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.)
1977 Baseball, Softball Finals Full of Firsts
June 5, 2017
By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half
This season’s MHSAA Baseball and Softball Finals will be played in two weeks, June 15-17 at Michigan State University.
As we begin to turn our attention to that grand finale for the school year, MHSAA historian Ron Pesch takes on a recollection of the diamond championships in both sports from 1977.
That season’s baseball playoffs were the seventh under MHSAA sponsorship, while softball was in its third season as an MHSAA tournament sport.
BASEBALL
CLASS A – Four of coach Pat O’Keefe’s Grand Ledge baseball teams have advanced to the final game in the MHSAA’s top division since the start of tournament play in 1971. A standout athlete at Standish-Sterling High School, Central Michigan University and in the minor leagues in the Houston Astros organization, O’Keefe has led two Comets squads, the 2001 and the 1993 teams, to MHSAA runner-up finishes. Grand Ledge grabbed Class A championship honors in 1995, but it was the first title, earned in June of 1977, that caught everyone by surprise.
After opening the season with three victories and a single defeat, Grand Ledge dropped their next four games in a row before rallying to a 14-6 regular-season mark and a third-place finish in the Capital Area Conference. Behind solid pitching, O’Keefe saw his team’s bats come alive in the postseason. Tim Skinner had three hits, scored twice and had a pair of RBI in District games with Owosso and Brighton. With six straight tournament wins, Grand Ledge advanced to Saturday morning’s Semifinal contest at Valley Field in Grand Rapids against Sterling Heights and its pitching ace, Rick Lemanski, who was unbeaten in 12 games. Ranked No 2 in the state by the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association, Sterling Heights loaded the bases with two out in the fourth inning, but a pop up to first baseman Scott Kemp ended the rally. With one out, the Stallions threatened again in the fifth with runners at second and third, but the rally ended when a missed sign on a suicide squeeze resulted in a strikeout and a tag out at third, ending the inning. Following a one-out double to center, junior Mike Dyer scored the game’s only run on a play at the plate in the eighth inning to win the contest. Craig VanDerSteen picked up the win for Grand Ledge, striking out 11.
Against top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central, the unranked Comets scored twice in the second inning, three times in the fourth and once in the fifth. Craig Dukes struck out two and scattered seven hits to secure the victory for Grand Ledge, while Dyer drove home three runners, scored, and sparkled defensively from the shortstop position.
“He played like a major leaguer, and he comes through in clutch spots like nobody I’ve ever seen.” said O’Keefe. Entering the 2017 season, his 49th as skipper at Grand Ledge, O’Keefe stood atop the MHSAA’s career coaching wins list with 1,221 victories against 208 defeats and a single tie.
CLASS B – In Class B, Gibraltar Carlson pounded out a 7-1 victory over No. 1-ranked Harper Woods Bishop Gallagher. Played at Stanley O. Broome Park in Flint and delayed until Monday due to rain, the game saw the Marauders score twice in the first inning. Southpaw Craig Smith, who struck out eight in a four-hit performance, singled and then scored on Kirk Williams’ triple. Williams scored to give Carlson a 2-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Kelly Mousseau. The Marauders scored again in the second inning when Gary Southerland singled then scored on a Brett Kahn triple. Williams notched his second triple of the game in the third, scoring the first of four runs in the inning. Following a Mousseau walk, Mark Shallhorn singled to drive in both runners. Another single by Southerland drove home Shallhorn, and following a groundout, he scored on a single by Kahn.
“This was undoubtedly the finest season in his 24 years of coaching for (John) LeFevre,” stated The Associated Press when it named him Class B all-state Coach of the Year. “He led Gibraltar-Carlson to a 28-7 record which were personal bests for most wins and winning percentage.”
CLASS C – Like O’Keefe, Blissfield’s Larry Tuttle began his coaching career in 1968. Number two on the all-time baseball win list, a mere seven wins back, Tuttle and his Royals earned their first Class C MHSAA baseball crown in 1973, then grabbed their second in 1976. At Marshall High School in 1977, Blissfield became the first Class C baseball team to repeat as champions, downing Center Line St. Clement by a score of 4-2. Trailing 2-1 headed into the fifth inning, Blissfield’s Jim DeVantier singled, stole second and third base, then scored on a wild pitch to knot things up. A bases-loaded walk to Bud Friess followed to give the Royals the lead. An insurance run in the seventh, scored by Steve Cannon on another wild pitch, gave Dave Pagel the win. Pagel, a two-time all-state selection headed to Central Michigan University, struck out seven and allowed four hits on the day. Friess also pounded out a two-run triple in Blissfield’s 5-0 win over Sanford-Meridian in the morning’s Semifinal. Mike Burgermeister went the distance for the Semifinal victory. The Royals finished the year with a 28-2 mark. St. Clement, Class C champion in 1972 and 1974, ended with a 28-8 record.
CLASS D – Mark Kelley struck out 15 in leading Ann Arbor St Thomas to a 4-3 win over Frankfort in a Class D Semifinal, then in the title game pitched the final two innings in relief to earn the win in St. Thomas’s come-from-behind 10-9 clincher over top-ranked Potterville. The games were played at Alumni Field in Mt. Pleasant. Trailing 7-4 headed into the top of the seventh inning, the Irish scored six runs on five hits, including a two-run single by Tom Dishman and a two-run double by Mike Stork to take a 10-7 lead. Potterville scored twice in its final at bat to pull within one run of the lead. With the bases loaded and one down, Kelley managed to retire the next batter with a pop-up to short, then struck out the final batter for the victory. Starting pitcher Gary Farmiloe, ousted from the title game after two innings, went 2 for 3 and scored the winning run in the Semifinal game versus Frankfort, then went 3 for 4 at the plate against Potterville with two singles and a double. St. Thomas, 5-11 at one point during the season, finished with a 15-12 record.
SOFTBALL
CLASS A – Senior Karen Searles tossed a two-hitter in Portage Central’s 10-0 victory over Temperance-Bedford in a Class A Semifinal, then allowed five hits in a thrilling 4-3 victory over Flint Carman to clinch the championship. The Mustangs opened a 3-0 advantage in the bottom of the fifth inning on a two-run single by Kim Barnes. Searles, who finished the year with a perfect 20-0 record, gave up three walks and a pair of hits in the sixth, including a two-run single by Kim Lancaster as Bedford rallied to tie the game. In the bottom of the seventh, an error allowed Karen Frank to reach first base with one out. Sacrificed to second, she scored on Sandy Surch’s third hit of the game. The Final was hosted at Memorial Field in East Detroit.
CLASS B – At Henry Robinson Park in Ionia, Roxanne Abramouski picked up her 31st victory without defeat as Grosse Ile downed South Haven, 5-3, for the Class B title. Grosse Ile opened a 3-0 lead in the first inning as Shawn Perry reached first on an error and scored following a double by Ann Perrault. A single by Allison Smith scored Perrault, while Smith later scored on another error. Patty Silye singled home a pair of runs in the fifth, expanding the lead to 5-0, before South Haven cut the margin to two with three runs in the sixth inning. A semifinalist in 1976, Grosse Ile finished the year with a flawless 33-0 record and 0.75 ERA. Abramouski continued her playing career at Ferris State, where she still ranks among the school’s pitching leaders in various categories.
“I would say it has been a pretty good year for girls athletics at South Haven,” said coach John Yelding. Earlier in the year, the Rams also finished Class B runner-up in volleyball.
CLASS C – DeWitt’s Cindy White fired a four-hitter, then went 4 for 4 at the plate to lead coach Debbie Boyd’s Panthers to a 12-5 thumping of Center Line St. Clement in the Class C championship played at Ella Sharpe Park in Jackson. White drove in five runs in the contest, notching a triple, a double and a pair of singles as DeWitt picked up its first MHSAA championship in any sport. St. Clement took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Panthers exploded for five runs in the third, two in the fifth and five more in the sixth for a 12-1 lead entering the seventh. DeWitt downed Niles Brandywine, 7-1, earlier in the day to advance to the title game. The championship was especially sweet for Coach Boyd, who had announced prior to the tournament that she would step down after five years at the helm.
CLASS D – Allendale senior Ruth Crowe tossed a pair of two-hitters as the Falcons downed Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, 10-0, in the morning’s Semifinal, then defeated Custer Mason County Eastern, 8-0, at Fink Field in Fowler. Allendale, top-ranked in Class D, scored early and often, tallying six runs in the first inning as Mason County Eastern allowed 11 hits and five unearned runs on the day. Deb McBurnett doubled to right-center in the second inning and scored on a Weez Stelland single for a 1-0 lead. Three errors, a walk and a bunt single by Crowe pushed the margin to four in the third inning. Another run on errors came in the fifth, and with two out in the sixth inning, five consecutive singles combined with errors allowed three more runs to score. Allendale ended the year with a 22-2 record, while Mason County Eastern wrapped up the season at 19-3.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Lansing State Journal on June 19, 1977, touted Grand Ledge’s first MHSAA baseball championship. (Middle) The DeWitt softball team won its first MHSAA title in any sport that spring. (Top photo courtesy of the Lansing State Journal, bottom photo from MHSAA archives.)