Sam Michel

Busy week including some NCC battles, Senior Day and some tough road non conference opponents. 📍 5/4 vs Kankakee Valley (Senior Day) – 5:00 PM 📍 5/5 at Kankakee Valley – 4:45 PM 📍 5/6 vs East Chicago Central – 5:00 PM 📍 5/7 at Griffith – 4:30 PM 📍 5/8 at Portage – 4:45 PM

A .500 start through 14 games gave way to two big victories for @HighlandBaseba1 to end the week. As the Trojans turn the corner, they could be just getting started: nwitimes.com/sports/high-sc… #nwipreps via @nwi

👥 **Who Can Try Out:** All **incoming 6th, 7th, and 8th graders** who either **live in Highland** *or* attend a Highland-based school, including **Highland Middle School, OLG, and Highland Christian**. 👉 **Register here:** docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

We travel to Andrean for a 4:30 pm first pitch today

Hope to see you at the ballpark both at home and on the road this week.

We improve to 7-6. Next up home against Andrean on Monday. See you at the ballpark

We travel to Dowling Park to take on Hammond Central for a 4:30pm first pitch

Trent McDuffie makes $31M per year. The No. 6 pick will make $9M per year. That's the difference.

We travel to Hanover Central for a 5pm first pitch today

I think we’ve lost the plot on youth basketball. It’s probably happening in other sports too, but basketball is the world I know. Growing up, basketball was the neighborhood game. All you needed was a ball and a hoop. It was simple, accessible, and we’d play for hours without thinking twice about it. I’d call myself a pretty good high school player. I started on a solid team and loved competing. AAU wasn’t really part of the equation back then. I played in a few tournaments with friends, but everyone understood what it was. If you were elite, you played for Indiana Elite or Spiece. If you weren’t, you just kept hooping where you were. There wasn’t this pressure that you had to be in it. Now it feels like the entire model has flipped. Kids from kindergarten through high school are paying thousands just to be on a team. And if you want to play, there’s always a team ready for you because there’s money to be made. But it doesn’t stop there. Parents are paying $60/head every weekend just to watch. Some places are charging for parking. Tournaments are partnering with hotels and requiring teams to stay there just to participate. Then you show up and games are running an hour behind, officials are barely engaged, and someone’s parent is losing their mind over playing time. Somewhere along the way, the focus shifted. This isn’t about saying AAU is all bad. There are real positives. Kids get exposed to different competition, build friendships, and experience things they wouldn’t otherwise. But it’s hard to ignore what it’s becoming. For a lot of kids, this isn’t building a love for the game. It’s turning it into a transaction. A schedule. A bill. And that’s the part that feels off. It would just be nice if the kids were back at the center of it all.

📅 Upcoming Schedule: 🆚 4/20 | 4:30 PM Hanover Central 🆚 4/21 | 4:30 PM @ Hanover Central 🆚 4/24 | 4:30 PM @ Dowling Park vs Hammond Central

We will take on Whiting tonight at the US Steelyard at 4:30 pm. Beautiful day for baseball. See you at the ballpark

Highland earns a 12-1 win in 5 innings ⚾ Up next: Whiting vs Highland at the Steel Yard tonight. Morton returns to action Saturday against Wheeler.

Counting on Cash Washick isn’t unusual for Highland. But to be the team’s No. 1 pitcher? That “kind of came out of nowhere.” @MichaelOsipoff has the story for #TribSuburbanSports. @CashWashick @HighlandBaseba1 @stohAD1 @HighlandHighHHS chicagotribune.com/2026/04/16/hig…

NEWS: Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell, one of the top bigs in the portal, has committed to Indiana, a source told @On3. The 6-10 sophomore averaged 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game this season. Former McDonald’s All-American. on3.com/news/report-in…

🚨BREAKING: Alabama transfer PF Aiden Sherrell has Committed to Indiana! ⚪️🔴 #iubb

We are the HOME team today but our game is being PLAYED AT MUNSTER HS. 4:30 pm first pitch. See you there

Great day to be a Hoosier 🔴⚪️ #iubb

Today’s games are postponed until tomorrow. JV 4:30 at Munster V 4:30 HOME vs Munster