Brother Rice Baseball, Lacrosse Standouts Live Out National Team Dreams
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
October 23, 2026
Broder Katke sees it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a stepping stone and also a chance to showcase himself not only on a national level, but eventually an international one.
Not least of all, however, is the chance to represent his country.
When the Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice senior and Vanderbilt University commit found out he'd made the USA Baseball U-18 team for the recently commenced WBSC Americas U-18 Pan Am Championships in the Dominican Republic, he didn't dwell on the pressure and long odds he overcame, but instead on what a tremendous opportunity the selection offers.
"There are definitely a lot of ways to look at it," said Katke, one of three Brother Rice athletes selected to compete in select United States national competitions this fall. "I just looked at it like, don't press, don't make the situation bigger than it is. You just go about it like any other game, any other at-bat.
"It was super cool to make the team a cold-weather state. Putting that "USA" across your chest and representing your country is a big thing."
A senior catcher for Brother Rice, Katke made the U-18 team following tryouts at the USA Baseball facility in Cary, N.C., in late August. Eighty-eight players were invited including other catchers from California, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana, Minnesota and Puerto Rico. Katke impressed a coaching staff comprised of predominantly former major leaguers by going 5-for-17 with two RBIs in eight games.
The Pan Am Championships are a qualifier for the 2027 U-18 World Cup in China. Katke is the first Michigan native to make the U-18 roster since Billy Killian of Remus Chippewa Hills in 2003. Just 10 Michigan high schoolers have made that team since its founding in 1981.
Recent graduates of the U-18 program include current major leaguers Pete Crow-Armstrong, Bobby Witt Jr., Riley Greene, C.J. Abrams, Corbin Carroll, Nolan McLean, Jackson Holiday and Dylan Crews. Among USA Baseball coaches at the tryouts were former big leaguers Brian Schneider, Rick Ankiel, Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond and Brad Wilkerson.
Katke made Michigan's all-state Dream Team at Brother Rice last spring after batting .410 with 21 RBIs and 34 runs. In three seasons at Brother Rice, Katke has hit .371 with 78 RBI, 31 doubles and eight homers in 275 at-bats.
He knows the rarity of making a national team when 14 of the 20 players come from baseball-popular, warm-weather states California, Florida, Texas and Georgia.
"Michigan is a cold-weather state, but it doesn't get enough credit in baseball," said Katke, rated as the nation's 37th-best player by Perfect Game and 31st by Prep Baseball. "But (cold-weather) teams haven't faced some of the pitching we have. I was never stressed out at the tryout; I just wanted to compete and give myself the best shot at making the team. I thought of it as a chance to express myself rather than trying to impress.
"There are bigger and faster players than me, but I was there to do the best I could. It was nice to go there knowing you were representing your school, our coaches, community and state. If you go there thinking anything else, you're playing the wrong game."
Katke said one of his strengths as an athlete is the ability to put pressure aside. Katke followed up his performance at the tryouts by playing for the West team last month at the 2026 Dick's Perfect Game All-American Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. He was the first Michigan player to make that game since Northville's Dante Nori in 2023.
"Pressure is a privilege," Katke said. "You feel intensity and you're excited, and there's a thin line between the two. You're going to have anxiety, but the preparation I had leading up to the event was some of the best I've ever had."
Katke is one of three Brother Rice athletes who have recently donned USA national team jerseys. Senior Ben Waechter made the USA Lacrosse U-19 team while junior Michael Burkhart made the U-17 team. The Brother Rice lacrosse players were the only Michigan players to make either team, both of which competed in the Sept. 27-29 Brogden Cup held at the USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md.
Committed to continue at Duke, Waechter was all-state and All-American last season and scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the 2025 Division 1 championship game against Detroit Catholic Central. He was one of 85 players invited to the original tryouts who later were cut down to the final 25.
"Everyone dreams of having "USA" stitched across your chest," he said. "That's awesome. You're playing with some of the best lacrosse players in the country, which is always a goal you have in mind. Getting to the highest step you can make is great, something awesome to be part of."
While Katke competed against well-known southern and western baseball players, many of lacrosse's top high school-age players come from the East. The talent level at the tryouts was an eye-opening experience, Waechter said.
"It was definitely hard because the East has so many players, but I've always had good coaches who do the same things that coaches in the East do," he said. "It just comes down to how much you want to put into it."
The USA U-19 team defeated Canada 8-7 in the final to go undefeated in three games.
Burkart lettered for Brother Rice as a junior last season. He went through a Regional qualifier and then 100-player combine to make the U-17 roster.
"It was an amazing experience," he said. "You have to go out there level-headed and not wanting to get out of yourself and play badly. I felt I was pretty composed and not overconfident, and that worked for me."
Like Katke and Waechter, Burkhart was aware there are limited chances to impress coaches at tryouts. He credits the national team coaches, however, for giving all players an equal shot at making the roster.
"I thought we had a lot of chances to make plays," he said. "Things move pretty fast. You do drills and technical stuff, but there is an opportunity to be seen. That's what you want."
The U-17 team beat Canada 16-3 in the final to earn a gold medal.
PHOTOS (Top) At left, Broder Katke heads to first base while playing for his national baseball team. At right, Michael Burkhart and Ben Waechter pose for a photo together. (Middle) Katke waits on a pitch during an at bat for USA Baseball. (Below) Waechter launches what would become the game-winning shot for Brother Rice in the 2025 Division 1 Final. (Katke photos courtesy of USA Baseball.)
Tecumseh Thankful for Day to Remember
June 3, 2019
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
TECUMSEH – Baseball’s loss was lacrosse’s gain.
Dylan Day was in the fifth grade and playing Little League baseball in Tecumseh when he earned a spot on the district all-star team. Because he wasn’t a resident of Tecumseh, however, he wasn’t eligible to play for the squad.
“I was already starting to like lacrosse,” said Day. “In school, the varsity kids came down to our school and gave us a clinic on lacrosse. It looked like something I’d be interested in. I decided to give it a try.”
That lesson must have been a good one. It eventually led to a tremendous four-year run for the Tecumseh team and a phenomenal individual career for its leader.
Day is a multiple-sport athlete who completed his four-year career last week as Michigan’s second all-time leading scorer in lacrosse with nearly 500 career points. Last fall he rushed for 1,020 yards and passed for 1,037 more for the Indians’ football team, earning all-Southeastern Conference honors and receiving all-state mention from some postseason teams. He had more than 3,200 career offensive yards in football.
Despite hearing from Tecumseh’s football coaches that he might have a future playing college football, the 6-foot, 175-pound Day has long been dreaming of playing college lacrosse. He started playing the sport year-round before middle school. During the summer he would sometimes go from a full day of lacrosse to football workouts. He joined a traveling lacrosse team early on and has been playing across the country now for several years.
“I think the sport just fits my style,” he said. “I like to be active, run around and I like to hit. It’s the sport that I definitely have the most fun playing.”
Day was an instant success in lacrosse.
As a freshman, he scored 65 goals and had 27 assists, earning all-SEC and honorable mention all-state honors for the 14-3 Indians. After that season, he made the Under Armour All-American Midwest Uncommitted Team, a national traveling team that competed in a high-level tournament in Baltimore.
“He was a leader since the day he stepped on our practice field by challenging other teammates to elevate their game and speed,” Tecumseh lacrosse coach Steve Ayre said.
In 10th grade, he scored 83 goals and had 45 assists, with an 11-point game against Saline. As a junior, he surpassed the previous MHSAA record for goals in a season with 104 and had 59 assists. The Indians went 20-1 and won a Regional championship – and fittingly Day scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
“I didn’t care that I scored the goal as much as I cared about winning the championship,” he said. “It was a dogpile, everyone was jumping on. It was great.”
Another thing that made his junior season one to remember was he was able to share it with his younger brother Blake who also played on the team.
“We are brothers, so we argue, but it was pretty cool to play alongside of him, too,” he said.
This season, Day was as good as ever, scoring 52 goals and getting 52 assists. He finished his career with 304 goals, 183 assists and 417 ground balls.
“Dylan has always shown great athleticism, but his tempo of play and fearlessness set him aside from other athletes,” Ayre said.
Although he spent most of his career as an attack, he also played some midfield. “I think the coaches recognized I was good at scoring goals, so they put me in the attack spot,” he said.
In November, Day committed to the University of Indianapolis to play lacrosse. It’s a NCAA Division II program that is relatively new but has enjoyed a lot of success. In just their fourth season, the Greyhounds made the national semifinals and finished with a 16-3 record overall.
“My education is the most important thing,” Day said. “When I started looking and making visits, that’s the first thing I would ask about. I want to be a dentist or something in that field.”
As for playing the sport at the next level, Day is excited for the challenge.
“I’ve been playing lacrosse year-round now for several years,” he said. “I’m just a busy person in general. I think I’ll get used to playing in college.”
Ayre said he has no doubt Day will do what it takes.
“His dedication to academics and athletics has always impressed me,” Ayre said. “In today's world it is easy to get caught up in wanting to be a college athlete. Unfortunately, this usually means you lose sight of other things in your life, like academics, family, being a kid. Dylan played football for four years, worked at a job, completed a pre-dentistry course at our Tech Center, played on numerous travel and showcase lacrosse teams, and still managed to be a kid.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTO: Tecumseh’s Dylan Day finished 2019 among the all-time leading scorers in MHSAA boys lacrosse history. (Photo courtesy of the Tecumseh boys lacrosse program.)