Follow on Twitter- @PrepBaseballM
Follow on Instagram- @pbrmichigan

To view the full list of 2023 Team Previews that we have already completed, please click here. Or you can view each of the divisions in an excel format by clicking below.

• Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3 | Division 4

If you are a coach and haven't filled out your 2023 Team Preview, click here.

Interested in attending a PBR Michigan event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

2023 Spring Team Preview: Buchanan

BUCHANAN - David Sokolowski feels very little pressure as the new head coach of defending Division 2 state champion Buchanan. After all, it is the job he has always wanted.

“I’m a Buchanan 2010 grad,” Sokolowski said. “It’s my alma mater. It means everything. It’s always been my dream job coming back to Buchanan, my hometown, and teaching here.”

Jim Brawley, who led the Bucks to the state title a year ago, is now at Niles but it is not the only loss Buchanan has from the 2022 team, which will be without their top three pitchers from a 30-4 squad that beat Detroit Edison 3-0 in the finals.

“We’ll definitely be a new-look team,” Sokolowski admitted. “It’s not a secret we lost a lot of pitching from last year.”

Thomas Van OverBerghe, a three-sports standout who was first-team all-state in football, is expected to be the ace this season, with the senior getting help on the mound from all-state shortstop Cade Preissing, a Kalamazoo College commit who scored all three runs for Buchanan in the state championship game last year.

Senior Connor LeGault, who “will be a key hitter in the middle of our order,” is another that will see action on the hill while also playing corner infield. Outfielder Nico Finn, a junior, is also expected to contribute on the mound.

“This team will be much more about pounding the strike zone and playing good defense,” Sokolowski pointed out.

In addition to Preissing, the 15th-ranked 2023 shortstop in Michigan who batted in the two-hole a year ago, Finn, the 37th-rated junior outfielder in the state, is back in center field where he started and hit sixth as a sophomore.

A trio of seniors are being counted on to play major roles in 2023.

Adam Gordon is expected to be the catcher with Jack Ruth a utility player and Ryder Andersen at first base or DH.

“We have a small senior class, but it was all part of the state championship last year,” noted Sokolowski, the head baseball coach at River Valley from 2017-2021 before taking 2022 off while getting married and transitioning into teaching. “Adam did not play much last year but we have high hopes for him and Jack literally played every position but catcher last year.”

Additional help is on the way in sophomores Tyler Baker and Jake Franklin along with freshman Holden Carrington. Baker is a third baseman/outfielder, Franklin a second baseman/shortstop and Carrington can catch and play middle infield. Junior Kyle Lewis-Schadler also brings promise as a pitcher and outfielder.

Five of the top seven in the batting order graduated from the state title team in Drew Glavin, now at Kalamazoo Valley, Matthew Hoover, now at Western Michigan, Murphy Wegner, currently at Albion, Macy West, playing now at Lansing CC, and Hunter Carrington, who is with Muskegon CC. Hoover was the winning pitcher in the state finals while driving in two runs and West had a pair of hits and picked up the save. Glavin pitched six shutout innings in the state semifinals and Wegner scored two runs.

“There is a rich baseball history at Buchanan,” explained Sokolowski, who is looking to take the Bucks to their eighth district title in a row. “I was part of teams that won 20 games and since I graduated the program has reached the Final Four three times, something I want to continue.

“The main thing that has made the program successful is we have a lot of good baseball people surrounding the program,” Sokolowski added. “We return a couple of assistants including Eric Henckel, a former head coach for two years after I graduated, along with Rob Becvar and Devin Ott. The community loves baseball and the youth program is very successful. These are all things we need to keep going.”

The 30-year-old Sokolowski, who has a career coaching record of 73-52, sees a lot to like about this year’s Buchanan squad, which opens the season on March 31 at Coloma.

“We work hard,” Sokolowski noted. “We do have something not a lot of people have and that’s state championship experience. That’s a big thing to have.

“We’re very coachable, which is a treat to me as a first-year coach,” added the Buchanan mentor. “We’re a baseball team that will go out and do our job.”

Rivals Berrien Springs and Brandywine are considered by Sokolowski the biggest threats to a Lakeland Conference title in 2023.

“In my humble opinion, I still think we’re the league favorite and think we’re the district favorite with a shot to win regionals,” Sokolowski concluded. “There is no reason to not be a 20-win team again this season. But I think everybody will be sleeping on us, with what we graduated.”

Recent Articles