With the best freshman batting average the Michigan Wolverines have seen since Lexie Blair (.406) in 2019, Lauren Putz has definitely made her presence known in her 2025 debut season.
Going to Michigan took Lauren pretty far from home, being from Arizona, but with both of her parents being big Michigan alumni, it’s pretty clear why she decided to go to UM.
Her father, J.J. Putz, played for the Wolverines from 1996 to 1999 and was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 6th round of the 1999 MLB amateur draft. He went on to play 12 seasons as a closer with four different teams from 2003 to 2014, and was named an All-Star in 2007.
Putz’s mother, Kelsey Putz, played softball for UM from 1999 to 2002, and was named an NFCA All-American two different times during her collegiate career.
During her high school career, she attended Xavier College Preparatory where she posted a .559 career batting average, a 1.902 OPS, and hit 42 homers with a total of 122 RBI. She collected a number of accolades, including being a two-time Offensive Player of the Year and a four-time First Team All-Premier Region selection.
Recently ending her first year at Michigan, she batted .379 over 71 games and had an OPS of 1.117. Putz played all over the field for the Wolverines, and had an amazing .990 fielding percentage, only making 1 error on the season.
For her incredible performance this year, Putz was selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, and was named in the Top 25 list for the 2025 NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year. She also led Big Ten freshmen with .85 runs per game, 64 total hits and 14 doubles.