Follow on Twitter- @PrepBaseballMI
Follow on Instagram- @prepbaseballmichigan

With 2024 now in the past, Prep Baseball Michigan is eagerly anticipating bringing the state the best high school coverage that can be found anywhere in 2025. Starting in February, we began releasing team previews for squads across the state. Ahead, we will have Preseason All-State Teams as well as the Preseason State Rankings coming your way.

To view the full list of 2025 Team Previews that we have already completed, please click here.

If you are a coach and haven't filled out your 2025 Team Preview, click here.

Interested in attending a Prep Baseball Michigan event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

2025 Spring Team Preview: Standish-Sterling

STANDISH - There were no senior starters on a team that set a school record for wins last season. Thus, despite being one of the smallest schools in the state in Division 2, expectations are high for the Panthers of Standish-Sterling this year.

“We have a very experienced team,” noted head coach Ryan Raymond, who led Standish to a 37-4 record a year ago, losing to Swan Valley 5-3 in the regional semifinals. “Most of these guys have started since their freshman year.

“They’re tight and they’re just quality individuals,” Raymond added. “Nobody has an individual agenda that I can tell.”

With three pitchers that are pushing the 90 mile an hour mark with velocity, it starts on the mound for the Panthers. Sam Briggs, Quinen Leamon and Preston Kann are expected to lead the way this season. Briggs had a 1.31 ERA in 48 innings last year with a 6-1 record, Leamon was 5-1 with a 1.46 ERA logging 39 frames and Kann finished 6-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 34 innings on the hill.

All are college commits and two-way players for Standish.

Briggs, the 40th-rated 2025 in Michigan, is a Saginaw Valley signee called by Raymond “maybe the best offensive player I have ever coached.” An outfielder, the two-time all-stater hit .449 with 53 hits, including five home runs last season while driving in a team-high 47 runs. Leamon, the 52nd-ranked senior right-handed pitcher in the state and a Lansing CC commit, will play first or DH when not pitching, while Kann, who battled a groin/hip injury last season, is the starting shortstop for the Panthers. A Toledo commit, the fifth-rated junior RHP in the state, batted .318 a year ago.

Additional experience to the team comes from three seniors with the ability to pitch in Brock Bartlett, Kasen Wendell and Caleb Emans. A right-handed pitcher and outfielder, Bartlett, who Raymond says is “the best strike thrower we have”, was 4-1 in 25 innings with a 1.65 ERA while batting .324 with nine doubles. Wendell, who will start at second base while moving to short when Kann pitches, was a .301 hitter with 24 RBIs a year ago while Emans will play first base and pitch. The 6-3 180-pounder, who Raymond says is “the best athlete on the team, batted .307 in 2024.

“We’re deep,” Raymond said. “We have nine or 10 arms we can put out there and throw.”

Three-sport standout Ty Yorton is one of two players that will catch for the Panthers. A D-3 football recruit who could also wrestle or play baseball at the next level in the eyes of Raymond, hit .271 as a junior. Carson Koin, who carried a .316 average during his sophomore campaign, is back to see time behind the plate.

Another standout in the 2025 class is center fielder and leadoff hitter Trace Collins. The 21st-rated junior outfielder in Michigan batted .348 with an OBP of better than .500 while leading the team in runs with 55 last season.

Juniors Rylee Blanchard and Ben Briggs will also bring experience to this year’s squad. Blanchard, who battled .462 with 45 RBIs in 2024, will play third base with Briggs, Sam’s younger brother who hit .500 after being moved up to play 15 games last season, seeing time in the outfield while moving to second base when Kann pitches.

“Overall improvement in our hitting is the key,” pointed out Raymond, who led Standish to the state semifinals in 2022 and 2023. “In the two semifinal losses we had three freshmen and five sophomores that started and now they’re young men. We’re looking forward to seeing what they can do this year.”

There are also high expectations with a number of “underclassmen looking to contribute” this season according to Raymond.

“Our recent history is good,” the Standish head coach said. “We have committed kids and committed parents. We play baseball the way it’s supposed to be played. We’re focused and team oriented. No kids worry about themselves.”

A change in leagues to the Jack Pine Conference brings more anticipation in 2025.

“There are far more D-2 schools in this league,” Raymond noted. “I’m looking forward to vying for a league title, but I’m more interested in making a state run if we can.”

Recent Articles