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Last season didn’t end the way Utica Eisenhower’s girls volleyball season had hoped. The Eagles, ranked in top 10 of Division 1 all last season, was upended by Romeo 3-2 in the district finals, becoming an upset victim in a year where the Eagles were hoping to make a long postseason run to Battle Creek. Eisenhower, which has won back-to-back Macomb Area Conference Red Division titles – the Eagles were 10-0 in league play last season including two conference wins over Romeo – is ready to go for Monday after a highly-successful summer of team camps and showcases. On Monday, MHSAA members schools and even some non-MHSAA schools and home school teams around the state will begin official tryouts and practices across the state for the 2026 fall sports season, which includes football, girls volleyball, boys soccer, boys cross country, girls cross country, girls swim and dive, boys tennis, girls golf and girls field hockey. Last year was the very first year that girls field hockey (fall) and boys volleyball (spring) were official MHSAA-sanctioned sports, bringing the total now up to 31 sports offered by the state’s main governing body. As for Eisenhower, the Eagles finished a fine 33-3-5 overall and played a loaded non-conference slate of quads, tournaments and top 20 teams. Eisenhower just fell a little short. “I think there is a little bit more motivation right now,” said veteran Eisenhower coach Caitlin LaPratt, who lost three players to NCAA Division I schools but brings back eight of the 12 regular varsity players from last season and several college prospects at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels. “Sure, last season didn’t end the way we had hoped. I think the girls believed they could make a deep run and we fell short. We still had a really good year.” Motivation and optimism is never higher in July and August as teams build towards the new school year and for a fresh start. Eisenhower performed at a really high level this summer and actually captured the Michigan State Team Camp tournament trophy for the fourth straight season. Ironically, the Eagles upended Romeo in the finals of the top-flight tournament to take home the crown and regain some momentum heading into the new season. “I think that helped them rip the band-aid off a little bit because Romeo knocked us out in the (state) tournament last season,” said LaPratt, who couldn’t coach at the team camp due to MHSAA coaching restrictions. “Sure, it wasn’t official. But I think this will give us a nice confidence boost heading into the season.” Eisenhower is expected to be one of the contenders in the MAC Red Division, along with Romeo and Macomb Dakota. The trio of teams should be amongst the best teams inside Macomb County as well and all three should be considered top 20 teams in Division 1 as the season near its true beginning. MACOMB COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS WITH ATHLETICS PROGRAMS There are several schools of various sizes inside Macomb County that offer varsity sports, including some home school units. Amongst that group are Armada, Center Line, Center Line Prep Academy, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, Clinton Township Clintondale, Clinton Township Faith Christian, Clinton Township Chesterton Academy Our Lady of Guadalupe, Eastpointe, Fraser, Fraser Arts Academy In The Woods, Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse, Macomb Dakota, Macomb L’Anse Creuse North, Macomb Lutheran North, Mount Clemens, Memphis, New Baltimore Anchor Bay, New Haven, New Haven Merritt Academy, Richmond, Romeo, Romeo Macomb Academy Home School, Romeo Summit Home School, Roseville, St. Clair Shores Lake Shore, St. Clair Shores Lakeview, St. Clair Shores South Lake, Sterling Heights, Sterling Heights Parkway Christian, Sterling Heights Stevenson, Sterling Heights Summit-East Side Home School, Utica, Utica Eisenhower, Utica Ford, Warren Cousino, Warren De La Salle (B), Warren Fitzgerald, Warren Lincoln, Warren MACH Home School, Warren Michigan Collegiate, Warren Michigan Math & Science, Warren Mott, Warren Regina (G), Warren Strong Tower Home School, and Warren Woods-Tower. Other Macomb Area Conference schools located outside of Macomb County include Algonac, Clawson, Grosse Pointe North, Grosse Pointe South, Hazel Park, Madison Heights Lamphere, Madison Heights Madison, Marine City, Marysville, Port Huron, Port Huron Northern and St. Clair. Other Blue Water Area Conference schools include Almont, Crowell-Lexington, Imlay City, North Branch and Yale. Several other leagues bleed into Macomb County, including the Big Thumb Conference, Wolverine Christian Conference, Michigan Independent Athletic Conference, Catholic High School League, Detroit Metro Athletic Conference and Charter School Conference. ON THE MOVE Only one school inside Macomb County completely moved conferences overall, including Macomb Lutheran North (CHSL to BWAC). Algonac, located just outside of Macomb County in St. Clair County, shifted back from the BWAC and joined the MAC for the first time in nearly 25 years. Memphis has moved divisions inside the Big Thumb Conference, going from the Black Division over to the Gold Division within that mega conference that is spread over Macomb, St. Clair, Tuscola, Lapeer, Huron, Sanilac and Bay counties. The Yellowjackets will still compete in the MHSAA 8-Man football world, along with fellow north Macomb County school New Haven Merritt Academy. LIFE AS AN INDEPENDENT The schools from Macomb County that will compete as independents this season include Mount Clemens, Fraser Arts Academy In the Woods, Clinton Township Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Guadalupe, along with a host of home school teams including Romeo Macomb Academy Home School, Romeo Summit Home School, Sterling Heights Summit-East Side Home School, Warren MACH Home School, Warren Strong Tower Home School.