Michigan
Spring Sports Stars: Who is Michigan’s top underclassman on the 2025 baseball scene
MLive player polls are designed for discussion.
And what’s a better topic than “Who is the best?”
MLive has launched a project to help identify the top player in each class in each spring sport.
We’ve collected a list of 50 sophomore and freshman candidates and now ask for your input to name the Top Underclassman on the high school baseball scene across Michigan for 2025.
Cast your vote as often as you’d like until 8 a.m. Monday, June 2. There is no voting by email.
2025 TOP UNDERCLASSMEN: BASEBALL
*Anderson Adams, Lake Orion
*Blake Badal, Flushing
*Colin Bennett, Novi
*Abram Coffey, Marcellus
*Ryder Concannon, Saline
*Trace Dennis, Imlay City
*Sawyer Eager, Bay City All Saints
*Hunter Engberg, Otisville-Lakeville
*Logan Exner, Southgate Anderson
*Jackson Fossitt, Leslie
*Tyler Gardner, Macomb Dakota
*Benny Gaston, Jackson Lumen Christi
*Jaxon Gatt, Detroit Catholic Central
*Caden Gawkowski, Livonia Stevenson
*Jackson Haefner, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice
*Andrew Hoffman, Ann Arbor Huron
*Jakob Huber, Marcellus
*Dakota Inda, Essexville Garber
*Jaylen Johnson, Livonia Churchill
*Broder Katke, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice
*Ryley Krepps, Ravenna
*Alex Krugh, Galesburg-Augusta
*Josh Leonard, Sterling Heights Stevenson
*Dexter Lillmars, Fruitport
*Landon Mattis, Burton Bendle
*Jaret McCoy, Bangor
*Brady Messenger, Flint Kearsley
*Cash Moczydlowsky, New Boston Huron
*Cooper O’Keefe, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
*Preston Paoletti, Chelsea
*Paulino Perez, Bay City Central
*Akhil Pilla, Rochester Adams
*Cal Plarske, Bay City Western
*Colton Rich, Davison
*Alex Rivard, Pinconning
*Gavin Schmidt, Hemlock
*Jimmey Sequin, Bay City Western
*Trent Smith, Hopkins
*Tristan Spencer, Brownstown Woodhaven
*Eli Sturgess, Flint Powers
*Cameron Thorning, Brownstown Woodhaven
*Owen Tornga, Muskegon Mona Shores
*Keaton VanKampen, Byron Center
*Cavion Wade, Hazel Park
*Vincent Walbridge, Kalamazoo Hackett
*Koltyn Watters, Rochester Adams
*Davin Wilcrynski, Mt. Morris
MLive player polls are non-scientific ventures, designed to promote fun, fandom and discussion. The winners receive no prize and the results have no bearing on postseason awards.
Use of any form of automated voting is contrary to the intent and is not allowed.
Votes are not always tabulated immediately. If you receive a “Thank you for voting” message, your vote will be counted.
There is no voting by email!
If you would like your local high school sports news delivered free to your inbox daily, click here and sign up for one of our local high school sports newsletters.
Love reading about local sports? Don’t miss any of the excitement from the season ahead. Purchase your subscription now and get full access to every story on MLive!
Michigan mother of three talks about how she broke her kratom addiction
Melanie Clark, 35, of Kincheloe in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, has fought a four-year-long addiction to kratom, the so-called “gas station heroin.”
Michigan lawmakers are debating a complete ban on the sale of kratom products in the state, citing cases of addiction and instances of death from people consuming the herbal supplement known as the “gas station heroin.”
Here is what to know about this unregulated herbal substance commonly sold in convenience stores, gas stations and tobacco shops across Michigan:
What is kratom?
Kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia whose leaves contain compounds that can produce stimulant effects at low doses and opioid-like effects at higher doses. It is manufactured and sold in different forms: liquid tonics, tablets, gummies, powders and capsules.
What is kratom used for?
Kratom is marketed as a herbal supplement for energy, mood, pain relief or opioid withdrawal, though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any of those uses. Some kratom users take it to get off heroin or fentanyl, according to University of Michigan researchers.
How is kratom pronounced?
Kratom is pronounced KRA-tum. The letter “a” takes a short “a” sound, as in crab or crack.
What is 7-OH?
7-hydroxymitragynin, or 7-OH, is an alkaloid found in kratom leaves. It is manufactured in a synthetic form to produce an opioid-like sensation of pain relief or sedation. It is more potent than pure leaf kratom and sometimes referred to as the hard liquor version of kratom (if pure leaf kratom were considered beer, which typically has a much lower percentage of alcohol by volume compared with distilled liquor).
Is kratom an opioid or addictive?
Kratom users, substance abuse counselors and doctors report symptoms of dependence and withdrawal from the substance, particularly when users exceed the recommended serving size.
The Drug Enforcement Agency has warned that kratom has “sedative effects” that “can lead to addiction.”
On July 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration moved to declare certain 7-hydroxymitragynine synthetic kratom products a Schedule I controlled substance, the same class of drugs as heroin, ecstasy and peyote. As of April 9, the substance had not yet been formally added to the list of Schedule I drugs, which would effectively ban 7-OH nationwide.
Does kratom have side effects?
The FDA has warned that kratom use can lead to liver toxicity, seizures or substance use disorder.
Withdrawal from the substance can lead to increased anxiety, insomnia and psychiatric episodes, according to University of Michigan researchers.
Dr. Eliza Hutchinson, a family physician based in Ann Arbor who is a clinical instructor at UM, said her substance abuse patients describe withdrawal from kratom as “the worst influenza of your life — times 10.”
CARE Southeastern Michigan, a recovery advocacy group, has reported some individuals experiencing psychotic episodes after taking 7-OH, the synthetic form of kratom.
The FDA has also said kratom is “not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement” and unsafe as an additive to food. The powder and liquid forms of kratom are sometimes marketed as an additive to shakes and smoothies.
Does kratom show up on a drug test?
Yes, if it’s part of a specialized screening of narcotics and other substances that looks for active ingredients in kratom products.
Some substance abuse clinics in Michigan are starting to test for it, said Madison Lauder, a counselor at The Guidance Center in Southgate.
“We see you so often, we have added into our (drug test) panel,” Lauder said.
Is there any age restriction on buying kratom in Michigan?
No, Michigan has no laws governing the sale of kratom and related synthetics, such as 7-OH.
But retailers set their own rules. Some stores won’t sell to anyone under age 21.
Some of the 7-OH kratom products on the shelves of stores are labeled “21+.”
But there’s no law on the books in Michigan requiring buyers to show a photo ID when buying kratom, as is required to purchase alcohol, tobacco or marijuana.
Which states have bans on selling kratom?
Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin have outright bans on the sale of kratom.
In December, Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy used the state’s controlled substance laws to ban the retail sale, distribution and possession of 7-OH and other synthetic forms of kratom, board spokesman Cameron McNamee said.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy has a separate proposal to ban natural kratom products that remains in the rulemaking process, McNamee said.
Some cities and counties across the country have imposed varying local sales bans, including Anaheim, Calif., Spokane, Wash., and the New York City suburbs of Nassau County on Long Island, according to published reports.
What’s the status of legislation to ban kratom in Michigan?
On March 18, the Republican-controlled Michigan House voted 56-48 on legislation that would completely ban the sale of kratom products in Michigan. All 46 Democrats and two Republicans opposed the legislation.
Democrats cited a lack of any committee hearings on the legislation.
“There is no question of the growing concern around this product, and no one is saying, with this vote or otherwise, that the concern isn’t justified,” the House Democratic caucus said in a statement. “What we are saying is an outright ban, without any testimony or dialogue, is not the solution.”
The bill moved to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, assigned it to her Government Operations Committee.
Some kratom industry interests and individual users have advocated for a ban on just the 7-OH synthetic form of kratom.
Sen. Kevin Hertel, the St. Clair Shores Democrat who chairs the Senate Health Policy Committee, said the House’s passage of a total ban on kratom has changed the debate toward prohibition, which he favors until the FDA can further study the substance and its impact on the human body.
clivengood@detroitnews.com
Staff Writers Anne Snabes and Beth LeBlanc contributed.
For much of April, showers and melting snow has swamped Michigan, flooding homes, businesses, cottages, roadways; threatening and destroying infrastructure, including dams, and forcing what is likely hundreds of Michiganders to evacuate.
The unusual weather put the entire state under a flood watch.
It’s not over.
To help, the state’s Emergency Operations Center — which was activated on April 10, along with the governor’s state of emergency declaration — created a digital map identifying shelters and damaged areas.
There also is a livestream of the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex.
As of Monday morning, the water level at the dam had dropped slightly, and was less than 8 inches below the top, which is still a threat to both the community in the event of a spillover — or structural failure.
The map, which the emergency center is calling a dashboard, shows warming and cooling centers and where people can get food. It tracks where the tornadoes touched down, and the roadways that are under water, were eroded away and are completely washed out.
The emergency center also is providing more information on its website on how to ask for help, what state and federal assistance might be available, and how to get emergency email alerts from the State Police.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com
-
Michigan5 minutes agoMichigan ready to make a move with top targets in 2027
-
Massachusetts11 minutes agoTwo stabbed at Cedar’s Mediterranean Foods plant in Haverhill
-
Minnesota17 minutes agoMinneapolis city leaders say law enforcement, community members making Uptown safer, but more must be done
-
Mississippi23 minutes agoMississippi lawmakers face pressure to counter looming federal cuts to health care after punting this session
-
Missouri29 minutes agoBill requiring sex-based restrooms, dorms clears Missouri House
-
Montana35 minutes ago1 dead, another injured in two-motorcycle crash near Polson
-
Nebraska41 minutes agoNebraska jumps up to No. 2 in college softball Power 10 rankings
-
Nevada47 minutes agoFierce winds return to Southern Nevada