Sports reporter Brandon Folsom names Hometown Life’s All-Area baseball team.
Reminder: HTL covers teams in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Canton, Commerce Twp., Farmington, Farmington Hills, Garden City, Livonia, Milford, Northville, Novi, Plymouth, Redford, South Lyon, Wayne, Westland, White Lake and Wixom.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ethan Armstrong, Garden City
The junior pitcher was in my top three for Player of the Year candidates all season. But after Gatorade asked me to get them in contact with the Michigan commit, that’s when I knew he needed to actually win the honor. Thanks to his 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame, the right-hander can reach up to 94 mph on the gun, plus he’s about as reliable as you can get in must-win games.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Eero Perkola, Plymouth Christian Academy
Coach Joe Bottorff retired in 2023 following a 16-year career at Plymouth Christian Academy, which included leading the Eagles to the Division 4 state championship in his final season.
When Eero Perkola replaced him, many thought the rookie coach would take PCA on another deep playoff run because of the talent coming back. That didn’t happen. The Eagles didn’t even make it out of the district.
But this past spring? Perkola made up for it, refining that talent and taking the team on a revenge tour until finally making it back to Michigan State and finishing as the state runner-up to Portland St. Patrick.
Hometown Life’s 2025 All-Area baseball team
INFIELDERS
Cole Van Ameyde, senior, Brother Rice (Michigan State)
Tommy Rose, senior, Plymouth (Eastern Michigan)
Cooper Weaver, senior, Plymouth Christian Academy (Macomb)
Luke Stevens, senior, South Lyon (Grand Valley)
Nolan Coppens, senior, Northville (Hillsdale)
Chris Mathis, senior, South Lyon (Heidelberg)
Ty Rowe, senior, Livonia Churchill (Madonna)
Tyler Brown, senior, Novi Christian Academy
Tommy Murphy, senior, Canton
Colin Bennett, sophomore, Novi
Billy Ochadleus, freshman, Milford
Tyler Taraszkiewicz, senior, Salem (Madonna)
Dylan Fairchild, junior, Detroit Catholic Central (Cincinnati)
OUTFIELDERS
Micah Lavigne, senior, Plymouth Christian Academy (Schoolcraft)
Logan Pheiffer, senior, Plymouth (Davenport football)
Alex Wilson, senior, Novi (Henry Ford)
Jaxon Gatt, sophomore, Detroit Catholic Central
Gavin Crowley, senior, South Lyon (Henry Ford)
Cash Van Ameyde, senior, Brother Rice (Oakland)
Will Miller, senior, Detroit Catholic Central (Tiffin)
PITCHERS
Uli Fernsler, senior, Novi (TCU)
Ethan Armstrong, junior, Garden City (Michigan)
Michael Fernandez, junior, Plymouth Christian Academy
Blake Ilitch, senior, Brother Rice (Ole Miss)
Jackson Miller, senior, White Lake Lakeland (Bowling Green)
Cole Duhaime, junior, Brother Rice (Virginia)
Corbin Kozlowski, senior, Livonia Franklin (Adrian)
Jack Shaw, senior, Walled Lake Central (Madonna)
Ryan Walters, senior, South Lyon (Saginaw Valley)
Andrew Mahoney, junior, Detroit Catholic Central
Greg Burns, senior, Northville
Sawyer Cooney, senior, Bloomfield Hills (Xavier)
Sebastian Shorter, junior, Birmingham Groves (Dayton)
CATCHERS
Broder Katke, sophomore, Brother Rice
Ethan VanBelle, sophomore, Garden City
Trevor Reed, senior, Novi (Macomb)
Jaden Saavedra, senior, South Lyon East (Bowling Green)
UTILITY PLAYERS/DESIGNATED HITTERS
Ryan Logan, sophomore, Novi
Bennett Thompson, junior, Detroit Catholic Central (Michigan State)
Patrick Hughes, junior, Birmingham Seaholm
Tyler Marx, senior, Bloomfield Hills (Kalamazoo Valley)
HONORABLE MENTION
INF – Carson Beattie, senior, Walled Lake Northern (Kalamazoo)
INF – Dylan Beasley, junior, Plymouth Christian Academy
INF – Ryan O’Neil, senior, Northville
INF – Justin Klepp, junior, Northville
INF – Pasha Goffee, junior, Walled Lake Western
INF – Andrew Hayes, junior, Walled Lake Northern
INF – Brooks Scheck, senior, White Lake Lakeland
INF – Carter Travis, junior, White Lake Lakeland
INF – Evan Urbin, senior, South Lyon East
INF – Jack Vargo, senior, South Lyon East (Calvin)
INF – Jaylen Johnson, sophomore, Livonia Churchill
INF – Landon Gross, senior, Livonia Franklin (Henry Ford)
INF – Ben Machowicz, junior, Livonia Stevenson
INF – Joe Berry, senior, Livonia Stevenson
INF – Nathan Patterson, senior, Livonia Stevenson (Madonna football)
INF – Chase Dawkins, senior, Detroit Country Day (Western Michigan football)
INF – Jerry Dixon, junior, Detroit Country Day
INF – Caleb Goldstein, senior, Cranbrook
INF – Tristan Turner, junior, Brother Rice
INF – Rashad Travis, junior, North Farmington
OUT – Maksim Neshov, freshman, Brother Rice
OUT – Teddy Winstel, senior, Canton (Kalamazoo Valley)
OUT – Kessler Blakita, senior, Canton
OUT – Carter Datillo, sophomore, Plymouth Christian Academy
OUT – Luke Gallagher, senior, Novi Christian Academy (Calvin)
OUT – Jackson Asaro, senior, Plymouth
OUT – Brady Tegen, senior, Plymouth
OUT – Bo Bishop, junior, White Lake Lakeland
OUT – Caden Buckley, junior, Walled Lake Central
OUT – Brady Heggemeyer, senior, Milford
OUT – Luke Meehan, junior, Walled Lake Northern
OUT – Luke Nelson, senior, Walled Lake Central (Schoolcraft)
OUT – Preston Shipman, senior, South Lyon East
OUT – Sawyer Schacht, junior, Salem
OUT – Lucas Brown, junior, Livonia Churchill
OUT – James Dixon, senior, Westland John Glenn
OUT – Julian McLeod, junior, Westland John Glenn
OUT – Landon Vojtkofsky, junior, Westland John Glenn
OUT – Andrew Grzanowski, junior, Livonia Stevenson
OUT – Dom Cassise, senior, Detroit Country Day (Hope football)
OUT – Tommy Zeldes, sophomore, Detroit Country Day
OUT – Nick Timko, senior, Cranbrook
OUT – Joey Hollyer, sophomore, Lutheran Westland
OUT – Ryan Pfeiffer, senior, Birmingham Seaholm
OUT – Joshua Gibson, senior, Birmingham Groves (Alabama-Huntsville basketball)
OUT – Seth Cohen, senior, North Farmington
P – Luke Janigian, junior, Plymouth Christian Academy
P – Nick Riebschleger, senior, Plymouth (Macomb)
P – Lucas Hoffmeyer, junior, Walled Lake Western (Central Michigan football)
P – Bridger Olnhausen, junior, Livonia Churchill
P – Thomas Wiwigacz, senior, Livonia Franklin (Henry Ford)
P – Nicholas Massie, senior, Livonia Franklin (Grace Christian)
P – Colton Richardson, freshman, Cranbrook
P – Bobby Haworth, junior, Lutheran Westland
P – Dylan Layer, sophomore, Birmingham Seaholm
P – Xan Scheinfield, junior, Birmingham Groves
P – Vincent Roach, senior, Walled Lake Western (Macomb)
C – Parker Stasak, senior, Walled Lake Central
C – Phinley Jeffrey, senior, Plymouth
C – Braylin Bynum, senior, Livonia Franklin (Henry Ford)
U – Cam Chinavare, senior, White Lake Lakeland
U – Jaxson Wisniewski, junior, Salem
U – Ryan Davis, junior, Livonia Franklin
U – Jose Diaz, senior, Westland John Glenn
U – Seth Hittleman, sophomore, Cranbrook
U – Maksim Neshov, freshman, Brother Rice
U – Ozzy Borman, senior, Birmingham Seaholm
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Folsom’s favorites: Hometown Life’s 2025 All-Area baseball team
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
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