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Experts predict how 8 Detroit sports teams will perform in 2025

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Experts predict how 8 Detroit sports teams will perform in 2025

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The 2024 sports season in Detroit was a memorable one.

The Lions went on an 11-game winning streak and are a franchise-best 14-2 with one game remaining before the playoffs. The Tigers made the city’s heart race with with a postseason run nobody could have predicted. And Michigan football provided a start to the year that had supporters celebrating for many months.

Would you believe 2025 might be better?

We asked our beat writers who cover the eight major teams we follow — Lions, Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings, Michigan football and men’s basketball and Michigan State football and men’s basketball — to predict their fortunes on the field, court and rink.

In the coming year, will we see the Lions make a Super Bowl for the first time? Do the Tigers have an encore? Did the Red Wings find the right coach? Are the Pistons on the cusp of being relevant again? Will Michigan and Michigan State football bounce back? And will the excitement continue for Dusty May’s U-M basketball and Tom Izzo’s MSU?

Here’s what Free Press beat writers see in their crystal ball for 2025.

It’s Super Bowl 59 or bust for the Lions in 2025. The Lions already have the franchise record for wins and they’re a Week 18 victory away from the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs and a first-round bye. Regardless of where they finish in the standings, it would be a major disappointment if they don’t at least reach the Super Bowl in February for the first time in history.

The road to New Orleans won’t be easy, and the Lions still have a ton of injuries to navigate on defense. But they have the league’s best young roster, a high-scoring offense and one of the best coaching staffs in football. This won’t be the only time the Lions compete for a Super Bowl, but if they stumble in the playoffs this special season could feel like a failure.

BUCKLE UP: Who will Lions face in playoffs? Predicting bracket matchups, path to Super Bowl

The Tigers have set an ambitious goal for the 2025 season: Manager A.J. Hinch wants to reclaim the American League Central crown for the first time in 11 years.

From 2011-14, the Tigers reigned as division champions, powered by superstars Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Victor Martinez and Prince Fielder. A few years later, however, the Tigers parted ways with many of their star players and embarked on a lengthy rebuild that lasted far longer than anyone anticipated.

In 2024, the Tigers — MLB’s youngest team — emerged as surprising contenders in the second full season under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, securing their first winning record since 2016, advancing to the postseason for the first time since 2014 and winning a playoff series for the first time since 2013.

Instead of the superstars of old, Detroit is led by a talented young core featuring Tarik Skubal, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Colt Keith and Parker Meadows. Winning the AL Central in 2025 would be a monumental step forward for an iconic franchise eager to write a new chapter in its storied history. The time is now.

INSIDE THE DEAL: Gleyber Torres bets on himself with Tigers with $100M in mind

Can the Pistons make the playoffs? A year after a franchise-worst 14-68 season, the Pistons have already matched their 2023-24 win total. They’re in the thick of the Eastern Conference play-in race, 10th overall with a 14-18 record, and have found momentum by earning three straight road wins last week over West playoff hopefuls Phoenix, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento.

Still less than a year removed from losing an NBA single-season record 28 straight games, first-year head coach JB Bickerstaff and president Trajan Langdon — as well as Cade Cunningham — have changed the Pistons’ trajectory. 

The big story for the Red Wings as 2025 gets underway is whether they can right themselves, and what general manager Steve Yzerman does to make that happen. Can he pull off a trade that improves what is a mediocre roster? It seems doubtful, because the very assets that could attract other GMs’ attention — first-round picks, skilled young players — are the ones the Wings can’t afford to relinquish. 

Yzerman made a coaching change during the Christmas break, bringing in Todd McLellan. Ultimately it’s just as much on the players to bear down and stop making excuses. Look to Patrick Kane as an example; he spoke in mid-December of needing to look in the mirror and asking what more he could do. Then he went out and played like it. Marco Kasper should likewise inspire teammates; he’s a rookie, and was their best skater in the pre holiday-break game against the Blues.

THE CHANGE: Red Wings secret to a happier 2025

The fact there were no upgrades made to the team, other adding goaltender Cam Talbot, made it clear from the start this would be a tough season. But who foresaw Vladimir Tarasenko, signed for two years at $4.75 million per season, would be so ineffective that he’s on pace for around 10 goals? He highlights a roster full of players who need to resolve to play better, and show that the 2024-25 Wings can be compelling. 

Tony Garcia, Michigan football

While the 2024 Michigan football season came up short of expectations for a number of reasons, the most pressing issue from Day 1 was without question its lack of a passing game. The aerial attack was hindered by a lackluster receiving core and certainly not helped by a mediocre offensive line, but ultimately, the issues came primarily due to sub-par quarterback play.

Michigan pulled out all the stops the past four months to make sure that didn’t happen again, rallying together mega donors from all corners of the country to pool enough money (possibly upwards of $10 million for three to four years in Ann Arbor) and flip superstar high school recruit Bryce Underwood — the No. 1 player in the nation out of Belleville — from LSU.

But U-M made sure to add competition by signing Fresno State’s Mikey Keene. He will be a fifth-year senior after throwing for more than 8,200 yards (67.8% completions), 65 touchdowns and 28 interceptions in his career at UCF and Fresno.

It will be a fascinating dynamic to watch head coach Sherrone Moore navigate between two seemingly very solid options at quarterback; the fanbase will be clamoring for Underwood and though he without question has the higher upside, it feels hard to believe he will be ahead of Keene in his ability to run a college offense by the end of August.

TRENDING: Bryce Underwood vs Mikey Keene is Michigan’s new QB battle in 2025

Chris Solari, Michigan State football

Jonathan Smith’s first season ended much like Mel Tucker’s final two-plus seasons at MSU — with a losing record (5-7) and the Spartans stuck at home in December without a bowl berth.

As is the norm in college football the past half-decade, the offseason purge and replenishing cycle of transfers began in earnest immediately after the season. The biggest losses so far are cornerback Charles Brantley and receivers Jaron Glover, Aziah Johnson and Jaelen Smith. There likely will be more attrition after spring practices conclude, with rosters constantly in flux all the way up to season openers.

But roster retention far outweighs the departures so far, with Aidan Chiles back for a second season as starting quarterback, wideout Nick Marsh coming off a stellar freshman season and tight end Jack Velling joining them to provide the nucleus of potential offensive firepower. Smith and his staff have been mining the transfer portal for receiver upgrades and more offensive linemen to better protect Chiles and establish a long-absent run game.

MSU opens at home with Western Michigan, scheduled for Aug. 30. The Spartans head to USC to begin Big Ten play Sept. 20 and have three of their first four conference games on the road before hosting Michigan on Oct. 25. Getting to six wins and a return to the postseason since the 2021 Peach Bowl is the baseline goal for Smith’s program, or his seat could warm.

TRACKER: Michigan State football transfer portal commitments for 2025

Tony Garcia, Michigan basketball

The Wolverines have already won more through 13 games (10-3) this season than they did in all 32 (8-24) of last year and while the Dusty May era is clearly headed in the right direction, a postseason push in year one would help move things along.

The beginnings of a successful season would start with snapping a two-year NCAA tournament skid, but the question now is how far can U-M go?

The college basketball world is starting to become enamored with U-M’s “Area 51” frontcourt combo of Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf, but it’s the backcourt players like Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., and Nimari Burnett who will determine the fate of this season in March.

Reserve forwards Will Tschetter and Sam Walters will play key roles eventually, while other young developing pieces in freshman guard trio Justin Pippen, LJ Cason and Durral “Phat Phat” Brooks will be called upon as well.

U-M entered the week No. 1 nationally in 2-point shooting (62.9%), No. 9 in offensive effective FG% (58.4%) and No. 18 in defensive effective FG% (44.5%) but ranks No. 356 out of 364 in America in non-steal turnovers (11.1%). If May’s crew can clean it up, it will be playing meaningful hoops not just in March, but possibly April.

Chris Solari, Michigan State basketball

Tom Izzo got his groove back and No. 15 MSU once again is looking like a front-runner for a Big Ten championship for the first time since 2020.

Tough-as-nails guards Jeremy Fears Jr. and Tre Holloman are meshing as a backcourt as veterans Jaden Akins and Jaxon Kohler are growing into prime producers. High-upside contributors Coen Carr and Xavier Booker continue to ascend toward star status, while newcomers Jase Richardson and Szymon Zapala have emerged as pivotal pieces. Barring injury, it could be one of Izzo’s deepest and most well-rounded teams in his 30 seasons as MSU’s head coach.

And the expanded 18-team league appears wide open for reclaiming. Pivotal games in Izzo’s chase for an 11th regular-season crown include two games with Illinois (Jan. 19 in East Lansing and Feb. 15 in Champaign), a trip to UCLA on Feb. 4, back-to-back visits from Oregon on Feb. 8 and Indiana on Feb. 11 and a Feb. 26 road game at Maryland.

TRENDING: Michigan State might be even better than Tom Izzo thought they could be

Izzo also has another milestone in sight beyond a second national title. Already having passed Bobby Knight for the most wins at a Big Ten school overall, he needs nine more wins between the Spartans’ Jan. 3 trip to Ohio State and the March 9 end-of-season finale at home against Michigan to surpass the former Indiana leader’s record of 353 career conference victories.

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