1. North Farmington
Not much of a surprise here as the Raiders have the deepest team in Oakland County this year. With senior ace Katy Severson and all-everything senior Katie Creighton, North Farmington will be one tough team to beat. Don’t forget some of the younger players on this team, Megan Keller and Nikki Ward who are both primed for breakout sophomore seasons.
2. Farmington Hills Mercy
The team with the best player in Oakland County is the second best team in the area. Senior ace Kayce Nieto will be the anchor for the Marlins both in the field and at the plate, but will get some help from junior Meg Terrance and another boost from super-soph Jordan Ewald, who are both dangerous in the field as well as at the plate.
3. Troy
The combo of Kamryn LaCarter and Laney Hart is as dangerous and dynamic as any in Oakland County as the two will hold down the middle of the infield for the Colts and both hit well over the .400 mark last season as juniors. Kristen Shelter should be another name to keep an eye on while sophomore Cori Mittelbrun is proving to be an “ace in the making” in the circle for Troy.
4. Lakeland
Lakeland might be the only team that can challenge North Farmington as far as depth is concerned, with junior Selena Hicks and seniors Kelly Merkle, Sierra Burke and Morgan Craft who all have a bit of star power. Look for junior Annika Weisinger and Sam Dunnigan as possible “x-factors” for the Eagles this season.
5. Birmingham Detroit Country Day
It’s all going to start with senior Jessica Collins for the Yellowjackets after the shortstop finished last season in dominant form as she gave opposing teams fits from the second she stepped up to the plate. Look for a pair of juniors to really put Country Day over the top this season as Erika Meyers and Veronica Dyer should hold down the pitching duties for the most part this year.
6. Lake Orion
The Dragons might not have a whole lot of star power this year, but this is another extremely deep team. Led by seniors Brianna Schwarcz and Kaitlin Kogut, Lake Orion will not only have a lot of depth, but a lot of experience as well on this senior laden squad.
7. Clarkston
The Wolves are another team with plenty of experience and nobody on the Clarkston team has more than three-year starting pitcher Megan Hastings as well senior Shauna Siwicki and look for junior Sydney Hasselbach to have a monsterous break-out season in the OAA.
8. Waterford Kettering
Only three games into the season and the Captains have already scored 39 runs, so the rest of Oakland County better be ready and with two big time power bats Kim Jayson and Emma Colegrove, Kettering is going to be a very tough team to beat. Also, sophomore Mackenzie Norton is rounding into ace form and is looking more and more unhittable by the game.
9. Farmington
Farmington has junior Sarah Gutknecht returning after an outstanding sophomore season where she dominated opposing pitching and the Falcons have a super-soph Sarah Gallagher who will also help offensively as well. Look for senior shutdown pitcher Kaitlin Lock to continue to be one of the dominant pitchers in Oakland County once again this year.
10. Troy Athens
The Red Hawks have the perfect blend of experience and youth, senior shortstop Melissa Palmer will be considered as the leader of this team at the plate and in the field. Palmer will have some help from ace sophomore Haley Zemmer who dominated opposing hitters as a freshman last year and was equally as impressive offensively as well. Look for junior Erica Sissmets to have a breakout season this year in the circle and at the plate this season for Athens.
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