Get ready for what should be a star-studded year of D1 baseball in Oakland County.
Following three consecutive years in which the county had a rep in the Division 1 final, Northville edged West Bloomfield in regionals (then lost to eventual champion Hartland), and Dakota mowed down Brother Rice and Lake Orion on its way to the title game last spring.
And so, despite five teams in the final MHSBCA poll of the year, East Lansing was not in the cards for any of the locals.
Prepare for what looks to be a redemption tour (that goes beyond D1, frankly) for the OC’s brightest and best.
Stacked as the Atlanta Braves’ rotation from the 1990s, here’s just some of the top contenders from the area to go deep in the D1 state tournament this spring.
Rochester Adams
Leading off, it has to be the No. 1-ranked team in D1. Adams spent plenty of time near the top of the rankings last season, but Lake Orion, who had a near-.500 record, stunned the Highlanders in extra innings, 7-4. They have the power to let the fire of that loss burn all the way up until the playoffs when they’ll get a chance to avenge an exit that was earlier than they’d have liked.
Koltyn Watters, an All-State outfielder as a freshman, has emerged as a top national prospect after a season in which he led Adams with a .469 batting average. Senior McCallister Doelle (Henry Ford CC), third on the team last year in average (.306), will spend time behind the plate, Matt Toeppner (.436 BA, 30 SB in ’25), a Michigan State commit is back, and so too are seniors Luke Borowski and Rino Watters, the latter of whom had an ERA under 1.00 as a junior.
Lake Orion
The Dragons might not be ranked as high as others found below, but they’ve earned their place thanks to last year’s quarterfinals appearance. This year, they come in at No. 11 in the preseason coaches poll, just one spot lower than they did prior to last year.
Part of the reason they might fly under the radar is that they’ve lacked an All-State stud the past few seasons, but unsung heroes like Jackson Manoulian and Ayden Novak (now playing at Rochester Christian) helped them stun Adams in last year’s playoffs.
Orion will lean on some talented seniors if it hopes to reprise that run. Outfielder Grayson Oliver, who scored two runs and drove in another in the 4-2 regional championship win over Davison, is one of them, while Jackson Gilbert, who drove in a pair of runs on a chopping single to beat Adams for the district title, is another. It might not be a two-horse race for the best in the OAA this season, but they should be galloping among the contenders. LO doesn’t tackle any one of Rochester, Adams or West Bloomfield until the calendar turns to May, so sorting out that pecking order may not come until late in the campaign.
Brother Rice
Count the Warriors right there with Adams as being highly motivated to atone for an early playoff exit in 2025. Especially because Dakota did it on Rice’s own field, with the No. 4 Cougars beating the ninth-ranked Warriors 8-4 thanks to a supurb display on the mound by Wayne State commit James Nuechterlein, who accomplished the rare task of slowing a stacked Rice lineup.
But this is Brother Rice, who reloads rather than rebuilds. The Warriors’ expectations are reflected by being slotted No. 3 in the preseason rankings despite graduating some big bats. Graduate two All-Staters in Cole Van Ameyde and Blake Ilitch? No problem when you bring back two more that are great and stand to get even better.
Junior catcher Broder Katke has been one of the worst-kept secrets as far as being an elite catcher since he was a freshman for the state runner-up team two seasons ago. He’s coming off a sophomore season in which he hit .374 and clubbed 17 doubles and was nearly flawless behind the dish. Meanwhile, outfielder Maksim Neshov will have three more seasons in a Rice uniform, a scary prospect for opposing pitchers after he batted a team-best .417 with 28 steals as a freshman. Western Michigan commit Tristan Turner is another returning anchor in the order after hitting .410 (highest average on the team in ’25) with 40 RBIs as a junior, and another senior, Virginia commit Cole Duhaime (48 1/3 IP, .169 BAA last season), is an ace any rotation would love. If the other 2027 arms step up, the Warriors will be frighteningly good yet again.
Rochester
The Falcons had a lot of restocking to do last season. Their arms helped carry them to wins over Eisenhower and Adams (11 innings) in districts, then a nine-inning, 1-0 triumph over Anchor Bay to reach a regional final in 2024. In their follow-up, defense was a strength of Eric Magiera’s team last year, and now, Anthony Larkins, the best on the staff in 2025, returns as part of what is, similar to Lake Orion’s, a strong senior class.
Rochester’s Sandro Prasatek (25) flashes a smile while on the basepaths in a game against West Bloomfield on Saturday, April 26, 2025. (BRYAN EVERSON – MediaNews Group, file)
Alongside the righty Larkins (1.62 ERA as a junior), a Kellogg Community College commit, Heidelberg-bound Andrew Scott (.318 average, 19 RBIs and SB), Jacob Scott (.290, 21 SB) and Sandro Prasatek (Cleary University) form a nice 2026 outfield trio.
Don’t be surprised if the Falcons’ baseball team follows a trend of the school’s other sports, either, getting an infusion of improvements from underclassmen. Rochester, who lost 2-1 to Lake Orion in districts last year, will have a month or so to figure it out before squaring off in its series against the other top league frontrunners.
Detroit Catholic Central
Without even mentioning Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (No. 1 in D2) or Warren De La Salle (sixth-ranked in D1), throw in CC with the other aforementioned league mates and it’s obvious as a meatball down the middle why the Catholic League is going to be as must-watch ball as ever this spring.
The Shamrocks flew under the radar thanks to all the other powerhouses in the CHSL last season, but look at the scores and you’ll see a team that played those sides close, including close games against Brother Rice (a series they split) and OLSM (one loss was 5-4 in 12 innings).
Catholic Central’s strength will be its infield. That’s because of a few top seniors, including catcher Cam Swearingen (Saginaw Valley State), Dylan Fairchild (Cincinnati) and Bennett Thompson (Michigan State), a threesome that combined to smack 15 of the Shamrocks’ long balls last spring. Despite graduating Ben Asmussen (Pitt), one of the team’s other top pitchers is back with Andrew Mahoney, another Cincy commit. Beyond them, look out for junior Jaxon Gatt, infielder Luke Fairchild and some other youngsters that warranted Catholic Central being voted No. 4, just one spot behind Brother Rice, in the D1 preseason poll.