Garrett Michel has found his power stroke. As of Tuesday, the 6-foot, 200-pound senior middle infielder for
East Lincoln (Denver, N.C.) had blasted 13 home runs in 49 at bats and 17 games to lead the nation, according to the MaxPreps leaderboards.
Coming into 2022, Michel had hit six career home runs in 133 at bats over three seasons. In a little over a third of those at bats this spring, Michel has more than doubled his previous home run total for the 13-4 Mustangs.
Michel started the season with two homers and four RBI in a 9-3 win over Bandys. On four other occasions he's hit at least two homers in a game and Michel drilled three home runs and drove in eight during a 17-0 win over West Iredell.
Committed to Virginia Tech, Michel leads East Lincoln with a .543 average (25 for 46), 34 RBI and 29 runs.
Two California players — Ryan Rivera of San Marcos and Malcolm Moore from McClatchy (Sacramento) — are tied for second in the country with 12 homers. As of April 19, 63 players have hit at least seven home runs.
MaxPreps compiles leaderboards from statistics supplied by high school coaches from throughout the country.
National Home Run Leaderboard
| Leaderboard - Player Home Runs |
| 1 | | 13 |
| 2 | | 12 |
| 3 | | 12 |
| 4 | | 11 |
| 5 | | 10 |
| 6 | | 10 |
| 7 | | 10 |
| 8 | | 10 |
| 9 | | 10 |
| 10 | | 9 |
| 11 | | 9 |
| 12 | | 9 |
| 13 | | 9 |
| 14 | | 9 |
| 15 | | 9 |
| 16 | | 9 |
| 17 | | 9 |
| 18 | | 9 |
| 19 | | 9 |
| 20 | | 9 |
| 21 | | 8 |
| 22 | | 8 |
| 23 | | 8 |
| 24 | | 8 |
| 25 | | 8 |
| 26 | | 8 |
| 27 | | 8 |
| 28 | | 8 |
| 29 | | 8 |
| 30 | | 8 |
| 31 | | 8 |
| 32 | | 8 |
| 33 | | 8 |
| 34 | | 8 |
| 35 | | 8 |
| 36 | | 7 |
| 37 | | 7 |
| 38 | | 7 |
| 39 | | 7 |
| 40 | | 7 |
| 41 | | 7 |
| 42 | | 7 |
| 43 | | 7 |
| 44 | | 7 |
| 45 | | 7 |
| 46 | | 7 |
| 47 | | 7 |
| 48 | | 7 |
| 49 | | 7 |
| 50 | | 7 |
.
