With the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, and Detroit Pistons all in action, we’ve reached a rare equinox in Detroit sports. It’s not April In the D – it’s better.
While watching the Red Wings, Lions, and Tigers (oh my!) over the weekend, I was reminded of all the young talent within the Detroit sports landscape – each franchise has a strong nucleus of players 25 and under. Detroit has a bright future in all four major sports.
Given this, I wanted to take a city-wide approach and rank Detroit’s top athletes age 25 and under. To do this, I was joined by some of best in Detroit sports media:
- Nolan Bianchi – The Detroit News
- Ben Raven – MLive
- Scott Bentley – Locked On Sports Network
The four of us took turns ranking Detroit’s top young athletes. Then, the rankings were consolidated, producing the list below of Detroit’s 25-and-under sports stars.
Note that prospects were omitted from this ranking. Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Max Clark might make the list one day, but need to make their regular season debuts first.
Top 25 Detroit Athletes 25 & Under
- WR Amon-Ra St. Brown – Lions
- RT Penei Sewell – Lions
- G Cade Cunningham – Pistons
- DE Aidan Hutchinson – Lions
- RB Jahmyr Gibbs – Lions
- S Brian Branch – Lions
- DT Alim McNeill – Lions
- LF Riley Greene – Tigers
- RW Lucas Raymond – Red Wings
- RD Moritz Seider – Red Wings
- S Kerby Joseph – Lions
- WR Jameson Williams – Lions
- C Jalen Duran – Pistons
- TE Sam LaPorta – Lions
- F Ausur Thompson – Pistons
- LB Jack Campbell – Lions
- LD Simon Edvinsson – Red Wings
- G Jaden Ivey – Pistons
- 2B Colt Keith – Tigers
- C Marco Kasper – Red Wings
- C Isaiah Stewart – Pistons
- CB Terrion Arnold – Lions
- DT Tyliek Williams – Lions
- G Tate Ratledge – Lions
- G Christian Mahogany – Lions
An aside before getting into the analysis – it’s funny to think about positions with the same name across sports. A basketball guard and a football guard are very different. Can you imagine Tate Ratledge initiating a fast break? Same with centers for hockey, basketball, and football.
Analyzing Detroit’s Young Talent
It’s clear that the list overindexes in Lions players – they’ve been the most successful Detroit sports team in recent years. Six of the top 10 are Lions, with 14 total appearing on the list.
Related: Identifying the Red Wings’ Next Contention Window
When considering the best of the best, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell were neck-and-neck for the top spot.
“I really struggled with whether to put Sewell or St. Brown at No. 1,” Bianchi said. “Their resumes are identical. They both have three Pro Bowls (2022-24), two First-Team All-Pros (2023-24), and one monstrous contract extension to show for it.
“While St. Brown won’t let anyone forget he was a fourth-round pick, his pedigree is also sterling like Sewell, the former No. 7 selection; St. Brown was a five-star prospect coming out of Mater Dei High School, a California prep powerhouse.”
But in the end, it was St. Brown – the best 25-and-under athlete in the city.
“While Sewell is undoubtedly one of the league’s most well-known offensive lineman, St. Brown has a chance to keep pace with the All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections while also becoming a household name because of his profile and fantasy relevance. St. Brown wins on account of potential star power.”
Cade Cunningham got a lot of love in the top five as well. The Pistons’ sensation put the league on notice down the stretch and into the 2025 postseason.
“One player can impact a basketball game so much, so out of all of these players, no one player is more vital to their team than Cade is to the Pistons,” noted Bentley. “The Pistons’ future is completely and utterly shot if Cunningham were to retire tomorrow. While the rest would all be varying degrees of substantial blows, none would ruin their team’s future more than Cade.”
Since this is a hockey publication, I would be remiss if I didn’t give the Red Wings some air time. Specifically, Moritz Seider. The 24-year-old is one of the best defensemen in the NHL and excels in all situations and roles. He’s a world-class athlete who has dominated pros physically since his teenage years. It would not be surprising to see him ranked more prominently among this particular group of pros in a few years.
The same could be said for fellow Detroit defender Brian Branch, who has been a centerpiece of the Lions’ defense since 2023.
“I think he’s just going to keep getting better and better,” Raven shared. “He’s a unicorn defensive player and one of the top up-and-coming defensive playmakers in the NFL.”
Also receiving votes were Tigers pitcher Jackson Jobe and Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa.
Red Wings’ Place In Detroit’s Talent Pool
Raymond (No. 9), Seider (No. 10), Edvinsson (No. 17), and Kasper (No. 20) made the cut this year. Given Detroit’s ongoing rebuild, it’s reasonable to expect future iterations of this list will include more Red Wings players. Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard made the team out of training camp and could be key contributors as early as this season. Nate Danielson, Sebastian Cossa, Trey Augustine, and Carter Bear are on the way, too.
So while the Red Wings make up a minority of the current Top 25 Detroit Pro Sports Athletes 25 & Under list, that’s partially a reflection of hockey’s longer runway to the professional ranks. It’s the same deal for the Tigers – Jackson Jobe, Max Clark, and Kevin McGonigle will burst onto the scene soon enough.
The fact of the matter is Detroit has a bright future in all four major sports. The Lions were the first franchise to ascend to league-leader status, and the Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings won’t be far behind.
