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2015 Team Preview: Brighton

March 9, 2015

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By Dylan Hefflinger and PBR Staff
Editor in Chief/Scout

From now until the start of the 2015 season, Prep Baseball Report Michigan will bring you in-depth team previews throughout the entire state. If your coach has not filled out the survey please have him do so through this link.

Along with the team previews, the 2015 Team Rankings will be releasing sometime late February and we hope to bring a Q&A session to discuss the rankings.

Also, we will be releasing the preseason All Michigan Teams sometime in early March.

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2015 Team Preview: Brighton

School Name: Brighton
Coaches Name/Record: Charlie Christner, 56-15
2014 Record: 31-7
Conference: KLAA West  
Conference Record/Finish: 14-2 (1st)
Division Level: I 

Postseason Accomplishments:

  • 12 Conference Championships since 1993 (includes 2012, 2013, and 2014)
  • 15 District Championships since 1993
  • 7 Regional Championships since 1998

Key Players Lost From 2014:

  • Robert Spencer, SS, Muskegon Community College (student/athlete). Robert was our lead-off hitter and hit .404 and played a solid SS for us.
  • Blake Pokorski, C, Michigan State University (student). Blake was our clean-up hitter and hit .431 and played catcher.

Number of Returning Starters/Pitchers: 7/6

Strengths of Team:

  • Pitching...we return our 5 best pitchers last year. From a team that had an ERA of 2.04 as a group.
  • Experience...we will have at least 8-9 seniors...all of whom played big roles on last year’s quarterfinal team.

Weaknesses of Team:

  • Depth...our bench is a question mark heading into the season

Top Prospects in Class of 2015:

  • Alex Dixon, C/OF, 5'10", 185, R/R. Alex hit .405 last year as a junior playing both left field and catcher. He will be our 4 hitter this spring and top catcher. He is currently weighing his options on where he will play college baseball next season.
  • Justin Steele, 1B/P, 6'4", 205, L/R. Justin hit .385 with 7 HR and 37 RBI last year as a junior. He will be one of our top pitchers this year as well. He is committed to Saginaw Valley to play baseball in the fall.
  • Alexx Zielinski, P/OF, 6'5", 230, R/L. Alexx was All State last year as a pitcher. He had an 8-0 record and 1.02 ERA. He also hit .338 and played left field. He has multiple D1 offers to play baseball, but chose to sign and play football for Miami of Ohio in the fall.
  • Colin McClelland, P/SS, 5'10", 175, R-R. Colin was big for us on the mound and at 3B last year. He hit third in our lineup last year as a junior with a .333 batting average and had an ERA of 1.83 as well. He will play SS this year. He is committed to Saginaw Valley in the fall to play baseball.
  • Zach Vitkuske, P/OF, 6'2", 195, R/R. Zach was our closer last year as a junior. He had 3 saves and had a 0.00 era in 12 innings. This year he will be in our rotation. He is committed to Muskegon Community College.
  • Tanner Hoard, OF, 6'2", 195, R/R, Tanner did not get much time last year, but we expect big things from him this year. He is signed to play baseball at MaComb Community College in the fall.
  • Carson Hopman, P/3B, 5'8", 170, R/R. Carson played 3B and pitched for us last year as a junior. He was 8-1 with a 1.45 era. He is signed to play baseball at Muskegon Community College in the fall.

Top Prospects in Class of 2016:

  • Jerad Dokey, 2B/SS, 5'9", 160, R/R. Jerad was our starting 2B as a sophomore. He hit .314 in the 2 spot last year. This year I expect him to lead off and play both 2B and SS at times.

Top Prospects in Class of 2017:

  • Trevor Hopman, INF, 5'8", 160, R/R. Trevor will play varsity baseball this year for the first time. Not sure what to expect, but do feel that he will have the opportunity to play at the next level if he continues to progress.

Top Prospects in Class of 2018: 

  • Cameron Tullar, P/OF, 5'10", 160, R/L. Cameron is a freshman that will start on the JV team this year, but could finish the season on the varsity. He is a lefty with great mechanics and is getting a little interest from D1 programs.

Notable College/MLB Alumni:

  • Ryan McClelland--Grand Valley State 2013
  • Shane Dokey--Madonna 2012
  • Kyle Vesey--Wayne State 2007
  • Tyler Loehr--Wayne State 2007
  • Charlie Christner--Western Michigan 2001
  • Eric Biehl--Wayne State 1999
  • Jeff Biehl--Wayne State 1999
  • Frank Garcia--Eastern Michigan 1999
  • Drew Henson--New York Yankees 1998
  • Ron Hollis--Michigan/Los Angeles Dodgers 1991

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