Kentucky’s ‘Big Four’ Baseball Powers Surge Toward Postseason Showdown

Trinity, St. X, Male and Ballard jockey for position ahead of decisive Seventh Region tournament.

EJ Milliner of Indiana baseball power Floyd Central takes a huge swing for a pop out in a game against Trinity-Louisville April 29, 2026. | Chris Adams

The big four of Kentucky high school baseball continue to excel despite some bumps and bruises along the way. But that statement isn’t entirely accurate – as one team has recently faced adversity at the diamond.

The latest report on these Seventh Region leaders.

Trinity-Louisville

The Rocks, ranked No. 11 in the U.S., have started another winning streak. They have won nine contests since their prior streak ended in Indiana on April 18.

Trinity recently defeated Indiana powerhouse Floyd Central, 10-0, and shut down Central Kentucky rival North Oldham, 8-0, to improve to 26-3.

The remainder of the schedule appears manageable.

University of Kentucky signee Grayson Willoughby is batting nearly .500, collecting 29 RBIs and smacking 10 doubles.

St. Xavier

Since losing to primary rival Trinity, the Tigers beat New Palestine High School of Indiana, but then immediately fell to Cathedral (Indianapolis). Next, they were upset by Elizabethtown and eked out a 2-0 victory over Bullitt East.

The remainder of the slate does not appear overly difficult for the 21-7 Tigers, but then again…

Brodie Benefield is hitting .456 with 25 RBIs and nine extra-base hits.

Male

The Bulldogs have bounced back nicely from a 1-3 stretch where they lost to St. X, Sayre and LKY (Kentucky Home School program).

Male has strung together six consecutive wins, moving to 19-3. The Dogs could run the table the rest of the way, considering that rival Trinity isn’t on the schedule.

Pitcher Trenton Morris posts a 1.50 ERA with 32 strikeouts to nine walks over 28 innings of work.

Ballard

The Bruins opened the 2026 season inconsistently, but quickly gained traction. Then a 14-3 loss by nationally ranked St. Laurence High School (Burbank, Illinois) broke their momentum. They also endured another beatdown, courtesy of South Oldham.

However, Ballard, now 16-6, has amassed six straight wins since the South Oldham game and only has one potential hiccup in the rest of the schedule: a May 13 matchup with Sayre.

Sophomore Kyle Novak leads the offense with 25 hits, nine of them doubles, and 19 RBIs.

It’s worth repeating. One of these teams will be crowned state champion. They’ll have to battle it out in the Louisville-centric Seventh Region tournament, which essentially is the state tournament.

The Seventh Region champion will face the Sixth Region champion — most likely Bullitt North or Bullitt East — in the opening round of the state tournament.