Out of 16 regional tournaments in Class 5A and 4A baseball emerged 11 favorites and five surprise teams.

Those 16 advance to the double-elimination state tournament, which starts this weekend. The 5A field of eight is at All-Star Park in Lakewood and All-City Stadium in Denver, while 4A begins at the Air Force Academy and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.

State champions will be crowned the following weekend, with 5A concluding at All-Star Park and 4A at the Air Force Academy.

Last year’s winners — Cherry Creek Bruins in 5A and Golden Demons in 4A — are not in the state field.

Class 5A

Favorites: No. 1 Arvada West, No. 2 Broomfield and No. 3 Regis Jesuit

The top-ranked Wildcats (22-3) have won 20 straight. Much of it is thanks to a pitching staff touting a minuscule 1.29 ERA. Namely, Cooper Vais, the University of Texas commit who is among the favorites for the 5A player of the year. He has an 11-0 record with a 0.39 ERA.

Broomfield (22-3) has the most recent state title of any of the 5A contenders, winning it all in 2022. The Eagles have won 18 straight and beat Grandview in their regional final on the back of five RBIs from JR Ramsey, who leads the team with 37 this spring.

Regis Jesuit (19-6) has finished state runner-up to Cherry Creek the past two seasons. The Raiders are led by shortstop Chase Massey. The Boston College commit has eight homers and 33 RBIs this season.

Contenders: No. 4 Pine Creek, No. 5 Fairview and No. 6 Mountain Vista

Pine Creek (21-4) split games with Rampart, a team that didn’t qualify for 5A’s 32-team regional field. A week later, the Eagles tamed Regis Jesuit’s high-powered offense in a 5-1 win. Dane Dial is just a sophomore, but he has seven home runs and is 7-0 on the mound this season.

Fairview (18-7) got redemption against crosstown rival Boulder in its regional final after falling to the Panthers four days earlier. Tanner Craytor leads the class with 10 home runs this season.

Mountain Vista (15-10) has played six of the other seven teams in the field. It lost to Arvada West, Broomfield, Fairview and Regis Jesuit, the latter two by a single run. The Golden Eagles beat both Legend and Chatfield.

Dark horses: No. 7 Legend and No. 8 Chatfield

Legend (14-11) was ranked 26th out of 32 teams in regionals and knocked out No. 7 Rocky Mountain, then two-time defending champ Cherry Creek. Jacob Fladebo homered in each regional win and stole three more bases, giving him 23 swiped bags on the season.

Chatfield (14-11) was ranked 27th. The Chargers beat No. 6 Brighton, then No. 11 Fort Collins to advance. They face No. 1 Arvada West in their state opener Friday — the Wildcats swept the two-game series with a pair of 8-0 wins.

Class 4A

Favorites: No. 1 Palisade, No. 2 Durango and No. 3 Falcon

Palisade (22-3) swept both No. 2 Durango and No. 4 Grand Junction in their season series. Hunter Howard homered in both regional wins as the Bulldogs went deep five times last weekend.

Durango (18-7) fell twice to No. 1 Palisade but swept No. 4 Grand Junction in their season series. The Demons also lost to No. 3 Falcon and No. 8 Ponderosa. Austin Romero had a two-run triple in their regional finals win over 2025 runner-up Cheyenne Mountain.

During the season, Falcon (19-4) beat No. 2 Durango and No. 6 Canon City by 10 runs apiece, and Holy Family by nine. It also beat No. 5 Pueblo County but lost to No. 8 Ponderosa. Aaron Jaquez leads 4A with a .667 batting average. Over his last six games, he’s 15 for 19 at the plate.

Contenders: No. 4 Grand Junction, No. 5 Pueblo County, No. 6 Canon City and No. 7 Holy Family

Grand Junction (19-6) was swept by both No. 1 Palisade and No. 2 Durango in their season series and finished fourth in the 5A/4A Southwestern League. Titus Forsyth could be a spark after posting a 0.99 ERA across 42 1/3 innings this spring.

Pueblo County (19-6) lost to No. 1 Palisade and No. 6 Canon City by a single run this season, and fell to No. 3 Falcon by three. Jonathan Hernandez has allowed just one run over his last 15 innings, and it was unearned.

Canon City (22-3) opens the tournament against No. 3 Falcon, which beat the Tigers 10-0 on April 18. They’ll hope Trey Schumacher continues to sizzle at the plate after hitting eight homers and driving in 42 runs this season.

Holy Family (17-9) is battle-tested out of the 5A/4A Granite Peaks League and beat regional host Lutheran handily last weekend to advance. Brady Anderson drove in four runs in two games at Lutheran’s regional and has 35 RBIs this season.

Dark horse: No. 8 Ponderosa

Ponderosa (16-9) finished just 5-5 in the 5A/4A Continental League before ousting defending champ Golden to advance to the state tournament. The Mustangs own wins this season over No. 2 Durango and No. 3 Falcon, while falling to No. 1 Palisade and No. 4 Grand Junction. Baylor Schultz has a 1.66 ERA over 46 1/3 innings.