Preseason Power 25: No. 12 Tremper

March 13, 2017

The Wisconsin high school season kicks off on March 28, the first day for regular season games. Most teams will begin practicing on March 20, getting their rosters set and finalizing their lineups.

Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we will be rolling out team previews of high school teams all across the state and across all classifications, eventually launching our Preseason Power 25.

We have been sending out our annual Preseason Questionnaire to coaches all across the state and as the responses flood in we will bring you a snapshot of what to expect along with top players and keys to success for that particular team. If you don’t see your team’s season preview make sure your head coach fills out his Preseason Questionnaire.

Team: Tremper
Preseason Rank: 12
2016 Record: 18-7
Conference: Southeast
WIAA Division: 1
Head Coach: John Matera
Playoff Run: Regional Finals
2016 Final Rank: 20
Returning Starters: 4
Returning Pitchers: 6

TOP PLAYERS

Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
Mitchell Buban	WI	Tremper	2017	SS/RHP	Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Garrett LaBreche	WI	Tremper	2017	MIF	Mesa CC
Hunter Weddel	WI	Tremper	2017	OF	Wisconsin-Parkside
Nathan Renner	WI	Tremper	2017	INF/RHP
Andrew Freiberg	WI	Tremper	2017	LHP	Ripon College

X-FACTOR

Wisconsin-Milwaukee commit Mitchell Buban is one of the many two-way pieces to the Trojan puzzle in 2017. His defensive prowess at shortstop is one of the best in the state this year, and this summer Buban showed he has the ability to be an ace of the staff as well. It's a big task for Buban to juggle both, but he along with several of the Trojan position players may be doing the same.

STAT RAT

6: The number of returning arms for Tremper in 2017. That much varsity experience on the mound will be crucial this year with the new pitch count guidelines in place. Teams will have to go deeper than ever into their bullpens and Coach Matera will have the luxury of calling on varsity experience deeper than most teams in the state.

OUTLOOK

Despite graduating some essential seniors, the Trojans surprisingly have a lot returning in 2017, especially on the mound. The key for Coach Matera will be juggling those arms against playing time, as several of their returning arms contribute as position players as well. SS Mitchell Buban, OF Hunter Weddell, INF Nathan Renner and OF/1B Andrew Freiberg will all be asked to provide big innings on the mound as well as bolstering the lineup. Defense should be a strong suit for the Trojans, but the versatility will be key for Tremper in 2017. Both Weddell and Renner were first team all-conference selections in 2016 and will look to duplicate that performance in 2017.