A 2025 Michigan High School Clay Target League state tournament sign hangs in Mason, Michigan.
By: Scott Bentley | Metro | Published May 1, 2026
METRO DETROIT — The Michigan State High School Clay Target League has kicked off its 2026 spring season with more participation than ever.
According to the league, there are more than 2,400 students in Michigan participating across 140 different schools this year.
“Michigan continues to embrace clay target shooting sports as an extracurricular activity for students across the state,” said Drew Tri, marketing manager for the USA Clay Target League. "Michigan is now one of the top five states in the country offering these opportunities to students, behind only Minnesota, New York, Kansas and Wisconsin."
The MIHSCTL is the Michigan branch of the USA Clay Target League, which has seen growth in participation every year since its inception in 2008. Nationwide, the league reached almost 56,000 student participants and just under 2,000 schools in 2025.
Michigan is also such a hotbed for clay shooting that the USA Clay Target League national championships are held in Mason, Michigan, every summer. Over the past several years, the league has seen a big uptick in participation around metro Detroit.
“There’s a lot of great aspects to participating in the league’s programs — the comradery of being part of a team, the special connection that develops when students get to represent their schools doing things they love and the recognition opportunities that yearbook access and lettering programs provide,” Tri said.
In the state tournaments, the metro Detroit area continues to see more and more representation, and in 2025 teams from L’Anse Creuse North, Lake Shore, Eisenhower, St. Clair and Utica high schools all participated. Eisenhower’s Hali Ponce finished third in the Female High-Gun final.
The representation from metro Detroit highlights a broader reason as to why the league continues to see growth year in and year out. A large number of the student athletes that join the league aren’t playing another sport.
“About 40% of these students don’t participate in any other school activity,” Tri said. “That's nearly 1,000 Michigan high school students that wouldn’t be engaged in their school experience because they don’t have the interest or the talent to participate in more 'traditional' school activities that get more expensive and restrictive every year.”
The outlet has become a mainstay for the state of Michigan and is becoming a staple locally as well. One of the many incentives that have helped aid growth in the area is the league’s offer to start a team free of charge.
The offer ends at the end of the 2026 calendar year and has already seen a ton of schools around the state take advantage. The league is also co-ed and adaptive, which highlights that anyone can participate.
“Schools want the opportunity to give their students a place to develop their confidence, sportsmanship, and teamwork without the high costs and limited playing opportunities of traditional sports,” John Nelson, president of the USA Clay Target League, said in a press release. “Clay target shooting sports are accessible to everyone, everyone can participate. The ability for students to participate on their school’s team influences athlete’s lives for the better.”
The increase in participation has also come with an increase in opportunities for all. In 2025, the league started the Scorekeeper Training Program that shows anyone the basics of how to oversee a clay shooting event.
“Ultimately, the league’s growth over the years has created even more opportunities for not only student athletes, but also for coaches, and shooting ranges nationwide,” Nelson said in the league’s 2025 impact report.
Michigan’s 2026 season will conclude on May 24 with state finals scheduled for June.
The USA Clay Target League has reported zero injuries since its inception in 2008. To learn more, visit mi.usaclaytarget.com.