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2022 Michigan High School Team Previews

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2022 Spring Team Preview: Detroit Country Day

BEVERLY HILLS - It was a memorable, but near-miss, 2021 season for Detroit Country Day. The Yellowjackets finished 29-5 with two losses, including the district finals, coming to eventual Division 2 state champion Orchard Lake St. Marys. The other three defeats were walk-offs.

“I thought we were as talented as anyone except for Orchard Lake,” related Country Day head coach Steve Lepkowski.

While there are huge shoes to fill from that team, the eighth-year mentor, who led Country Day to the state quarterfinals in 2016, has high expectations in regard to the current team.

Brandon Mann, a Michigan football commit, has started since freshman year and will pitch and also be a utility player for the Yellowjackets this season after earning All-Regional honors last year.

A trio of other standouts are also being counted on for big seasons in seniors Chyran Humphries and Cole Wilhelmi along with sophomore Tyler Inge. Humphries, the fifth-rated 2022 outfielder in the state, is a left-hander committed to Eastern Michigan who will pitch, play first base and outfield. Wilhelmi is a Grand Valley State signee ranked 28th among 2022 catchers in Michigan. Inge, the number two rated 2024 shortstop in the state, is a Michigan commit who started a year ago at second base but will move to shortstop this year after the graduation of Jacob Yarberry, now at Coker College.

Yarberry is one of four key losses from a year ago that included Anthony Migliaccio, a catcher at Vanderbilt, Saborn Campbell, an outfielder at Stanford, and Danny MacLean, a football recruit at Central Michigan. All were either All-State or All-Regional last season. Another key loss to graduation is Gabe Nazelli, an outfielder now at Wayne State.

“This year we have a good mixture of experienced kids and new kids,” pointed out Lepkowski.

Joshua Campbell, the brother of Country Day alumni Saborn and Jon (Boston College), is a Michigan commit rated first in the state and 10th in the nation among freshman outfielders. Campbell will play middle infield and outfield for the Yellowjackets.

Senior Luca Bono and junior Dylan Lepkowski, son of the head coach, will have expanded roles this year in the outfield with Lepkowski and junior Gabe Zeldes getting time on the mound. Zeldes was 7-2 a year ago.

Sophomore Kenji Farrell will bring another arm to the pitching staff with Clay Hartje taking over behind the plate. The left-handed hitting Hartje is the 21st-rated 2023 catcher in Michigan who will also see time elsewhere on the field.

“We’re younger than most years but I think we’re very talented,” pointed out Lepkowski, who is looking at right-handers Manns, Inge, Zeldes and Farrell to lead the pitching staff with southpaw Nick Kalkanis, a senior, to also help out.

“One thing I like about this team is there are a lot of multi-sport athletes,” Lepkowski noted. “They’re really athletic.

“I think our bats and defense will carry us,” added Lepkowski. “I think we’ll hit one through nine with not much of a drop off. And I do think that our pitching will improve over the course of the season.”

There is more that stands out to Lepkowsk about the team.

“I can tell from this offseason that a lot of these kids that won a state championship two season ago, how big it was to be part of that,” Lepkowski noted. “It has really helped.”

As an independent, the Country Day coach understands what lies ahead during the season.

“We play a pretty competitive schedule, with Orchard Lake twice,” Lepkowski said. “We may take our lumps through the schedule but by the end of the year we’ll be a pretty tough out. I’m pretty confident about this team.”

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