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2023 Spring Team Preview: Detroit Edison

DETROIT - “Next man up.”

That is the approach taken by Mark Brown at Detroit Edison.

Never has it been needed more than this season after losing a strong senior class from a team that was the first public school from Detroit to reach the state finals since 1972.

“We lost a lot of firepower with our first four hitters,” Brown said in reference to shortstop EJ Gregory and outfielders Greg Pace (Michigan), Keith Smith and Caleb Sanders (Dayton). “It’s going to be a challenge, but exciting.”

Consecutive 26-win seasons, which tied a school record for victories, along with three straight 10-0 campaigns in the Michigan Charter School League will be a tough task to follow.

“We had a really good run,” noted Brown, whose Pioneers were defeated by Buchanan 3-1 in the Division 3 state championship game a year ago. “We have five guys that started in that game coming back so I think we’ll be competitive. Our goal is always to get to the Final Four.”

Marwynn Matthews Jr., who will be the shortstop as well as pitching ace, is expected to be the leader this season after hitting .375 with 34 RBIs batting in the five-hole.

“We expect him to be our catalyst,” Brown said of the Western Michigan commit, a first-team all-stater who was 7-2 as a pitcher. “He’s our big-game pitcher. He started against Liggett and Greg was the closer and he started in the state semifinal game. He will be our number one guy on the mound this year.”

Kole Waterman, the 22nd-rated sophomore in Michigan who started at first base last year, will hit second or fourth and be the number two pitcher while playing right field when not on the mound.

Senior Daveion Williams is slated to be the third pitcher as well as catcher this season after playing second base once the JV season ended a year ago.

“This year starting pitching might be the strongest part of our game,” pointed out the seventh-year head coach of Edison, whose Pioneers rallied from a 4-1 deficit with one out in the top of the seventh inning to beat state power Liggett 5-4 on a Smith grand slam in the district opener. 

Deshawn Williams “has a chance to be the fourth starting pitcher” with the junior, the younger brother of Daveion, slated to start in left field.

Jordan Jones, an uncommitted junior rated 94th in the state in the 2024 class, is penciled in to bat third and play third base with Terrell Crosson playing shortstop when Mathews pitches.

Junior Aceion Royster will take over for Pace in center field this year for Brown, who is excited about JonTae Wright Jr., a 6-0 250-pound freshman who will start at first base.

“He has a chance to be a high-level player,” Brown said of Wright. “He has a chance to be a draft pick. He’s in a class with the top 10 guys in the state.”

Sophomore Kyle Norton, a tailback in football with Division I offers, will fill in at catcher and left field depending on who is pitching while fellow 10th-grader Parrish Smith, the seventh-rated sophomore third baseman in Michigan, brings versatility as a second baseman, pitcher, third baseman and first baseman.

“A coach’s best friend is competition,” Brown explained. “If you produce, you play. That makes everyone work hard every day.”

There is a lot to admire about this squad according to Brown.

“These guys really play for each other,” the Edison mentor said. “There’s a tightness about them, a cohesiveness. I really like these guys, they’re going to compete. I like the competitive nature of this group.

“We also have some guys that can run,” added Brown. “I look for that to be a big part of the team this year.”  

Another difficult schedule awaits the Pioneers, which open the season against Novi with games with the likes of Grosse Pointe North and South, Saline, Bay City John Glenn and Western International to follow.

“The key for us is, number one, staying healthy,” Brown said. “If our starting pitching is as good as I think it is, we have a chance against anybody in the state. We’ll also manufacture runs more this year. That will be key to getting back to East Lansing.”

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