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Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 11 La Crosse Aquinas

March 23, 2016

The Wisconsin high school season kicks off on March 29, the first day for regular season games. Most teams will begin practicing on March 21, 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: La Crosse Aquinas
Preseason Rank: 11
2015 Record: 27-4
Conference: Mississippi
WIAA Division: 3
Head Coach: Scott Bagniefski
Playoff Run: State Runner-Up (D3)
2015 Final Rank: 8
 

TOP PLAYERS

Name State School Class Pos Commitment
Alex Schulte WI La Crosse Aquinas
 2016 RHP/1B
Andy Gundersen WI La Crosse Aquinas 2016 LHP  
Jacob Horstman WI La Crosse Aquinas 2016 C  
Andy Dunham WI La Crosse Aquinas 2016 2B  

 

X-FACTOR
Senior Alex Schulte is the top returning player for the Blugolds in 2016. Schulte is a returning first-team all-conference selection and will pull double duty for Aquinas both on the mound and with the bat. Schulte went 11-0 last season in 12 starts with a 1.16 ERA, a clear ace of the staff.

KEY PLAYER LOST
Rudy Rott, C (Ohio)
Alex Dee, SS (Illinois-Chicago)

OUTLOOK
The Blugold return a lot of their state runner-up team but filling the shoes of Rudy Rott and Alex Dee will be a large task for this crop of Aquinas seniors. Rott and Dee were both all-state selections and accounted for about a third of the team's total hits and over half the team's output in doubles. Alex Schulte will fill a large part of that void for Coach Bagniefski, but seniors like Jacob Hortsman, Andy Dunham, Tyler Young, Tom Gallagher and Eric Wilson will have to improve off of last years numbers to get Aquinas back to state.

If you are a high school coach and have yet to send in your Preseason Questionnaire please fill one out HERE.