Wisconsin 2019 Signing Period: D-I Commits

Name	School	Pos.	Commitment	Conference
Drake Baldwin	Madison West	C	Missouri State	Missouri Valley
Sean Barnard	Hudson	RHP	Iowa	Big Ten
Dan Blomgren	Janesville Craig	SS	Michigan	Big Ten
Tyler Brandenburg	Lake Country Lutheran	1B	Purdue	Big Ten
Marcus Cline	Fall Creek	INF/OF	Wisconsin-Milwaukee	Horizon
Tyler Denu	Mount Horeb	LHP	Evansville	Missouri Valley
Trace Ferreira	New Berlin West	OF	Indiana State	Missouri Valley
Bennett Frazer	Oconto	SS	Bradley	Missouri Valley
Steve Jamroziak	Muskego	OF	Minnesota	Big Ten
Jason Jennerjohn	Hortonville	RHP	Eastern Illinois	Ohio Valley
Jimmy Juergensen	Living Word Lutheran	1B	Grand Canyon	Western Athletic
Adam Juran	Sauk Prairie	C	Western Illinois	Summit League
Reagan Klawiter	Verona	LHP	Illinois State	Missouri Valley
Trey Krause	Burlington	LHP	Illinois State	Missouri Valley
Jace Kressin	Menomonie	LHP	Evansville	Missouri Valley
Jack Krumbach	Madison Memorial	OF	Xavier	Big East
Dylan Krumrei	Oshkosh North	3B	Bradley	Missouri Valley
Connor Langreder	West De Pere	LHP	Northern Illinois	MAC
Drew Lechnir	Kimberly	OF	Central Michigan	MAC
Zach Lechnir	Kimberly	SS/2B	Central Michigan	MAC
Braden Mork	River Falls	RHP	Bradley	Missouri Valley
Tanner Peterson	Wilmot	OF	Illinois State	Missouri Valley
Connor Prielipp	Tomah	LHP	Alabama	SEC
Hunter Rosenbaum	Webster	RHP	West Virginia	Big 12
Shane Ryan	Markesan	C	Central Michigan	MAC
Nathan Stevens	Waunakee	C	Arkansas	SEC
Bubba Thompson	Appleton West	SS	Southern	Southwestern Athletic
Paul Toetz	Greendale	SS/3B	Indiana	Big Ten
Ethan Toone	Brookfield East	C	Evansville	Missouri Valley
Trent Turzenski	Burlington	RHP	Valparaiso	Missouri Valley
Jack Washbrun	Webster	RHP	Oregon State	Pac-12
Xavier Watson	South Milwaukee	SS	Illinois	Big Ten
Brent Widder	Sheboygan North	SS	Evansville	Missouri Valley
Mitchell Woelfle	Janesville Craig	RHP	Air Force	Mountain West

 

MISSOURI VALLEY

This year, there are 34 prospects from Wisconsin headed to play Division-I baseball in some capacity next fall. As per usual, the Missouri Valley Conference is set to take home the majority of these names, 13 prospects headed south, dispersed among six different programs. Evansville is responsible for four of the committed names: LHP Tyler Denu (Mount Horeb), LHP Jace Kressin (Menomonie), C Ethan Toone (Brookfield East), and SS Brent Widder (Sheboygan North).

Bradley comes int next with three from the Badger State. Infielders Bennett Frazer (Oconto) and Dylan Krumrei (Oshkosh North) pair up with RHP Braden Mork (River Falls). Frazer leads the group as the highest ranked Bradley commit from the state, but not much separates the trio as they all fall inside the top 25. Frazer is a versatile athlete that likely sees his best days on the infield, while Mork was the most recent to commit to the Braves as he burst onto the scene this fall with a fastball up to 90 mph. 

Indiana State’s Trace Ferreira (New Berlin West) has steadily climbed the 2019 state rankings since the board first debuted back in 2016, hovering around the top 15 these days. He’s a strong, athletic outfielder who profiles in a corner, but has the offensive tools to help Sycamores quickly.

Three prospects will make their way to Normal, Ill., in less than a year’s time to partake in the program Head Coach Steve Holm is building in his first year at the helm at Illinois State. Left-handed arms Reagan Klawiter (Verona) and Trey Krause (Burlington) will help bolster the Redbirds’ pitching staff – Krause, namely, is the No. 2-ranked southpaw in the state’s senior class, and you could make the argument that he’s the most talented pitcher from Wisconsin headed to The Valley. Wilmot’s Tanner Peterson has long been within, or on the edge of, the top-10 rankings within this class. The talented outfielder has what it takes to make an sizable impact with his bat once he gets to campus.

The prospect in the state’s senior class with the most helium over the past six-plus months might just be the Valparaiso-bound Trent Turzenski (Burlington). Standing on the mound at an imposing 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, the righty has taken a huge leap in velocity in 2018, and capped off his big year by topping 90 mph at the GPA Games in August.

However, the top-ranked prospect among this group is Drake Baldwin (Madison West), the No. 1-ranked backstop in the state who will be attending Missouri State next fall. Baldwin is the No. 3-ranked prospect in Wisconsin’s 2019 class, the highest he’s ever been on the board. He’s a natural behind the dish and has only been getting better offensively this summer, even while playing on the national circuit.

BIG TEN

Year after year, the Big Ten naturally signs the most recruits among its power five conference rivals, and it’s no different for the 2019 class. There will be six prospects headed to Big Ten schools next fall, with no two players headed to the same destination. RHP Sean Barnard (Hudson; Iowa), SS Dan Blomgren (Janesville Craig; Michigan), 1B Tyler Brandenburg (Lake Country Lutheran; Purdue), OF Steve Jamroziak (Muskego; Minnesota), SS/3B Paul Toetz (Greendale; Indiana), and SS Xavier Watson (South Milwaukee; Illinois) make up the list of high-profile prospects landing on Big Ten rosters.

All six are ranked within the top 30 of their state’s class, five of whom in the top 15. Watson is the top-ranked among them at No. 7, headed to Illinois. He’s a dynamic athlete who’s reliable in the infield and has a gap-to-gap approach in the right-handed batter’s box. Fellow shortstop Blomgren is ranked a couple spots under Watson and is headed to Ann Arbor next fall. He’s an exceptional defender with a good feel for the strike zone and makes sound line-drive contact.

The third member of this list capable of anchoring the left side of the infield in Greendale’s Toetz, an Indiana commit. Toetz uses his strength well in the right-handed batter’s box, and though he’ll likely have to move off shortstop into the hot corner, he’s equipped with the tools to make that switch seamless.

MID-AMERICAN

The Mid-American Conference is accustomed to snagging a few high-profile prospects from the Badger State, but three of the four headed there in 2019 will help usher in a new era of Chippewas baseball at Central Michigan. Kimberly twins Drew and Zach Lechnir will motor over to CMU next fall where they’ll take their next-level on-field IQ as well as their premium athleticism to help new Head Coach Jordan Bischel integrate his first-ever recruiting class in the program.

Markesan’s C/RHP Shane Ryan will join the twins on campus. He’s a strong, thick two-way prospect who has some juice in his right-handed bat.

The other Wisconsin prospect headed to the MAC next fall is Northern Illinois-bound Connor Langreder (West De Pere), who has been a mainstay on the Phantoms’ staff since he was a sophomore. The southpaw and former PBR Future Gamer has been up to 87 mph in front of our staff and has demonstrated feel and control for his 1/7 slider in the past.

SOUTHEASTERN

And then there’s the powerhouse SEC, which has secured two of the state’s premier talents, including No. 1 overall prospect LHP Connor Prielipp (Tomah), who’ll be headed to Alabama in the fall, provided the buzz he’s stirred for himself on the national circuit doesn’t result in him being plucked away from their program via the MLB Draft. The lefty has been one of the most intriguing arms on the national scene this summer, having produced some of the wackiest spin rates with his sharp, downer curveball. Meanwhile, he lives in the 89-92 mph range with his fastball.

The other SEC-committed prospect is Nathan Stevens, the catcher who starred on Waunakee’s Division-1 title team. The left-handed-hitting backstop has one of the region’s top bats which has earned him some early draft buzz, too. It remains to be seen if he can continue catching at the next level, but he certainly has the athleticism to find a new role if receiver isn’t it.

THE OTHERS

The Pac-12, Big 12, Big East, Horizon League, Western Athletic, Southwestern Athletic, Mountain West, Ohio Valley, and Summit League conferences all contain a solitary prospect en route from Wisconsin.

• The distinguished Pac-12 will welcome RHP Jack Washburn (Webster), where he’ll carve out a role on Oregon State, the 2018 College World Series champions.

• The Big 12’s West Virginia committed Washburn’s Webster staffmate, RHP Hunter Rosenbaum. 

• Xavier of the Big East is getting OF Jack Krumbach (Madison Memorial) to campus, one of the toolsiest prospects in the state.

• The sole D-I talent sticking in state is Marcus Cline (Fall Creek). The versatile position player is headed to Wisconsin-Milwaukee of the Horizon League in the fall where he’ll look to make an early influence.

• 2018 Western Athletic Conference champs Grand Canyon managed to land 1B Jimmy Juergensen (Living Word Lutheran), a hulking left-handed bat with real middle-of-the-order potential.

• No. 30-ranked middle infielder Bubba Thompson (Appleton West) committed to Southern. He’s become one of the smoothest gloves in the state.

• Air Force landed RHP Mitchell Woelfle a year ago, the righty from Janesville Craig. He’s a top-30-ranked prospect in the state’s 2019 class.

• The Ohio Valley’s Eastern Illinois has Hortonville ace Jason Jennerjohn making his way to Charleston in 2019. He touched 89 mph back in February at a PBR event.

• And finally, the Summit League’s Western Illinois committed the state’s No. 3-ranked backstop, Adam Juran (Sauk Prairie). The former Future Gamer is an advanced defender and is capable of controlling the game, at-bat by at-bat.

Check us out again tomorrow when we delve deeper into the committed prospects on Wisconsin's 2019 board. We'll take a closer look at the Division-II-bound talents, as well as how our in-state, D-III programs fared within their 2019 recruiting classes.

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