Top baseball prospect in Michigan giving back to kids in need
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - If you head over to the Motor City Baseball Academy in Rochester Hills, there's a good chance you'll find Broder Katke throwing the ball around with his younger brothers, Theo and Henry.
The 15-year-old catcher out of Bloomfield Hills has quickly risen the ranks among some of youth baseball's top talents.
Currently ranked as the No. 1 baseball player in Michigan (No. 2 nationally-ranked catcher & No. 14 overall best player in the class of 2027), Broder will begin his high school baseball career this fall at Detroit Country Day.
In March, Broder committed to playing college ball for Duke in 2027.
"Being a catcher, you always got to be super engaged in the game," Broder Katke said. "The part where you fail more than you succeed, it's almost like a challenge. Just being able to work towards always trying to succeed more than you fail, which probably won't happen. But, it's a good goal."
Behind all the stats, the rankings and the accomplishments, Broder knows that baseball is a pathway to doing more with a bigger platform.
Last year, as a star catcher for a 13U select team that showcases some of the best youth baseball players in the nation, Broder met with patients at East Tennessee Children's Hospital.
He says he was so touched by what he saw during his time there, that for this year's Select Fest, he plans to take a swing at fundraising at least $3,000 through social media donations for children battling cancer at Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida.
"Being able to see those kids last year was an eye-opening experience," Broder says. "Those kids came and visited us, and they don't really know what their futures will be like. Obviously, they don't have the opportunity to play baseball … and I can't take anything for granted and help these kids as much as I can."
Tony Leonard, Broder's coach since he played in 9U, says Broder's attitude toward causes like these won't just make him successful on the diamond but on anything he sets his mind.
"For me … for the baseball end of it, he's [Broder] awesome," Leonard says. "But to me, it's more than that. This kid is going to go, whether he goes to the MLB, or whatever he does, he's going to be very successful in life. And somebody is going to be lucky if he works for you because he's a hell of a young man."
