Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association

Familiar foes make up the top echelon of this year's WBCA preseason poll.  Many teams, loaded with talented players and experienced coaches, will make for a great race throughout April, May, and early June.

1. Pewaukee: With nine seniors back, including four four-year starters, the Pirates look like a powerhouse. Owen and Drew Dobberstein, Greyson Zach, and Jackson Servais have all been All-Conference players for the past two seasons. 85% of their pitching staff is back and will be led by Minnesota recruit, Greyson Zach who was 8-2 last year.

2. La Crosse Aquinas: The Blugolds’ award for winning the D3 State Championship was to be moved to D2. Going 25-4 in a mostly D1 Mississippi Valley Baseball Conference makes them a definite team to take notice of here in D2. They return 75% of their pitching staff who went 19-0 on the season. Junior Aedan David, who batted .511 last season and went 10-0 on the mound, should lead this team  to another deep run.

3. Madison Edgewood: The defending D2 State Champions should still be a force in the state. Coach Rich Newton will have seven players from their lineup returning including senior catcher, Bennett Cagke, who batted .473. The pitching staff will need to come together, but the Crusaders should be up for the challenge to make another Title run.

4. Kiel: The Raiders won 22 games last season and advanced to Sectionals. Six of nine starters return including Ben Kienbaum who hit .397 and Cade Voelker, a left-handed pitcher who went 5-2 on the mound and is a four-year starter. Kiel will look to make this another season to remember by making it back to Sectionals and this time advancing to State.

5. Prescott: Jeff Ryan’s Cardinals look like a force to be reckoned with this season. Seven starters return as well as three pitchers who had a combined ERA of under 2.00.   Barrett Temmers, Cole Platson, Dain Pechacek and Will Rohl are all three-year varsity letter winners looking to lead Prescott to a deep run. Favored to win the Middle Border despite stiff challenges from St. Croix Central and Altoona.

6. Reedsburg: The Beavers probably feel they could’ve been celebrating a State Title as well last season. The Beavers split with Edgewood in the regular season, but won the Conference title easily. Then they lost to Edgewood 3-2 in the Sectionals. Reedsburg returns plenty of starters to their lineup including Alek Southworth and Jack Fenwick.

7. Whitnall: With 19 wins and a Conference championship last season, the Falcons feel great returning 13 players with varsity experience. With three college baseball recruits on their team, Whitnall is a team that can’t be taken lightly. Jack Lutz (South Florida), AJ Clark (UW-LaCrosse), and Nate Kasten (Bryant & Stratton) will lead the way. 

8. Kettle Moraine Lutheran: The Chargers have had two straight seasons of 25 wins, advanced to State last year, and have won the East Central Conference for four straight years. KML returns four pitchers from last year’s State team as well as three out of their four starting infielders. Jackson Kobylarczyk  and  Adam Zylka both batted .394 last season. 

9. Altoona: Altoona won 19 games and a Regional Championship despite losing Bennett Stokke, the Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore, early on in the season. This year he’s back and should lead the Railroaders along with HM All-State player, Kellen Smith, who batted.410 last season and saw plenty of time on the mound.  Looming: 5th ranked Prescott and defending champs St. Croix Central.

10. Mount Horeb: This is the third Badger Small team ranked in the top 10, but the Vikings return their entire pitching staff and eight of nine starters in the batting lineup. Mount Horeb played very close games with Edgewood and Reedsburg last season and feel like they can compete with the best teams in the state. 

11. Seymour: The Thunder could be very dangerous as they are coming off a Bay Conference Championship in the spring and a Legion State Championship in the summer. With eight players returning who have extensive varsity experience as well as of their pitching staff returning from last year, Seymour will be looking to be a title contender.

12. Waupun: The Warriors won 21 games last season and saw their season end in the Sectional Final at the hands of the eventual State Champion, Madison Edgewood. Waupun is poised to challenge #8 Kettle Moraine Lutheran for the conference title this year as they return 87% of their batting lineup and 12 pitching wins. 

13. Campbellsport: The Cougars won 17 games last season and their entire pitching staff is back as well as eight of their nine starters in the lineup. Riley Kohlman’s pitching and Brody Nolan’s catching should form a strong battery for the Cougars. Nolan and Kyler Bowe were both right around the .400 mark and their top hitters a season ago. 

14. Whitefish Bay: Bay compiled a 20 win season last year and advanced to the Sectional Finals after winning the D1 Championship the year before. Playing in the mostly D1 North Shore with ranked teams will help hone them before tournament time.

15. Little Chute:  Little Chute was 18-3 last season and won their first Conference title since 1986. They have three returning All-Conference players and a strong sophomore class that will contribute. UW-Platteville Recruit, Ethan Melendrez, will lead the way on the mound at at the plate for the Mustangs. 

16. Brodhead: While the Cardinals went just 13-11 last season, the conference coaches are selecting them as the favorite in an always tough Rock Valley Conference. Brodhead returns eight of their nine starters including three four-year starters. The pitching staff has 70% of their innings back and this should bode well for the Cardinals.

17. Milwaukee Saint Thomas More:  The Cavaliers were Regional Champions and Conference Champions with 21 wins last season. They have an active 33-game winning streak in the Metro Classic Conference. While they don’t return a ton of starters on paper, they will be boosted by some transfer players. Gabe Schmidt and Manny Sostre should be two of their top players. 

18. Green Bay Notre Dame: The Tritons won 22 games last season and saw their season end in the Sectionals. While they graduated twelve seniors last year, they have plenty of players looking to make their mark for this year’s team. Being the only D2 team in the premier D1 Fox River Classic Conference definitely will prepare them for the tournament. Christian Collins should be a rock for the Tritons this season as he mulls either playing college football or baseball next season. 

19. Lakeside Lutheran: The Warriors are coming off a 20-win season and a Conference championship tie with Columbus (D3 preseason #1). With two of their top three pitchers returning as well as some big bats in the lineup, Lakeside Lutheran could be poised to be one of the stronger teams in the Madison area. Nolan Meis, Phil Brecraft, Thomas Dwyer, and Cooper Brakmanis should lead the way.

20. Waterford: The Wolverines are picked to get 4th in the Southern Lakes, but all three teams ahead of them are D1 teams. Their offense was explosive at times in their last 14 games of the season and they return most of their starters. Add a large percentage of their pitching staff returning and it appears Waterford could be dangerous.

21. Saint Croix Central: The Panthers won the Middle Border Conference last year with a 12-1 record and finished 15-4 overall.  New head coach Tim Ponath inherits half of that team back on the mound and five offensive starters.  Two of those starters, who will also lead the staff are 1st Team All-Conference Eli Babler and Brecken Ponath.

Based on this, we evaluated the strength of each of the four sectionals as compared with each other.

1. Sectional 4 (TBA) 61
2. Sectional 2 (Waupaca) 56
3. Sectional 3 (Wisconsin Dells) 52
4. Sectional 1 (Merrill) 48

Again, this is a very unscientific list and based solely on the strength of top 21 teams list this preseason.  It does not account for teams outside the Top 21 Poll. You can see this spring's Sectional Assignments by clicking the pdf icon below.  That list also includes a printable version of the rankings.  As always, we wish all coaches and players a very successful season and that each team achieves growth this spring.