When asked what makes Lapeer home, Brayden McKenna was very succinct.

“You come across that hill on 24 and you're just home,” said McKenna, a 2022 graduate of Lapeer High School. “That is the biggest feel for here, that it's just home.”

McKenna graduated in May from Wayne State University in Detroit with his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and is now pursuing his master’s degree in the same major.

His father, Scott McKenna, is the Lapeer County sheriff. Might that have been an influential factor for the younger McKenna to go into that field?

“Yep,” laughed McKenna. “Just a tad.”

Outside of the classroom, McKenna is back for a fifth year as a running back with the Warriors’ football team. He redshirted his freshman year in 2022 and then played the three seasons after that. Redshirting in 2022 allowed him the added year of eligibility in 2026.

Growing up, McKenna spent time on pretty much every athletic field he could find, leading him to opportunities galore.

“When I was younger, I was big into wrestling and then when I went into middle school, I played football, baseball and basketball, and then later in high school, it was just football and baseball,” said McKenna. “Basketball, I loved it, but I kind of just wanted to focus on football and the baseball side of things. When it came to football, it was just such a pure sport. It was just so fun on Fridays and especially just how the community rallied for that sport.”

That passion for the game led McKenna right to Wayne State, a school he had only heard about and read about, but a school he quickly embraced.

“Going into junior year when college coaches started reaching out and calling and stuff like that, that was kind of when I was like, ‘OK, no more basketball, and I'm just focusing on this sport,’” said McKenna. “When I first went on my visit, I'd actually never been to Wayne State. I’d been to Detroit, but growing up, we didn't go to Detroit all that much, just for games and stuff like that. We toured the school and the school was amazing. Everything was built up and I met a lot of professors that were really cool.

“But when they took me downtown and saw that atmosphere and kind of just how it all ties into everything that Detroit has to offer, I fell in love with it. My very first time ever at Wayne State, I actually committed the same day. It felt like a home feel and the coaching staff at the time felt similar to the coaches I had in high school. And when it came to the academic side, they were showing me where they rank in the country and all that stuff and it was just a very prominent school.”

Named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) for Fall 2023, Fall 2024 and Fall 2025, McKenna has played in 29 games over the last three seasons, picking up 40 rushing yards on 23 attempts and catching three passes for 60 yards for 100 all-purpose yards. He’s also a two-time member of the GLIAC All-Academic Team.

In high school, McKenna recorded eye-popping accolades.

He was a three-year letter-winner for the Lightning, was selected as the 2021 Flint Area Offensive Player of the Year after being voted Saginaw Valley League MVP, earned Associated Press First Team All-State honors as a senior as well as being named to the Detroit News Dream Team, rushed for 2,145 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2021, while catching 17 passes for 316 yards and one score, received First Team All-Region recognition, led the SVL in rushing for three consecutive years, had 109 carries for 853 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior, earned Detroit News Honorable Mention All-State accolades in 2020, gained 834 yards on 87 carries to earn First Team Red Division honors as a sophomore, was a multiple-year team captain in both football and baseball, named First Team All-SVL catcher for LHS, batted .494 with 32 RBI as a senior, scoring 25 runs, and totaled seven home runs, eight doubles and three triples to earn First Team All-State honors from the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Wow.

Beyond all the stats and awards, McKenna was just thrilled he could do all that in a special place such as Lapeer.

“Even to this day, Lapeer is just a place where even when I come back from school, as soon as you kind of get past Oxford, it just feels like home,” said McKenna. “It's just a place where basically everyone's friendly and wherever you go, it's just so community based and it just makes you feel so good. I've made lifelong friends and had some of the best teachers in high school that have topped or been way better than any college professor I've ever had.

“Everyone in the school district really cares about students, cares about its athletes, all that stuff. I talk to many of them still today and every time I come home, I meet up with some of them still.”

McKenna, who in addition to his father, is joined in his family by mother Nicole and sister Mya. He also attended Bishop Kelly through fifth grade before going to Rolland-Warner, Zemmer and the high school.

“Growing up, mentor wise, everyone pushed you,” McKenna said. “Even when it came to classes, when it came to sports and stuff like that, things weren't just given to you. It was like, ‘Figure this out. We'll help you along the way, but we're going to make you think and figure this out on your own to prepare you for the real world.’

“Especially when it came to high school and AP classes and stuff like that, it kind of gave you a college feel and those teachers did a great job of preparing you for like, through those classes when you got to college, or college, it was very similar into learning like study habits and kind of just a set of how college classes would be. My biggest influence at LCS was Eric Henzel. Obviously, he's one of the football coaches. (Retired football coach) Mike Smith was another, Mrs. (Kristen) Wilcox and Mrs. (Megan) De-Nise. Those are probably my four main ones. I'm probably missing a bunch of them, but those are the ones off the top of my head.”

Then as for the city of Lapeer itself, nothing is better, according to McKenna, who shared reflections from growing up here.

“Obviously, you have Lapeer Days,” he said. “I used to love when we would walk downtown and go to the car shows and stuff like that me and my buddies would do. All the hunt clubs and the hunting side of things, we were big into that. I remember going to church and just seeing every Sunday the community would all be there.

“Those are great memories.”

Looking forward, McKenna has advice for current Lapeer students that may see what he has accomplished and want to emulate.

“Academically, get as high as a GPA as you can and try as hard as you can in the classroom to get basically noticed for your academics before your sport because that's going to push you,” McKenna. “It's going to open up so many opportunities. Don’t wait until the end of high school to truly lock in and try to push for that goal. It all starts when you first start with it and really just push yourself to learn every single position in your sport. Take all the coaching and be a team player and push every everyone and be the first guy there, first one to leave. I know that's a little cliché and it's in a lot of things, but really just put your head down and work at your sport and just be a good person. Build as many friends along the way and especially when it comes to the team side of things, the more people on their team that are like that and are very like level-headed and are going to work hard, the better the team's going to be throughout high school.”