BEVERLY HILLS – Two state championship contenders did battle on the tennis courts at Detroit Country Day Friday afternoon.

Defending Division 3 champion Detroit Country Day came out with some fire and handled a Pontiac Notre Dame Prep team ranked second in Division 4 by a score of 7-1.

“It was good to see everyone come out with energy and be committed to cheering each other on. That was very nice to see,” said Country Day head coach Nick Fiaschetti. “I noticed we did a good job of dealing with adversity, because there were some moments that things could have gone really bad today.”

Karishma Vakhariya got a 6-2, 6-0 win in No. 3 singles, beating Ava Jarvis. Fiaschetti spoke about her performance as one that stood out to him on this day.

“She had a bit of a slow start and then just cruised after that,” Fiaschetti said. “She has had matches this year where it’s the complete opposite where she comes out hot and goes into a bit of a lull. Today she could have gotten herself into a scary situation, but she was smooth sailing.”

Elsewhere in the singles lineup, Country Day got a 6-0, 6-0 win from No. 2 singles Chloe Conniff, who beat Francheska Daugary. No. 4 singles Helen Benjamin got a good win over Lucy Silver as well, winning sets by scores of 6-3 and 6-1.

In No. 1 singles, Country Day senior Sophia Grzesiak, the defending state champ in D3 at that flight, beat Irish freshman Marissa Bitoni 6-3, 6-1.

Notre Dame Prep head coach Brandon Clayton complimented his top player, saying, “Marissa has been so good for us, and is just learning how small touch-ups make a big difference. She played a great opponent today, and that age difference can be tough to deal with.”

Clayton also talked about his No. 1 doubles team of Sophia Gust and Sara Okka that he felt put on an impressive display even in a loss.

“Our one doubles have really stepped up,” Clayton said. “Sophia and Sara have done a great job exceeding expectations. They were competitive for more than a set today. Those two have played Country Day before at lower positions and lost a lot worse than today. That shows their improvement.”

Country Day’s No. 1 doubles tandem is a state title contender and Quinn Norlander and Katie Han showed that with a 6-2, 6-1 win. Individually, Norlander made the finals last year in No. 2 singles and Han was the winner in the No. 4 singles flight.

Notre Dame Prep got its lone win of the day in No. 4 doubles as freshman pair Elena VanDieren and Vanessa Artinian came away with a strong 6-2, 7-5 victory over Katherine Chen and Grace Kalkanis.

“That is a team that does so well together. One can be a beast at the net, and one is so dangerous from the baseline. That is such a great combination especially at that spot in the lineup. If they can beat that team today, they’re capable of beating anyone in our division. Obviously we have a ton of good competition there, but they can do it.”

Country Day got good contributions from the rest of the bottom of their lineup. No. 5 doubles pair Zoe Bergg and Krya Zacharias beat Anna Kafarski and Tina Yeras 6-1, 6-1. Noor Mahmoud and Addie Grebinski got a 6-1, 6-3 win over Gemma Hofley and Regina Carpenese at No. 2 doubles, and at No. 3 doubles, Zoe Grebinski and Margaux Kohn won 6-3, 6-1 over Erin Delaney and Adriana Johnson.

Fiaschetti feels he has the right pieces throughout the doubles lineup, but the right combination may still be out there. “We know where we are right now, and we know where we are going to be,” he said. “We have maybe one question mark at the end of the lineup, but we have confidence in ourselves. The key is to continue working hard every day in practice, and we will be all set.”

Clayton praised his players for the rise of his program, which produced a runner-up finish at last year’s state tournament.

“Year-by-year, we keep getting better,” Clayton said. “The future’s so bright. We have never been competitive with a team like Country Day before, and now we are out there giving them tough matches around the lineup. As a coach I feel good about us being a school that good teams look at and want to play, and beat.”

Photos of Detroit Country Day vs. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in girls tennis action

He added what facing a defending state champ in a higher division can do for his group.

“This is definitely one of the toughest challenges for us," Clayton said. "This is one of the best teams in the state, no matter what division. Playing them here is obviously less of an advantage for us, but I like the challenge. I love it for our girls. Today gave us so much to work on heading into our regional. I don't look at the final score on a day like today, us coaches will look at what we did to compete at this level and we’re learning that little things make a huge difference against elite competition.”

Country Day has a short turnaround for a highly competitive quad Saturday morning. The opposition includes last year's D1 runner-up Utica Eisenhower and three-time defending D4 champion Ann Arbor Greenhills. Fiaschetti broke down the day ahead.

“We are going to need our lower doubles to compete," Fiaschetti said. "We have big matches at our singles spots too, but we need to not overlook anything tomorrow. Maybe we can steal a few matches from Greenhills, Ike is one of the strongest teams in the state from top to bottom. So it will be tough.”

Detroit Country Day defeated Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 7-1 in the match played on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Country Day.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Zach Neto poked the bear.

A confrontation between the Angels’ talented and feisty shortstop and Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal ratcheted up the intensity in this series tenfold Friday night.

And the drama culminated in some extreme Tiger thunder in the ninth inning. They blew up a 1-1 game scoring eight times to beat the Angels 9-1 at Angels Stadium. And most of the damage came against decorated veteran reliever Kenley Jensen.

Riley Greene homered twice in the inning, a solo shot leading off against Jansen and a three-run homer to cap the inning against lefty Jake Eder. Greene, with eight homers, is the first Tiger to hit multiple homers in the same inning since Magglio Ordonez in 2007.

Colt Keith went back-to-back with Greene to start the inning, his second homer in three games. And Javier Baez homered for the third straight game. Quite the offensive explosion.

It was a different type of fireworks early.

Neto ambushed Skubal’s first pitch, launching a 98-mph four-seamer 429 feet over wall in left-center field.

Neto stood at home plate and admired his work a bit too long, which grated on the Tigers’ dugout and on Skubal.

Skubal started unleashing high-octane sinkers and four-seamers, hitting 100 mph and in one stretch pumping four straight 99-mph heaters.

Neto came up for the second time with a runner at third and one out in the third inning. Skubal blew him away with an elevated 99-mph four-seamer and then yelled something at Neto.

Something to the effect of, “Sit the bleep down.”

Neto stared back at Skubal for a couple of seconds before saying something back. At one point, Skubal waved Neto out to the mound, as if saying, “Let’s go.”

The Angels dugout emptied first and the Tigers immediately after. Nothing came of it and both teams were separated quickly and the bullpen pitchers were sent back before they even got to the infield.

Skubal was unfazed by the ruckus. He went right back to work, piling up strikeouts and quick outs, turning the Angels’ aggressive approach into quick innings.

After a six-pitch fourth, he was at 48 pitches.

The Angels got three first-pitch hits, including Neto’s homer. But Skubal also got four first-pitch outs. He was at an economical 64 pitches after punching out the last three hitters in the Angels lineup in the fifth.

The economy of his work is what made it a bit odd that manager AJ Hinch removed him after six innings and 73 pitches. He finished his night with six straight outs, four of them strikeouts.

He had eight strikeouts and no walks in his outing.

And he left the game tied 1-1.

The Tigers couldn’t solve Angels starter Jose Soriano. With his 96 and 97 mph four-seamers and sinkers complemented by power knuckle-curves and splitters, he blanked them on six hits in six innings.

Shortstop Trey Sweeney tied the game in the top of the seventh, hooking a 3-2 off-speed pitch into the short corner in right field, just inside the foul pole against right-handed reliever Ryan Johnson.

It was Sweeney’s second homer of the season.

Relievers Chase Lee and Tyler Holton combined for six straight outs to get the game to the ninth.

LAKE ORION – Five unanswered goals in the second half allowed Lake Orion to beat Rochester Adams 16-8 Friday night in a contest that earlier on was more competitive than the final tally would indicate.

Previously unbeaten, the Highlanders kept it to within two goals deep into the first half before the Dragons gradually pulled away and sealed the deal with those handful of goals without reply.

“I knew going into this it was going to be a challenging game for our girls,” Adams head coach Aly Hext said. “Unfortunately, it fell right after prom as well, and I have 16 seniors (laughs), so they were a little tired today. But I think they went out there and gave it their all. It was a tough game.”

Sophomore Brooke Bronczyk got the Dragons (7-2) on the board just 37 seconds in, then junior Lydia Shifferd scored and classmate Brielle Coventry put in two that gave the hosts a four-goal advantage within five minutes.

“From the start, we talk about playing Dragon lacrosse,” Lake Orion head coach Jason McElroy said. “We set a standard where we want to play a certain style no matter who we’re playing against. Adams is a big rival for us so we wanted to come out fast, put the pressure on, and our mids — Brielle, Amelia Guccione and Brooke — have been special all year.”

Following several Orion fouls up the field, senior attacker Lucy Lagman got the visitors their first goal with 2:38 left in the opening quarter, and despite a response by Guccione, junior Raegan Jerrell added two more for Adams just 43 seconds apart to make it 5-3 with the first 12 minutes in the books.

When Lagman scored inside the first minute of the second quarter, the Highlanders, down just one at that point, elected to slow the tempo and hold the ball for an extended period that turned out to be the longest stretch of the evening without scoring.

“One of the big things I tell the girls all the time is that we just need to play our game, which is to control the ball, have clear, open passes, smart passes,” Hext said. “I like them to slow it down and visualize their teammates working the field, so that’s just kind of how we play the game in general, slow it and set up something nice, don’t force anything, because that’s when we make turnovers or mistakes on the field.”

Orion ended the scoring reprieve with just under four minutes to go in the half with a flurry that included two more goals by Coventry, though Molly Snook’s buzzer-beater got the Highlanders to within four at halftime.

Following a goal by Jerrell with 7:25 left in the third quarter, Adams hit a scoring drought and wouldn’t beat Lake Orion goalkeeper Emelia Fiore again until Snook fired one in with 2:36 remaining.

Jerrell led the Highlanders (10-1), who came into the night as one of the final few teams left undefeated in Division 2, with four goals.

“Raegan’s been a great asset over the last three years, and I’m glad she’s just a junior,” Hext said.

Both she and Lagman continue to climb the ranks of the record books. Following two goals on Friday, Lagman is just two more away from 250 career goals, while Jerrell broke the 200-goal barrier in an 18-6 win over Clarkston on April 23.

Coventry finished with a team-high five goals for the Dragons. Shifferd, Bronczyk and Guccione all scored three times and Abby Lee added two in Lake Orion’s win.

Of the Dragons’ two losses this year, one was a 15-8 defeat on April 16 at South Lyon (13-0), the only other team with a higher MPR (Michigan Power Rating) in Division 1.

“I think we’re really coming together,” McElroy said. “We’ve played some really tough opponents, but it’s made us stronger, forged us as a team. I think this group’s got a bright future. They’re a really fun group of kids to coach.”

Photo gallery of Lake Orion vs. Rochester Adams in girls lacrosse action

The Dragons and the rest of the field will learn more about their playoff paths when regional brackets are revealed on Sunday.

"We have a shot at picking up a 1 or 2-seed in the region," McElroy said. "It's all up to the math, but (the girls have) earned the ranking they have. They're a tough team and played a lot of tough opponents -- kind of the Tom Izzo style. That's what we wanted to do."

Adams has a quick turnaround in a make-up date with Troy on Saturday morning, while Lake Orion remains at home as it returns to the field against Lakeland on Monday.

Leading just 7-5 late in the opening half, Lake Orion hit for five unanswered goals to pull away in the fourth quarter and defeated Rochester Adams 16-8 Friday, May 2, 2025 in Lake Orion.

Dakota’s Angelo Plouffe and Brother Rice’s Bob Riker love to see the other man on the opposing dugout.

Because they know that, when their East Lansing-hopeful team is going against the other man’s, they’re going to be better off for it – and they know that neither of them is going to back down from the fight, either.

“We play everybody that we play every year, you know, whether we’re old or young, and they do the same thing to us too,” Riker said. “They come in and, you know, I think he’s (Dakota’s) got 14 or 15 seniors, but next year, he’ll be young like I am this year, and he’ll still come out and play us. And that’s why I love playing Angelo and those guys.”

Plouffe’s Cougars, ranked No. 4 in Division 1 by the MHSBCA, took down Riker’s No. 9 Warriors, 8-4, on Friday, May 2 at Warrior Park in Troy.

“We try to schedule the best teams around, so when a tournament comes, (we’re) ready to play,” Plouffe said. “So that’s why we’re here. That’s why we play these guys. That’s why, every year, we come here. Coach Riker does a great job with this program. (We) love coming here, and there’s a reason why.”

Brother Rice got on the board first when Tristan Turner doubled in Maks Neshov, but Dakota starting pitcher James Nuechterlein – traditionally a reliever – didn’t allow another runner to reach scoring position until the fifth inning.

Plouffe didn’t have to go to his bullpen a single time in the Cougars’ midweek series in which they run-ruled 10th-ranked Stevenson thrice, allowing him to reward Nuechterlein, who has been one of his best relief arms, with a start.

“Hey, go out there and throw 70 pitches because you’re in the right to, because you’ve been great all year,” Plouffe said of Nuechterlein. “You get to see him throw, and you get to see (Jacob) Gjonaj and (Jadon) Ford and guys who don’t get to throw much at all for us. They’re great arms. But we have a bunch of great arms, so that’s fun.”

Dakota got the one run back immediately in the top of the second inning when Gjonaj singled in Ford, but their best inning was the third: with one out, Evan Morrison was hit by a pitch. Singles by Evan Kavalick and Luke DeMasse eventually brought him in, then a walk to Ford loaded the bases for Gjonaj (1-run single) and Peyton Leon (2-run double) to clear them. Luke Kavalick’s RBI single capped the six-run frame.

And though they only added one more insurance run, it didn’t mean they were making good contact – Brother Rice’s defense made plays.

It continued a trend that the Cougars started in their first win over Stevenson and poured over into Friday: the bats are hot, with run totals of 10, 14, 14 and eight this week in their four top-10 victories in a five-day span.

“We swung it all week,” Plouffe said. “We even swung it today, I thought. It was right at people. It’s fun when you’re swinging it. It helps your arms, helps your pitching staff, helps your defense. Everybody can calm down for a second, but we were swinging it really well.”

Most Cougars saw a different pitcher each time up – Brother Rice deployed six arms, starting with Manny Simms into Grady Preston, then Ben Junga, Gavin McClelland, Freddie Beyer and finally Michael Stanton.

Stanton punched out all three batters he saw and McClelland had two scoreless frames.

Riker said that he had to be careful with how he used his pitchers on Friday due to a looming Saturday Catholic League doubleheader against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.

The Warriors return just seven players from last year’s team that lost by one run in the state championship game. It’s why games like Friday’s against Dakota are so valuable.

“I just want our guys to compete, and they’ve done that,” Riker said. “They have a chemistry with the older guys, and the team’s kind of really coming together. I know the record doesn’t necessarily indicate that, but I’m very happy with where we’re at right now.

“The unique thing about our sport is everybody makes the playoffs, so it’s getting hot at the right time. It’s gelling at the right time, having health at the right time.”

Dakota’s Gjonaj threw 1.2 scoreless innings with four hits allowed. Ford allowed two runs in the seventh inning, including a two-run double by Neshov, but finished the win.

Photos from No. 4 Dakota’s 8-4 win over No. 9 Brother Rice on Friday

Neshov, a freshman, went 4-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

Dakota’s Gjonaj went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three stolen bases. Evan Kavalick had three hits and drove in one.

Dakota will be busy in the coming weeks as they continue to prepare for a potential East Lansing trip – they’ll play 18 games between May 3 and May 27.

“I told our guys (to) be ready to go, because when it’s nice out, we’re playing usually,” Plouffe said. “You have 38 games … we’re going to try to play them all here so we can be ready for the tournament.”

A day after Michigan State announced its plan to move on from Alan Haller, the outgoing athletic director released a statement on his impending departure Friday.

In the statement, Haller alluded to a rift between himself and people in “positions of significant influence” that caused his firing.

“Throughout my career, I have consistently spoken up when I believed something was not right—always guided by a commitment to protect students and uphold the best interests of the University. At times, those decisions have not aligned with individuals in positions of significant influence,” Haller wrote.

Haller’s statement was released through Blanchard & Walker, PLLC, based in Ann Arbor.

Haller, 54, has been Michigan State’s athletic director since September 2021. On Thursday, Michigan State announced his last day will be May 11.

Haller says he is “proud” of his record as an athletic director. That includes bringing on a number of the school’s current coaches, including football coach Jonathan Smith, women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick and hockey coach Adam Nightingale.

“Although I am deeply saddened to be leaving the University, I am proud of my record and the lasting impact of my work,” Haller’s statement continued. “As I continue to process this decision, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Spartan community for their unwavering support.”

Haller, a Lansing native and J.W. Sexton High School graduate, ran track at Michigan State and played football for coach George Perles from 1988 to 1991 before a brief NFL career spent mostly playing special teams. He returned to East Lansing after his football career, joining Michigan State’s Department of Police and Public Safety for 13 years.

In 2010, Haller stepped into an associate athletic director role with the athletic department. Before that, he had served on the committee that hired Mark Dantonio to coach football in 2006. In 2015, he earned a promotion to senior associate athletic director and became chief of staff in 2017. In 2021, Haller succeeded Bill Beekman as athletic director as his predecessor stepped into a role in the MSU president’s office.

“Serving as Vice President and Director of Athletics at Michigan State University has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Haller said. “For 32 years, I have been a Spartan — first as a student-athlete in track and football, then as a Police Officer, and later in various leadership roles within Spartan Athletics.

“To the student-athletes: THANK YOU for allowing me the privilege of serving as your athletic director. It has been an incredible journey — and yes, it has been FUN! Supporting your success has never been just a job; it was my responsibility and my joy to help create an environment where you could thrive and become the best version of yourselves.”

Haller navigated multiple scandals with Michigan State, including the fallout of the 2022 Michigan-Michigan State tunnel fight that saw seven Spartan football players face criminal charges. In his first year as athletic director, Haller signed former football coach Mel Tucker to a 10-year, $95 million extension that made him the highest paid Black coach in college football history. Michigan State did not have to pay the full contract after firing Tucker for cause amid a sexual misconduct scandal after rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy accused him of sexual harassing her over the phone in April 2022.

Haller was also associate athletic director in 2014, when the first of more than 300 claims of sexual abuse against former gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar came to light. Michigan State paid a $500 million settlement, while Nasser was sentenced to life in prison.

Michigan State is currently under an NCAA investigation for recruiting violations during the Tucker era, The Detroit News reported April 2.

“I am deeply grateful to my colleagues who stood alongside me,” Haller continued. “Together, we navigated some of the most difficult challenges in our history and celebrated some of our most meaningful victories. Leading Spartan Athletics through both has been a highlight of my professional life. My parents taught me that our actions should always be motivated by love. Serving this University and this community has been, for me, an act of love. I remain a proud Spartan.”

Haller’s departure comes at a pivotal time in college athletics. A number of changes shaped Haller’s time at Michigan State, including the advent of the transfer portal, as well as name, image and likeness (NIL) rights for athletes.

With the ongoing House v. NCAA settlement putting into effect roster limits and the distribution of $20.5 million in revenue sharing, President Kevin Guskiewicz says the university is seeking a successor who “can best navigate the changing landscape of collegiate athletics while working closely with both internal and external stakeholders to move Michigan State forward as a leader among the Power Four institutions.”

The past three seasons have seen a downturn for Michigan State football with a combined 14-22 record, including a 5-7 (3-6 Big Ten) finish in Smith’s first season leading the Spartans. As the athletic department’s biggest sport, national competitiveness in that sport is a major priority.

One of the criticisms of Haller as an athletic director was Michigan State’s ineffectiveness in raising funds for NIL, an area that has affected recruiting in the school’s biggest sports of football and men’s basketball.

Tom Izzo, who will serve as co-interim athletic director alongside deputy athletic director Jennifer Smith, led the men’s basketball team to a 30-7 record, 17-3 conference record and a Big Ten championship before marching to the Elite Eight with a team driven by depth over star power.

Friday, Michigan State donor Jim Heos told WILX Channel 10 that while he liked Haller as an athletic director, he saw weakness in how Michigan State approached the modern college sports landscape under Haller’s guidance.

“I’m not surprised given the trajectory of the level of giving to the athletic department, Heos said. “All you gotta do is look at what’s going on with players that are coming via the transfer portal. It just seems like we can’t compete because we don’t have enough money.”

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The De La Salle Pilots baseball team is having fun.

And why wouldn’t they? After a pair of 15-0 run-rule wins over Avondale on Saturday, the Pilots are 12-2 with 10 of their wins coming against Catholic League rivals Brother Rice, U of D Jesuit, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Detroit Catholic Central.

It’s been a striking difference from last season, when the Pilots finished 17-19.

So what’s changed?

“I think we all bought in this year,” said senior Mason Pilarski. “I mean, we kind of all came together as a group.”

The buy-in has circulated around new head coach Dan Cimini, who took the DLS head coaching job after winning the Division 1 state title last season as the skipper for Northville.

“‘Everything counts’ is his motto,’ Pilarski said.

“He’s instilled what he’s about – winning and everything like that. And he’s really put it there, and we’ve all bought in.”

Cimini is familiar with both De La Salle and the Catholic League – he won five state championships as the head coach at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, where he dominated the Catholic League and battled against De La Salle annually. He’s also an eastsider with friends who are Pilot grads.

It helps that there’s plenty of talent on the roster.

Pilarski, a Western Michigan commit, is the team’s top pitcher and is a fixture at the top of the lineup. His 17 RBIs are a team-high and he’s yet to allow an earned run in 18.1 innings pitched.

JJ Jurczyk leads off and is a rangy outfielder who is a soccer state champion with DLS.

Vito Zito is an anchor behind the plate, catching most of the team’s games. He’s hit four home runs and nine of his 14 hits have gone for extra bases, good for a 1.166 on-base plus slugging.

“I keep telling these guys, you know, care about the guy next to you,” Cimini said. “Maybe it’s not your day, someone else will pick you up, and that’s what we’re doing, passing the baton to whoever that day is going to be helping us.”

It’s not just the top of the lineup that opponents have to sweat, either. In their second win over Avondale on Saturday, their 7-8-9 hitters – Mason Stempin, Mark Gerardi and Pashk Daka – went 5-for-5 with two doubles, both by Girardi, and a no-doubter home run by Daka.

On the mound, Dylan Leupke’s ERA is a minuscule .545 in 25.2 innings of work with 38 strikeouts. Jurczyk’s is 2.58 with a team-high 45 punchouts in just 21.2 innings.

All of those guys are returners. Clearly, the talent has been there – Cimini is unlocking it. And it starts with belief.

“He (Cimini) instilled confidence on us,” Zito said. “Last year was hard for us, losing a lot of games. We came in here, he kind of set the standard for us, and we’ve just been playing to it now and having fun.

“It’s a great feeling. I mean, since day one he was saying this is a spot we’re going to be in. And I mean, he spoke into existence, great guy. He’s always picking us up.”

The state is taking notice. In the recent MHSBCA statewide poll, the Pilots were ranked as the best of the best, the cream of the crop – the No. 1 team in Division 1 – just a few weeks into the season.

“(I expected it) Maybe not this early, but I mean, we all knew that we had something special here, especially with them coming in,” Pilarski said. “I wasn’t really expecting it this early, but it’s pretty cool.”

De La Salle, Romeo ride strong starts to rise in new Macomb County baseball rankings

An emphasis on “doing the little things” has made waves for the team. It’s not just about hitting the ball hard and throwing strikes – they work counts, go first to third on hits, field the ball cleanly and hammer the details that other teams don’t.

For Cimini, who is one of the most accomplished baseball coaches in Michigan across the last two decades, it’s something he knows sets the good teams apart from the great ones.

Photos from De La Salle baseball’s 15-0 win over Avondale on Saturday

“I just really wanted them to understand that, you know, with hard work and preparation and do the little things that we talk about – the little things are, what win championships and what win games,” Cimini said. “And I don’t know if they did a lot of that stuff last year. I mean, they did some of it, but now they’re doing it all.

“Our goals are (to) win a Catholic League championship, and then, you know, see what we can do in the playoffs and hopefully be at Michigan State again. That’s my goal every single year as a coach, and I think these guys now believe that they can do that same thing, so that’s cool.”

The Pilots last won a state championship in 2016.

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham led an unprecedented turnaround in NBA history, lifting the Detroit Pistons to relevance after the three-time championship franchise lost its luster.

Cunningham had an All-NBA caliber season, joining elite company with Oscar Robertson, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and LeBron James.

Detroit’s point guard and those all-time greats are the seven players in NBA history to average at least 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds in a season.

Cunningham’s breakout season helped Detroit become the league’s first team to triple its number of wins from the previous full season.

He didn’t do it alone.

Jalen Duren’s third season was his best and a trio of newly acquired veterans made an impact on and off the court for a team that had the NBA’s worst record the previous two seasons.

When the sixth-seeded and inconsistent Pistons host third-seeded New York on Sunday in Game 4, they need Cunningham to shine and his supporting cast to make shots and stops.

Cunningham is learning a lot in his NBA playoffs debut and his team is, too, in its first postseason appearance since 2019 because every possession matters and little mistakes lead to losing.

“All these things are making us a better team and I think it’s going to make us better to go win this series,” Cunningham said.

Detroit has dropped eight home playoff games in a row since 2008, pulling within one of an NBA record set by Philadelphia from 1968 to 1971.

If the Pistons lose a second straight matchup, they will tie a league mark and be on the brink of elimination going into Game 5 in New York on Tuesday night

The Knicks are expecting Detroit’s best punch.

“They’re going to come out with physicality and aggression,” Knicks guard Josh Hart told reporters Saturday.

In the only game Detroit won against New York, Cunningham was a star with 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting and 12 assists.

In Games 1 and 3, both won by the Knicks, Cunningham was not at his best and his inconsistent teammates didn’t pick up the slack.

Cunningham had 21 points, missing 13 of 21 attempts, and 12 rebounds in the opener.

In Game 3, he joined James, Westbrook and Rick Barry as the four players in NBA playoffs history to have at least 24 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks in a game.

Cunningham, though, also missed 15 of 25 shots and had six turnovers in the potentially, pivotal game.

OG Anunoby had something to do with that.

The 6-foot-7, 232-pound Anunoby, in his eighth NBA season and first full years with the Knicks, used his strength and quickness to challenge Cunningham.

Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff is confident Cunningham will find a way to make winning plays in Game 4.

“We’ve seen Cade be able to get where he wants to get to and do what he needs to do,” Bickerstaff said said. “Give (Anunoby) respect because he’s earned it, but I still like Cade’s chances.”

To improve Detroit’s shot to even the series, Cunningham’s teammates have to take advantage of the space he creates by making open shots.

While veteran guard Tim Hardaway Jr. made a career-playoff high seven 3-pointers and matched a Pistons record, a usually dependable teammate struggled in Game 3.

Malik Beasley connected on six 3-pointers in the opener and made a franchise-record 319 3-pointers during the regular season, ranking second in the league, but was 2 of 10 beyond the arc Thursday night.

Tobias Harris scored a total of 40 points in the two games at Madison Square Garden, then was held to just five points at Little Caesars Arena.

The Knicks, meanwhile, had one of their most balanced offensive postseason performances in more than a half-century.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 31 points, Jalen Brunson had 30 points, Anunoby scored 22 and Mikal Bridges had 20 points.

The last time New York had four players score 20-plus points in a playoff game, Hall of Famers Walt Frazier, Jerry Lucas, Dave DeBusschere and Bill Bradley pulled off the feat in 1972.

“What hurt us in this last game was more our defense than anything we did offensively,” Bickerstaff said.

DETROIT – You’ve heard him say it a lot. Everything matters. And if manager AJ Hinch ever needs an abject reference point, he can use the Tigers’ 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the front end of a doubleheader Saturday.

Spencer Torkelson’s opposite-field home run in the seventh inning provided the margin of victory. Casey Mize held a lineup of dangerous left-handed hitters at bay for 5.1 innings with relievers Brenan Hanifee, Tyler Holton and Will Vest locking it down — Vest earning a four-out save punching out Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg to end it.

Those were the headline moments. But the headline would be different without a handful of other smaller moments throughout the game.

“Knowing we had a second game makes it even more rewarding to win the first one,” Hinch said. “I thought in equal parts we were going to break the game open and in equal parts it was like, ‘Oh (crap), they’ve created some leverage for themselves.’

“Winning the first game of a series is always important. But to win it the way we did was good to see.”

To Hinch’s point about blowing the game open: They worked five walks in the first two innings off Orioles’ starter Brandon Young and came out of it with just two runs. They left the bases loaded twice. But with Mize grinding through the Orioles’ lefty-heavy lineup, allowing only a solo homer to Ryan O’Hearn, they were able to weather some trouble.

“I feel like if I can keep the ball on the ground, good things will happen more times than not,” said Mize, who improved to 4-1, lowering his ERA to 2.12. “We made an error on the first batter of the game and then immediately got a double-play. That’s a huge moment for our team.”

Catcher Dillon Dingler got Mize out of that first inning by throwing out Westburg trying to steal second base. Dingler’s pop time to second base was a season-best 1.86 seconds. It was one of a few small ways that Dingler impacted this win.

He kept the Tigers’ two-run second inning alive, first legging out a ground ball and preventing a double-play. Then he avoided getting back-picked off first base on a strong throw by catcher Gary Sanchez, making a deft slide to avoid the tag.

Dingler played a big role in a pivotal defensive play in the sixth inning.

The Orioles, down 3-1 in the sixth, put runners at the corners with back-to-back singles off Mize. The Tigers pulled their infield in and Mize got Heston Kjerstad to hit a ground ball to the right of Torkelson at first base.

Torkelson fielded the ball on the grass and fired home without hesitation. Dingler not only applied a firm tag as the runner Westburg was sliding into him, he also took the throw in textbook position to avoid getting called for blocking the plate.

“It was a good day for Tork on both sides of the ball and that’s so good to see,” Hinch said. “That is an instinctual defensive play where he’s got to read it. We know we’re in a little bit of trouble there. He may go to second, he may just take the out at first. But he read the play, got the hop and goes home to get a pretty good runner.

“That instinctive play is an indication of he’s playing with freedom and the right balance of know-how and execution.”

Hanifee replaced Mize at that point and retired Ramon Urias and Jackson Holliday to escape the inning.

“Tork saves the run where, if he doesn’t, we’d still be playing,” Mize said. “Huge play. We played good defense all around.”

Riley Greene, as he has so often, gave up his body to make a couple of pivotal plays in left field, too. With two on in the second inning, he raced back to the wall to take extra bases away from Jackson Holliday. He hit the wall awkwardly and came off the wall shaking out his left shoulder.

In the seventh, he took a home run away from Ramon Laureano. Again he tracked the ball to the wall. This time he had to leap and extend as he was crashing into the wall. He caught it and caromed hard to the ground.

“I guess we have to put him in center so he can avoid the fence,” Hinch said, half-joking. “The ball finds him and he finds a way to get big outs. I’ll play him in center in Game 2 and it might be a breather for him because there’s not a fence anywhere near him.

“But I love the way he stays in the play.”

Later in the inning, he nearly stole a single from Henderson with a diving attempt in short left.

“That was a good attempt,” Hinch said. “One of the reasons I love Riley in left, it’s not just because it’s not as much to cover as in center, but he’s actually really good in left. He’s got a good feel for where he is and he can get up over the fence.

“He seems to make great plays when it doesn’t seem like a play is possible. And that’s because he sells out from the jump.”

One big blast by Torkelson and a bunch of lower-key clutch plays — including a two-out RBI single by Jace Jung, his first hit since being called up from Toledo — added to another win for the 16-10 Tigers.

Listed as a 6-foot-4, 245-pound two-star prospect on his high school recruiting profile as a senior at Birmingham Brother Rice, Luke Newman made himself into a pro offensive line prospect.

And now he’s been picked.

Newman was selected in the sixth round by the Chicago Bears, taken with the 196th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The 6-foot-4, 315 pound offensive guard, who played last season at Michigan State after four successful seasons at Holy Cross, will join former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson in the Windy City, part of the crew — along with former Lions guard Jonah Jackson — protecting last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams.

Newman started 49 consecutive games over his final four seasons of college ball, including 37 at left tackle for Holy Cross, and 12 for Michigan State last season, as a grad transfer. He led MSU with 739 offensive snaps, and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten, grading out as the No. 9 offensive guard in the league by PFF during the regular season. Earned FCS All-America honors from different publications each of his final three seasons at Holy Cross.

The Bears have had some experience with Brother Rice players along the line. A fifth-round pick out of Missouri in 2021, Larry Borom played four seasons for the Bears — starting 27 of 47 games — before signing with the Miami Dolphins in March.

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The Detroit Lions have been quite active throughout the duration of the 2025 NFL Draft, having pulled off three trades.

Finally, the team addressed the defensive end position. In the sixth round, Detroit targeted Boise State edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein.

Last season at Boise State, Hassanein recorded 9.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss in helping the Broncos reach the College Football Playoff.

According to NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler, “Overall, Hassanein is a try-hard edge rusher with plenty of redeeming qualities that will endear him to coaches. He lacks high-level athletic traits, though, and will be low on an NFL depth chart until he improves his predictability as a pass rusher. Given his meager football experience, NFL teams are intrigued by his untapped upside.”

In the first-round, the Lions selected defensive tackle Tyleik Williams from Ohio State. An anchor for the Buckeyes’ national championship team, he projects as an immediate rotational contributor on the defensive line against the run with pass-rush developmental upside.

Holmes was active in trading up on the second day of the draft. He first traded up three spots with the Denver Broncos to acquire Georgia offensive lineman Tate Ratledge. After Kevin Zeitler’s departure, Ratledge appears to be a potential competitor for a starting spot right away.

In the third round, Holmes traded up 32 spots with the Jacksonville Jaguars to select Arkansas wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa. A Hudsonville native who wore a custom Lions jersey to his top-30 visit with the team, TeSlaa is a big and fast wideout with the potential to contribute either in the slot or out wide on the perimeter.

Detroit’s first Day 3 selection came in the fifth round, as Holmes swapped two picks to move up 11 spots and select LSU offensive lineman Miles Frazier with the 171st pick of the draft.

This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions

DETROIT – Driving to Sarasota back on March 21, it dawned on Tarik Skubal that he hadn’t faced the Orioles in a while.

“Yeah, I was trying to think, like, ‘When was the last time I pitched against those guys?’” he said.

The last time he faced the Orioles in a regular-season game was May 15, 2022, before he had flexor tendon surgery, before he morphed into Cy Skub. He punched out 11 in six scoreless innings that day at Comerica Park.

He will face them again Sunday in the series finale. But that trip to Sarasota in March triggered one of his favorite memories.

“The last time I went to Sarasota before that, I started against Felix Hernandez,” he said.

True story. King Felix was trying to make a comeback with the Orioles in the spring of 2021. His spring start against Skubal was one of the final starts of his career. The long-time Mariners ace never got back to the big leagues after 2019.

“I went to college in Seattle, right, so I was very familiar with him,” Skubal said. “That was one of the coolest things ever, that I was starting against Felix Hernandez.”

Skubal is coming off a grind of a start a week ago. The Royals took an effective approach against him, essentially selling out to an opposite-field approach. They ended up with seven singles, all up the middle or to the opposite side and paper-cut Skubal out of the game after five innings.

Skubal talked at length Saturday about how he deals with situations like that and the balance he has between relying on scouting reports and trusting that he can win most battles with his elite pitch mix.

Just so you know, he relishes the chess match.

“That’s what makes the game fun,” he said. “That back and forth. I think the game would get monotonous, if not boring, if you just went out and did the same thing. There is always the chess match, the back and forth, the counts, the previous at-bat, the game flow — all of that stuff is what makes the game fun.

“And it’s what pushes you to continue to get better.”

Skubal, despite the Cy Young Award last year, despite being one of the games’ dominant lefties the last year and a half, still sees himself as an unfinished product.

“When my career is done, that’s when I will be a finished product,” he said. “I’m always trying to learn, trying to get better, trying to be a better version of myself. Right now the best version of myself is who I am.

“But like two years from now, what am I going to be?”

For sure he will have a counter move should the Orioles try to replicate the Royals’ attack plan. But he’s still coming with his upper-90s four-seam and sinker, elite changeup, slider and knuckle-curve.

He seeks to find that balance between game plan and attacking strength on strength.

“As a pitcher, you always have to pitch to your strengths,” Skubal said. “You also need to know the hitters’ weaknesses if your strengths aren’t your strength that day. But I’m always going to pitch to my strengths.

“If a guy hammers changeups, I’m still going to throw a changeup. Can you hit mine? Then, oh, you can? Then we’ll flip the script.”

Skubal takes the game-planning part seriously. Not necessarily to map out specific pitch sequences for each hitter, but to reinforce his own pitch decisions.

“They help me mentally buy in a little more with every pitch,” he said. “That helps me execute. When I’ve done my homework and I know they can’t handle certain pitches, it helps me execute at a higher clip than just blindly going up there and, here’s a 2-1 slider.

“Why am I throwing that pitch?”

The scouting report helps bolster conviction. The worst feeling for a pitcher, Skubal will tell you, is to get beat on an non-convicted pitch.

“If you get burned on anything, you want a reason why threw that pitch,” he said. “It helps you kind of move on. Was I throwing that curveball just to throw it or was there a reason to throw it?

“If you have a reason for everything you do, it helps you sleep better at night – good or bad – because you bought in to what you were doing.”

More: Breaking down root causes of Colt Keith’s ever-shrinking role with Tigers

There is a reason, too, that game plans aren’t etched in stone, figuratively speaking. Things happen in the game that can quickly alter the course.

“The scouting report might say this guy hammers fastballs,” Skubal said. “And I throw him a fastball in his first at-bat and he’s way behind. Hey, guess what? You are going to get a ton of them.”

It can go the other way, too.

“It’s day to day,” he said. “Some scouting reports are based on year-long data. But what if a guy is in a slump. (Boston slugger) Raffy Devers got thrown 17 fastballs in a game earlier. If I looked at a scouting report, I guarantee it says he hits fastballs.

“But at that moment, he wasn’t hitting fastballs. So you throw them.”

There are nuances to this stuff within at-bats. Skubal was asked about being fearless and throwing challenge fastballs in hitter-friendly counts.

“Just because you are in a hitter’s count doesn’t mean they’re thinking a heater is coming,” he said. “I’ve probably earned the right to throw some 2-0 fastballs because the at-bat prior I might’ve thrown a 2-0 changeup.

“That’s just stuff that goes on in the game. If I just went out there and did the same thing every game, I’d start to feel like a robot. That stuff is the human element in the game and that’s what makes it fun.”

There is a zone pitchers all strive to get to. Skubal has been there many times. Reese Olson got into one Wednesday. It’s the point where the game planning, conviction and execution all come together and you just start imposing your will on hitters.

“I can throw a fastball at 96 mph with 18 inches of carry and two inches of horizontal break and it gets fouled off because I wasn’t bought in,” Skubal said. “I can throw that same heater at 96 and I’m bought in on it and for whatever reason, there is a little more life on it, even though the numbers say it’s the same pitch.

“You can see it. It just comes out and you are going right after guys. It’s overwhelming. When I’m sitting in the dugout watching other guys do it, it’s like, ‘Holy crap.’ It’s so hard to get in that mode.”

Skubal watched Yankees’ lefty Max Fried get in one of those zones against the Tigers when he punched out 11 in seven innings back on April 9.

“That was probably the best I’ve ever watched from a starting pitcher,” Skubal said. “It was unbelievable and it was overwhelming. I was like, we don’t have a chance. At the end of the outing he started ripping 96 and 97 and we’re way late because he’d slowed us down the whole game.

“I’m getting goosebumps right now. That’s pitching.”

Skubal is due for a goosebump outing of his own.

The Detroit Lions began Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft with five draft selections overall. With two picks in the sixth-round and three in the seventh, it could be assumed the scouting department was comfortable with their evaluations and prospect rankings.

After targeting a defensive tackle, offensive lineman and wide receiver, Detroit decided to trade up again to pick No. 171 to select guard Miles Frazier out of LSU.

Detroit dealt with New England and parted ways with picks No. 182 and No. 228 to move up 11 spots.

Frazier was considered to be a top-100 prospect by several pundits, including NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah.

According to NFL draft analyst Lance Zeirlein, “Four-year starter who classifies as a physical short-area guard with satisfactory height, weight and length. Frazier has knock-back pop and is capable of mauling in tight spaces. His short pulls and lead blocks around the end are solid. Difficulties with reach blocks and second-level cut-offs on stretch plays could cause zone teams to scratch him. He possesses adequate range and foot quickness in protection and is fairly clear-eyed to recognize gaming fronts. His hand placement is average and he’s tight in his knees, which could be a concern for his anchor. Frazier has things to clean up but carries pro measurables and a play demeanor that gives him a shot to become a starter.”

The Lions began the draft by selecting Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams with the 28th overall pick. Holmes told reporters that he entertained the possibility of trading back, but ultimately elected to stay in place and make the pick.

Holmes was active on the draft’s second day, completing a pair of trades to move up in the draft. First, he traded up three spots with the Denver Broncos to acquire Georgia offensive lineman Tate Ratledge.

Then, he traded the 102nd overall pick along with a pair of 2026 third-round picks to the Jacksonville Jaguars for the 70th overall pick, the 182nd overall pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick. With that pick, the Lions drafted Arkansas wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa.

This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions

ALLEN PARK — Tate Ratledge thinks he’s going to fit right in with the Detroit Lions, and it’s not because of his tattoo.

That part is simply a coincidence.

Ratledge, who has a lion inked on his right forearm, sees similarities between the program he’s leaving — Georgia, which has won two of the last four national titles — and the franchise he’s joining. Lions head coach Dan Campbell and Georgia headman Kirby Smart both “believe in physical football players, tough football players (and) smart football players,” and Ratledge, an offensive guard who stood out as a starter for the Bulldogs over the last three seasons, fits that description.

“I’m here to do whatever helps the team win,” Ratledge told reporters through a Zoom meeting Friday evening, shortly after the Lions selected him with the 57th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. “I’m a team player through and through. If they need me to go kick out to tackle, I’ll go kick out to tackle. If they need me to be an X receiver and run go balls, I can do that. … I just want a chance to compete, and a chance to go out there and do my best every day.”

The Lions moved up three spots to secure Ratledge, trading Nos. 60 and 130 to the Denver Broncos in exchange for Nos. 57 and 230. They leapt over the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens in the process. The Raiders and Ravens went on to select TCU receiver Jack Bech and Marshall pass rusher Mike Green, respectively.

It was the first of two trades on Friday for the Lions, who later moved up for Arkansas receiver Isaac TeSlaa.

Ratledge (6-foot-6½, 308 pounds) made 34 starts in his tenure at Georgia, with each coming at right guard. He’s credited with allowing two sacks and 18 total pressures over 1,180 career pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and his grade as a run blocker in 2024 (74.7) ranked 32nd among the 315 guards who received at least 150 run-blocking snaps.

The Lions already have veteran Graham Glasgow and 2024 sixth-round pick Christian Mahogany on the roster, but Ratledge figures to compete with them for a starting role. Glasgow, 33 years old in August, appeared in 16 of Detroit’s 17 games last season. Mahogany, meanwhile, got one start in the regular season and another in the playoffs, impressing in the limited sample size.

“I’m in the spot right now where all I can do is ask for a chance to compete,” Ratledge said. “I think I have a lot of those traits to go to a winning program, coming from one, knowing what it takes; knowing what has to be done to win. Right now, I’m in the position where all I can ask for is a shot to compete. Go in there, compete and give it my all every day and try to make that team better.”

Last year, general manager Brad Holmes affectionately said Mahogany has “got some dirtbag in him.” The phrase was meant as an ode to the mean streak and toughness Mahogany plays with, and Ratledge falls in that same bucket.

Ratledge doesn’t think it’s possible for an offensive lineman to play at a high level without having some “dirtbag” to him. That’s music to the ears of Campbell and Holmes.

“Just like Mahogany fit what we were looking for, Tate fits what we’re looking for — whether he’s got his mullet or not,” Holmes said. “He plays the game the right way. He’s tough; he’s physical; he’s a lot more athletic than you may think, and he’s got a lot more versatility than people may realize. That’s really when he really, really rose through the process for us. Those guys fit. They’re smart; they’re tough; they’re gritty, and they play our style of ball.”

Ratledge’s mullet, which has already begun to develop a cult-like following, was born as a joke during the COVID-19 pandemic. His father gave him the haircut in their front lawn, and he decided to keep it after an “eight-month awkward phase.”

A Georgia native who was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2020, Ratledge had been at Georgia for the last five seasons. The Lions never had him in for a visit in Allen Park, but the team met with him while at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Ratledge remembers speaking with offensive line coach Hank Fraley and having “extensive” conversations about the system and “just knowing football.”

“I’ve always been a fan of Coach Campbell and the way he runs his program, just seeing what he has to say, how he runs his team, the way his offensive line plays,” Ratledge said. “Just everything about the way he runs his team, I feel like, is a great fit.”

ALLEN PARK — Some people were born to be Detroit Lions. Isaac TeSlaa is one of them.

The Lions traded up twice on Day 2 of the NFL Draft, using their second move to go up 32 spots in Round 3 and grab TeSlaa, a wide receiver from Arkansas who grew up in Hudsonville and has been a fan of the Lions since he was in diapers.

Detroit sent multiple Day 2 picks to get TeSlaa (6-foot-4, 214 pounds) on Friday night, giving up both of next year’s third-round picks and this year’s third-rounder (102 overall). In return, the Lions received pick Nos. 70 and 182 in this year’s draft and a sixth-round pick in next year’s draft.

“I don’t know if I have words … I’m still processing it right now. Obviously, it’s been not only a dream to play in the NFL, but to play for my hometown team, the team I’ve been rooting for since I was a baby, so, it’s just an incredible feeling,” TeSlaa told reporters via Zoom.

TeSlaa, 23, attended Unity Christian in Hudsonville. He began his college career at Hillsdale (Great Midwest Athletic Conference) before transferring to Arkansas in 2023. Over 25 games for the Razorbacks, he caught 62 passes for 896 yards (14.5 average) and five touchdowns.

He first got on the radar of Lions general manager Brad Holmes during the Senior Bowl. Holmes immediately noticed TeSlaa’s blocking, saying he “was just being a pest and he was pissing off the (defensive backs).”

“Obviously, it made me just want to completely watch the tape when you see a guy that’s just big, long, smooth strider, can accelerate, can run, he’s a hands catcher, can play special teams, can block,” Holmes said. “He can do a lot of things.”

He’s an uber-athletic receiver with inside-outside ability and said he models his game after Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua. Based on NFL Combine measurements, TeSlaa ranked No. 1 in athleticism score, per Next Gen Stats. He received a 9.97 Relative Athletic Score, which ranks 11th out of 3,441 receivers from 1987 to 2025.

“He’s gonna need to develop, but he’s got the tools to play outside and win outside. He’s gonna have to learn getting off press (coverage) and all that stuff, just like they all do, but he’s got all the physical tools,” Holmes said. “He’s got the intangible makeup to be able to overcome that.”

The Lions hosted TeSlaa on a top-30 visit — and TeSlaa showed up in a customized Lions jersey (No. 10) with his name on the back. Holmes thought it was a bit “cheesy” until TeSlaa told him he’s owned the gear since eighth grade.

Just how deep does TeSlaa’s fandom go? He was in attendance at Ford Field when Lions Hall-of-Famer Calvin Johnson set the single-season receiving record in 2012.

“I remember growing up watching Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, all those guys,” TeSlaa said. “It’s cool to be a part of that team now.”

Two of the picks used to move up for TeSlaa were compensatory picks awarded to the Lions after former defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was hired as head coach of the New York Jets. Detroit also moved up three spots in Round 2 to draft Georgia guard Tate Ratledge, sending pick Nos. 60 and 130 to the Denver Broncos for Nos. 57 and 230.

Following the pair of trades, the Lions are set to have four picks on the final day of the draft: Two in Round 6 (Nos. 182; 196, via Tampa Bay) and three in Round 7 (Nos. 228, via Dallas; 230, via Denver; and 244). With still one day remaining, Holmes has now traded up in the draft 11 times since 2021.

Entering Day 3, the Lions have yet to address edge rusher, their biggest position of need entering the weekend and arguably one of the deepest positions of the entire draft.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a disappointment (to not add an edge rusher) because we got all guys that we love,” Holmes said. “Like I told you guys before the draft, we could have drafted an edge rusher that plays that position. We could have done it, and y’all would have been happy, right?”

Holmes continued, “All I hear is ‘Edge rusher, draft an edge rusher.’ So I’m like, ‘Well, are you assuming that the guy’s really good?’ Well, that’s a whole different story. Can you get in a position to get one of those? I don’t need to get into specifics, but there’s times where we made attempts to get one, and (he) just got picked before, we couldn’t get up (in a trade). It takes two to trade. Or we just had another player higher, but we did the same thing that we do every draft. We picked the highest-rated player regardless of position.”

At Hillsdale, TeSlaa was named the 2022 Great Midwest Athletic Conference offensive player of the year and was First Team All-G-MAC after hauling in 68 catches for 1,325 yards (19.5 average) and 13 touchdowns.

TeSlaa joins a receiving room that features two-time All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Tim Patrick, Ronnie Bell, Tom Kennedy and Kalif Raymond.

TROY – Rivals Troy and visiting Athens got in just enough softball Friday evening for the Red Hawks’ 9-3 victory to go into the books.

The first game of the planned doubleheader may not have even counted, but the pitching settled in and allowed both teams to roll through the fourth and fifth innings before lightning was registered, and the monsoon followed soon thereafter.

A less experienced Colts team did well to hold their rivals off the board in four trips to the plate, but the Red Hawks feasted for all of their runs in the third inning after Delilah Warlick doubled, then scored off an error to initially put Troy ahead in the bottom of the first.

Addison Pokley legged out a triple to get the big third started for Athens, then Angie Leonard singled in Pokley prior to an inside-the-park home run by Leah Dahlerup, giving the Red Hawks a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, Dahlerup hit a two-out, bases-clearing double that scored Pokley, Casey McCoy and Addison Cosgrove. Between the pair of extra-base hits by Dahlerup, Cosgrove also had a single to left-center that drove in Sommer Swanson and Molly LaBay.

Following nearly three full frames thrown by Kylie Zoll, Athens turned in relief to Angie Leonard, its ace who the Red Hawks relied on in their run to a district title last season, and she struck out four in her 2 2/3 innings of scoreless work.

“Angie’s just a really consistent pitcher, and Kylie started off the game game really well,” Athens head coach Alina Kirtland said. “(Kylie) put us in a good position where Angie could come in and finish strong for us, so both of our pitchers did a great job of taking care of business.”

Dahlerup, just a freshman, finished just a triple short of the cycle, while Swanson drew three walks and LaBay ended 2-3 at the plate for the Red Hawks, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

“It’s just being aggressive and looking for specific strikes that we like, making sure that we’re swinging at our ideal pitches,” Kirtland said. “The girls have been working on discipline at the plate, as well as throwing their hands at the ball, and I think that they’re progressing with that real nicely.”

Warlick finished with two of the Colts’ three hits, improving her team-best average to .600 on the season.

“Delilah’s a tremendous athlete, one of our best players,” Colts head coach Laura Guzman said. “She’s a captain, same thing with Emily Bultynck, she’s starting to come alive, too, and we kind of go as they go.

“This year has definitely been a rebuilding year. We have girls, you know, our skill levels are all over the place. It’s pretty much half my basketball team playing softball. I think they came out with a lot of energy. We were able to score first, we were chipping away at it. The effort was good. But Athens is good. Their pitching is decent, Pokley’s fantastic, (Cosgrove) is good. But I thought we did OK.”

The Red Hawks are now 4-7 in their first year under Kirtland, herself a standout first baseman less than a decade ago for Athens. “It’s amazing, super humbling, and I’m glad they trust me with the program,” she said.

Kirtland confirmed that she and Guzman had plans to reschedule the second game between the teams somewhere down the road.

Until then, the Colts have a pair of games Monday in Pontiac against Notre Dame Prep, while the Red Hawks travel for a doubleheader with Farmington the day after.

The Detroit Lions have been able to target players who have the potential to contribute quickly to a roster that is seeking to win a division title for the third consecutive season.

General manager Brad Holmes made the decision to move up again, this time dealing with the Jaguars. The Lions acquired the 70th pick, the 182nd pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick in exchange for the 102nd overall pick and two 2026 third-round picks.

In the third-round, Detroit selected Arkansas wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa with their third selection in the 2025 NFL draft.

TeSlaa grew up in Hudsonville, Mich., and began his collegiate career at Hillsdale, a Division II in Michigan. He transferred to Arkansas prior to the 2023 season and totaled 62 catches for 896 yards and five touchdowns. Last season, he hauled in 28 passes for 545 yards and three scores.

TeSlaa was the quarterback for the Unity Christian squad that beat Portland, 42-7, for the 2018 Division 5 football state championship, running for 111 yards and two scores, throwing for 70 and a score, and picking off two passes.

According to NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein,”TeSlaa is a big slot receiver whose stock might be on the rise after his performances during Senior Bowl week. He can mismatch smaller cornerbacks with his frame and play strength and is a reliable pass catcher when contested. He builds up speed as a vertical slot but isn’t sudden enough to simply uncover as a possession slot against tight man. TeSlaa’s ball skills and ability to work down the field from the slot should carry backup value for teams in the market for help at receiver.”

Detroit fortified its defensive line with the selection of Tyleik Williams out of Ohio State with its first selection, as Holmes drafted him 28th overall. Williams could be an instant contributor with Alim McNeill expected to miss the start of the regular season.

In the second round, the Lions added offensive line help by selecting Georgia offensive lineman Tate Ratledge. With Kevin Zeitler departing, the Lions have an opening at right guard and Ratledge could compete for a starting job immediately.

The Lions traded up to acquire Ratledge, sending picks 60 and 130 to the Denver Broncos in exchange for the 57th and 230th (seventh-round) overall selections.

Barring any trades, the Lions will make their next selection in the sixth-round (No. 182).

 

Lions 2025 Draft Selections

Round 1, pick 28: Tyleik Williams, DT, Ohio State

Round 2, pick 57: Tate Ratledge, OL, Georgia

Round 3, pick 70: Isaac TeSlaa, WR, Arkansas

Remaining Picks

Round 6, pick 182

Round 6, pick 196

Round 7, pick 228

Round 7, pick 230

Round 7, pick 244

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