel added another home run for Corona.

Corona Santiago 3, King 0: Troy Randall had two hits and picked up a two-inning save.

Norco 18, Eastvale Roosevelt 0: Jacob Melendez had four RBIs and Dylan Seward and Zion Martinez each had three hits for Norco.

Softball

El Camino Real 14, Taft 2: Madison Franklin had a home run, a double and four RBIs.

Orange Lutheran 7, Mater Dei 1: Sierra Nichols finished with four hits in the leadoff role and Carlie Snyder homered.

Wednesday was a day for big-time performances in the Big VIII League from Norco, Corona and Corona Santiago.

Jordan Ayala of Norco struck out 10 in five innings and finished with two hits and three RBIs in an 8-0 win over Eastvale Roosevelt.

Danny De La Rose went five for five with five RBIs in Corona’s 16-2 win over Corona Centennial. Logan Pascarella, Trey Ebel and Jesiah Andrade hit home runs.

Striker Pence hit a grand slam and finished with six RBIs in Corona Santiago’s 17-1 win over King. Troy Randall also homered and had two hits.

St. John Bosco 8, Santa Margarita 1: The Braves’ first four batters combined for nine hits. James Clark had three hits. Jaden Jackson homered.

Servite 9, Mater Dei 6: Eli Rubel contributed two hits and two RBIs for the Friars.

Orange Lutheran 3, JSerra 2: The No. 1 Lancers overcame a 2-0 deficit and won it on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the seventh.

St. Francis 3, Sierra Canyon 2: Jack Smith threw two innings of shutout relief to get the save for St. Francis. Cody Gallegos had two hits and two RBIs for Sierra Canyon.

Loyola 13, Crespi 4: Matthew Favela had two hits and three RBIs and Jack Murray drove in three runs for the Cubs.

Harvard-Westlake 1, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 0: Evan Alexander struck out 11 and gave up one hit to help the Wolverines pull into a first-place tie with the Knights.

Chaminade 7, Bishop Alemany 0: Jackson Schroeder struck out eight with no walks in six innings and Isaac Hearn had a double and triple for the Eagles.

Ganesha 15, Bassett 0: Logan Schmidt struck out 14 of the 15 batters and hit two home runs in front of scouts ready to make him a first-round draft pick this summer.

La Mirada 1, Warren 0: Kaden Corns threw five scoreless innings for La Mirada.

West Ranch 4, Valencia 2: A three-run rally in the seventh included a home run from Connor Clayton.

Banning 4, Carson 2: Jacob Fernandez hit a two-run single in the seventh to hand Carson its first Marine League defeat.

Palos Verdes 1, Mira Costa 0: Jonah Cohen threw the shutout striking out six with no walks.

Huntington Beach 3, Fountain Valley 1: Jared Grindlinger gave up two hits in five innings to keep the Oilers unbeaten in the Sunset League.

Birmingham 8, Chatsworth 3: Carlos Acuna threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and Adian Martinez had two hits and three RBIs.

El Camino Real 7, Taft 3: RJ De La Rosa went three for three with two RBIs and Ryan Glassman had three hits and two RBIs to lead El Camino Real. Jackson Sellz threw a complete game, striking out six with no walks.

Cypress 4, El Dorado 1: Landon Smith threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for Cypress.

Garden Grove Pacifica 3, Anaheim Canyon 2: Jack Waeger had two hits and two RBIs.

Royal 7, Camarillo 6: Tristen Hogan broke a 6-6 tie with an RBI single in the seventh. Matthew Stout homered.