Sixteen Division 1 players from Oakland County were among the nearly 30 altogether from the region that were selected all-state this past season by the MHSBCA.
That number from D1 is an increase from the 10 picked out of the area last year, and it was to be expected. This spring was more representative of the county’s typical dominance. Whereas last season Orchard Lake St. Mary’s was the only team from the area to reach the state semifinals, the Eaglets and Detroit Catholic Central each won a state title, Rochester Adams reached the D1 final, and Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (D3) and Royal Oak Shrine (D4) each reached the semifinals.
Brother Rice had six players picked all-state, the most from one program, followed by four from Woodhaven. Junior catcher Broder Katke, senior first baseman Mike Stanton, sophomore outfielder Maksim Neshov and senior pitcher Cole Duhaime, a quartet that was also picked to this year’s MHSBCA Dream Team, were among the bunch, alongside Warriors senior infielder Tristan Turner and junior pitcher Griffin Delusky.
Oakland County players make up nearly half of this year’s MHSBCA Dream Team
From Detroit Catholic Central, senior pitcher Andrew Mahoney and senior infielder Dylan Fairchild were both Dream Team picks, too, and were joined on the all-state squad by classmate and infielder Bennett Thompson, a switch-hitter who’s capable of touching the low-90s on the bump and will continue playing at Michigan State.
The Shamrocks also had the D1 Coach of the Year in Ryan Rogowski, who helped bring the school its fourth state title in his sixth season in charge of the program.
In addition to Neshov, Adams outfielder Flip Watters was one of just four sophomores picked to the D1 all-state team (Woodhaven’s Tristan Spencer, Bay City Western’s Jimmy Sequin). Joining Watters from the state runners-up was junior pitcher Brady Linstrom, who finished the season 8-0 and had a 1.46 ERA entering East Lansing.
Walled Lake Northern may have finished third place in the LVC baseball standings behind co-champs Lakeland and Milford, but that didn’t stop Northern from putting its own pair on the all-state team following a 25-win campaign, more overall victories than any other teams from the league. The Knights picked were both seniors in outfielder Landon Wilkoff (.490 AVG, .578 OBP, five HRs), a Hope College commit, and infielder Alex Nazak.
Also representing the LVC out of Lakeland was outfielder Boden Bishop. Committed to Western Michigan, the lefty delivered against the league’s best, going 15-31 with 11 RBIs against the other top-three teams in the conference.
Rounding out the LVC representatives was one of the state’s best catchers, South Lyon East senior Jaden Saavedra, who will continue his career at Bowling Green.
Logan Scheidt’s selection meant half of the catchers on the D1 team were from the county. The West Bloomfield backstop ended his senior season with a .387 average, including a pair of triples and three home runs.
Rounding out the county’s D1 selections was Oxford junior Bradley Bieniasz. He delivered on the mound for the Wildcats, sporting a 9-1 record with a 1.09 ERA and 82 Ks over 64 IP, but also batted at a .390 clip with a .485 OBP.
DIVISION 2
State champs Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Notre Dame Prep combined for seven picks on the D2 all-state team, and Eaglets head coach Nick Di Ponio was named Coach of the Year for bringing home the program’s fourth state title since 2015.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Hudson Brzustewicz makes contact in the D2 semifinal against Dearborn Divine Child on Thursday, June 11, 2026 in East Lansing. (MATTHEW B. MOWERY, MediaNews Group, file)
First baseman Derick Conrad (.411 AVG, 48 RBIs, .985 fielding percentage) was one of three Eaglets who were picked both all-state and to the Dream Team along with teammates Hudson Brzustowicz and Luke Creighton. They were joined by OLSM senior infielder Andrew Tribul, a Michigan State commit who had 46 RBIs and swiped 18 bags.
Notre Dame Prep infielder Drake Roa and first baseman Henry Ewles, both Dream Teamers, were joined on the D2 all-state team by Irish senior catcher Owen Fulsher (Northwood), another key piece who helped ND Prep reach 30 wins for the first time in program history.
Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest outfielder Brennan Goebel stands at the plate in the D3 state semifinal against Traverse City St. Francis on Thursday, June 11, 2026. (GEORGE SPITERI – For MediaNews Group, file)
DIVISION 3
From the state semifinalists, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest had a pair of D3 picks in pitcher Jacob Kouba and outfielder Brennan Goebel.
Kouba, a senior committed to St. Clair County Community College, had a 1.06 ERA with 94 Ks over 59 2/3 IP innings entering the Final Four (and a .455 AVG with 41 RBIs and 23 SB), while Goebbel, a junior, was hitting .516 with 41 RBIs and 40 steals for the Crusaders, who made their first appearance in the semis in 20 years.
DIVISION 4
Royal Oak Shrine had three seniors selected all-state in catcher Sean Murphy, infielder Caydin Barbato and pitcher Nate Alba.
Alba (Ohio Northern University) entered East Lansing carrying an 11-2 record with a 1.40 ERA and 170 strikeouts over 84 2/3 IP, while Murphy, who was also 7-3 on the bump with a 2.62 ERA and 85 Ks, had a .468 average with 43 RBIs and 17 SB. Barbato, meanwhile, hit .444 with 40 runs scored and 21 steals.