First-year Central Michigan football head coach Matt Drinkall has been heading to the well in both Oakland and Macomb County for Class of 2026 commitments since the end of May.

That included a pair of players from Warren De La Salle in defensive back David Williams and tight end Zack Wagner.

A 6-foot corner who had interest from multiple other MAC programs, Williams has been a contributor since his freshman year with DLS. He became a more disruptive force last fall, racking up 45 tackles with four interceptions and three pass deflections.

Wagner, a 6-foot-4 target who also played some on the line for the Pilots, finished his year with a dozen catches for 105 yards and a score.

The Chippewas already have a Pilot on the roster in defensive back Jamari Allen.

CMU also added a pair of late May commitments from Walled Lake Western’s Lucas Hoffmeyer and Waterford Mott’s Geno Seets.

A versatile weapon for the Corsairs, Seets hauled in 18 passes for 379 yards and five scores in 2023, and also carried nine times for 62 yards. Despite missing his last fall with a knee injury, the 6-foor-4 Seets continued to accumulate offers throughout this year, including Cornell, Princeton, Yale, Army and Bowling Green.

An offer arrived from CMU in mid-May and Seets gave his commitment to Drinkall’s staff in short time.

Hoffmeyer emerged as a multi-tool weapon for WL Western as a junior. On top of carrying 18 times for 114 yards and a rushing score, he caught 11 passes for 151 yards and a receiving TD. He had 13 tackles on the defensive side of the ball as well for the Warriors.

The 6-foot-3 Hoffmeyer had nearly double-digit offers, including Eastern Michigan, Army, and Air Force, he committed to the Chippewas on May 28. Hoffmeyer was offered by Central in late February and made an official visit the following month to Mount Pleasant.

CMU already has its share of Lakes Valley Conference athletes in Bryce Lambeth of South Lyon and the duo of Khari Johnson and Braeden Tillman-Jones from SL East.QBs from Warriors, Pilots add offers

Those CMU commits from the Warriors and Pilots aren’t the only players who have received interest from their programs this summer.

WL Western QB David Krall was offered by Cornell on Friday. The Class of 2027 gunslinger had just collected his first D1 offer from Penn in recent weeks as well. As a sophomore, Krall completed 34 of 62 attempts for 764 yards and 10 touchdowns.

From the Pilots, Class of 2028 QB Grayson Thurston, who completed 3 of 6 passes for 41 yards in limited action last fall while also gaining over 1,600 total yards on JV, got offered by Bowling Green in May, then got a Western Michigan offer at the beginning of June.

Black Hawks baseballers on the move

Several Bloomfield Hills hurlers announced in recent weeks that they would be opting for new college destinations.

Sawyer Cooney, previously set to head to Xavier University, announced on Thursday that he would continue his career at Kansas University.

“The thing about KU that stuck out to me making it a great fit in my eyes was the entire coaching staff and how they made (the school) feel like home for me,” Cooney said. “I can’t wait to go to work with them every day.”

Cooney, a righty capable of touching mid-90s with his fastball, was one of the best of the Black Hawks’ formidable arms this season. He totaled 43 innings as a senior and sported a slim 1.95 ERA, with his best outing a no-hitter against Groves back on April 9.

On June 22, right-handed pitcher Brandon Newland tweeted that he was transferring from University of Michigan after the conclusion of his first year in Ann Arbor. The Black Hawks’ career strikeout leader who also left in possession of four single-season marks, Newland appeared eight times for the Wolverines and didn’t allow an earned run over 6 2/3 innings.

The 6-foot-5 Newland will have three years of eligibility remaining.