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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.

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2025 Spring Team Preview: Sterling Heights Stevenson

STERLING HEIGHTS - The return of eight senior standouts brings plenty of optimism to the Titans of Sterling Heights Stevenson in 2025.

“We have a veteran team,” noted head coach Joe Emanuele. “We’re very solid defensively and we run well. We also have a talented pitching staff, but we have to throw strikes.”

The depth on the mound is obvious with seniors Alex Pierce, Scott Leonard, Jordan Miller, Ryan Rumble and Brett Leonard bringing abilities to the 2025 squad. Pierce, a Central Michigan commit rated 20th in the state among 2025 right-handed pitchers, was 3-1 with a 1.62 ERA last season while Scott Leonard was 6-2 with a 2.218 ERA, fanning 52 and walking 12. Miller, a left-hander, was 5-1 with a 3.01 ERA, striking out 29 and allowing eight free passes. Rumble struck out 50 while recording a 3-1 record with a 2.85 ERA.

“Pitching and defense is the focus with an emphasis on winning the one-run games,” Emanuele said in describing his program.

Scott Leonard, the second-ranked senior third baseman in Michigan, is among a strong group of returning bats after hitting .352 with 25 RBIs last season. The Eastern Michigan commit will have plenty of help in the lineup which features two other EMU signees, infielder Brett Leonard, the fifth-ranked 2025 shortstop in the state who batted .323 with 23 RBIs and 11 stolen bases, and Jake Leonard, the second ranked senior shortstop in Michigan who had a .317 average with 31 runs, 20 stolen bases and four home runs a year ago.

Pierce, a first baseman, batted .319 with three homers and 24 RBIs, while Rumble, an all-county center fielder as a sophomore who did not hit last season due to an injury, brings added firepower. The 91st-ranked senior in Michigan is a Lansing CC commit.

Another Lansing CC recruit is Carson Sweet, the 10th-rated 2025 catcher in the state who had a team-best .372 batting average last year, pounding out 42 hits including 13 doubles while driving in 20 runs.

Outfielder John Lonsway rounds out the senior returnees coming off a .285 campaign with 21 runs scored and a dozen stolen bases.

“We have to hit all the way through the lineup,” warned Emanuele, who must replace graduates Ty Jenkins and Brock Savage. Jenkins, an outfielder/pitcher now at Kellogg CC, hit .298 with 14 stolen bases while going 7-3 on the hill with 68 Ks and a 2.35 ERA. Savage, an infielder playing at Calvin College, batted .298 with an on-base percentage of .450.

The head coach of the Titans points to a trio of underclassmen expected to play key roles this season in Wyatt Pulliam, Josh Leonard and Alex Rincon. Pulliam was 3-0 with a 3.30 ERA, recording 22 strikeouts while walking 10 as a sophomore. Leonard is a promising left-handed hitting freshman infielder while Alex Rincon is a junior utility player and pitcher who saw time at the end of last season.

Emanuele, who is 610-298 entering his 27th season at the helm, looks for another competitive season in the MAC Red Division after finishing second a year ago. Dakota and Chip Valley are the top teams to contend with according to the Stevenson head coach, who adds that “everyone is good” in the league.

Winners of five regional titles since 2005 and one state championship, the Titans look to have another promising season according to Emanuele, whose squad was 28-13 a year ago, losing in the regionals.

“I like the leadership of this team,” Emanuele said. “They are hungry. The tournament is always tough with one game knockout, but if we throw strikes and hit, we will have a great year.”

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