Inside The Numbers: Wisconsin's 2015 Commitments

November 22, 2014

By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Supervisor – Wisconsin/Illinois

The early signing period for 2015 prospects has come to an end and after crunching the numbers this class looks to be most recruited class in the history of Wisconsin high school baseball. With all the numbers we’re bringing you, we will try to keep our baseline consistent and stick with Division I commits; who along with Division II prospects are the only recruits to sign National Letters of Intent this past week (Junior College NLI’s aren’t signed until January 15).

The 2015
class has already seen 29 Division I commits in the state of Wisconsin. To put that in perspective, that nearly matches the 2013 and 2014 classes combined (32 Division I recruits). The Prep Baseball Report started in Wisconsin in October of 2012, when the 2013 class were already seniors and most of the recruiting of the class already finished. At that point the 2015 class were just sophomores and reaped the full benefits of the PBR in the state of Wisconsin.

Several of these Division I commits participated in such high profile events as the PBR Future Games and the Top Prospect Showcase. In fact of the 29 Division I commits only six did not attend o
ne of these two events and only two did not attend a PBR event at all.

On top of the added exposure the Prep Baseball Report is bringing, the travel baseball scene is continually growing and more and more players are starting to play a more competitive style of baseball in the summers.

Another trend that is starting to take place is the out of state recruitment of Wisconsin prospects. Until recently only a few college programs went into Wisconsin to fill their roster, much of the reason why Division III baseball in Wis
consin has been so good, a lot of the good players were staying home. The PBR has brought Badger State prospects more readily available to colleges and universities outside of the state. PBR has only tracked Wisconsin commitments since the 2013 class; but after a bit of research from some other credible resources on college commitments, dating back to 2009 the previous high for out of state Division I commits was 12. The 2015 class more than doubles that number at 28 out of state Division I commitments.

Here's a look at what states are recruiting Wisconsin the heaviest.

Illinois: 7

Ohio: 5

North Dakota: 4

Nebraska: 3

Missouri: 1

Connecticut: 1

Kansas: 1

Massachusetts: 1

Michigan: 1

Minnesota: 1

Texas: 1

North Carolina: 1

Florida: 1

Wisconsin: 1

Obviously with only one Division I program in Wisconsin it will probably be rare to see them lead this list simply due to the amount of
opportunities in other states. For instance Illinois has 10 Division I baseball programs in the state.

Here's a look at what conferences are actively recruiting the Badger State.

Western Athletic: 6

Big Ten: 5

Mid-American: 4

Big East: 3

Summit: 2

Southeastern: 2

American: 1

Missouri Valley: 1

Big Twelve: 1

Ivy: 1

Big South: 1

Atlantic Sun: 1

Horizon: 1

It's plain to see that the opportunities being brought to Wisconsin high school baseball players are expanding and it will be interesting to see how much more this trend continues over the next several years.

Inside The Numbers: Wisconsin's 2015 Commitments

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