On Tuesday, April 21, the WIAA Board of Control asserted to cancel all 2020 spring competitions, baseball included. While saddened for the graduating class of 2020, the PBR Wisconsin staff will do its best to highlight what could have been this spring, in what was set to be an exciting campaign filled with intriguing storylines to know and players to follow.

We published our ‘Watchlist Squads’ post on Monday, April 20, spotlighting almost 20 need-to-know programs that fell short of official ‘Bubble’ or Power 25 status for our preseason team rankings. We also declared 18 more programs official ‘On the Bubble’ teams, teams that earned sincere Power 25 consideration.

Today, we conclude our countdown to No. 1 by unveiling the top-ranked team on the PBR Wisconsin Preseason Power 25...

Team: Sun Prairie
Preseason Rank: No. 1
2019 Record: 24-8
Conference: Big Eight
WIAA Class: D-1
Head Coach: Rob Hamilton
Playoff Run: D-1 State Runners-Up
2019 Final Rank: No. 3
Returning Starters: 6
Returning Pitchers: 3 

OUTLOOK

Sun Prairie, a perennial state power, would have opened the 2020 spring season at the top of the PBR Wisconsin Preseason Power Rankings after returning six starters to a team that was as close as it gets to winning a state championship.

The heartbreaking late loss to Eau Claire North in the D-1 title game was set to be the motivating factor that spurred Sun Prairie back to Grand Chute, but it’s not meant to be. With a program of this stature, led by legendary head coach Rob Hamilton, Sun Prairie will still rightfully be aiming for an end-of-season trophy in 2021, but it’ll have to be without several key seniors.

Thankfully, there are some special members inside this junior class here who should effortlessly operate as leaders in the dugout once high school ball is finally back.

SS Carson Shepard ascended up the rankings in the state, and nationally, after an excellent performance at the Madison Preseason I.D., where he struck the ball with greater authority from the right-handed box all while defending at an uber high level, helping him look the part of a shortstop at the next level, too. He’s one of the top uncommitted middle infielders in the 2021 class and he’ll be the best top-of-the-order motor returning next spring. As a sophomore, he hit .438 with seven doubles and three triples, so we were interested to see just how high he could get those numbers – surely, those extra-base knocks will be way up as a senior.

Carson Shepard (3/15/20)

Shepard joined C/OF Josh Caron and 3B Liam Moreno as members of Team Wisconsin at the PBR Future Games. While Shepard is a highly interesting uncommitted target, Caron and Moreno are both committed, to Nebraska and Missouri State, respectively. The three were among the best sophomores playing at the varsity level last spring and should propel Sun Prairie back near or at the top of this list again before next year’s opening day.

Caron is a talented backstop, athletic enough to play left field for the Cardinals to make way for the talented senior currently operating as the regular catcher, but he can really hit. He hit .435 as a sophomore with 10 extra-base hits, including a pair of homers. As for Moreno, he’s among the top right-handed bats in the state, regardless of class. He hit .387 last spring with 10 more extra-base hits, and he’s only just unlocking his power profile that should show itself in full as a senior.

Sun Prairie’s pitching staff was set to be headlined by seniors, but junior RHP Jason Starr is emerging as a prominent arm to know in the state’s 2021 class. At our Madison event, Starr was up to 89 mph while still harnessing his command. There are some proven senior arms seated atop this staff, but Starr looks like he can be the next in line ahead of next spring.

Jason Starr (3/15/20)

Carter Wambach is yet another versatile junior here who can hit from the left side while playing a dependable defense from multiple spots on the infield. He also pitched a little for these Cardinals last year, so we’ll see what his role is next spring.

Returning in 2021 to make their initial varsity impacts will be current sophomores OF Addison Ostrenga, INF Jenkin Alexander, INF Davis Hamilton, and 1B/C Aidan Ripp. The influx of talent that annually plugs holes on the roster left behind by graduation is what separates the Cardinals from other programs in Wisconsin. This Class of 2022 will help hoist Sun Prairie through the competitive Big Eight once again, alongside their upperclass teammates.

Each of these four sophomores had a chance to see some playing time, though Ostrenga and Hamilton looked especially capable of earning regular opportunities on varsity, maybe even as starters. Ostrenga is an athletic 6-foot-4 with a short, easy, loose right-handed bat and he’s packed with a big arm, granting him all the tools to make an early varsity impression. 

Addison Ostrenga (3/15/20)

Naturally, in a program like this, there are already some freshmen to know for the future, but it’s hard to say if any of them would have seen any time at all on varsity, especially given how deep the team projected to be. With that being said, this Class of 2023 should be able to positively influence next year’s team to help mend the losses of a robust senior group.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

These Sun Prairie seniors were a deep group that would have helped complement their junior and sophomore teammates to grind back to another state berth with the hopes of avenging that late loss to North last June in the title game.

OF Spencer Bartel, a Madison JC commit, was one of the most productive hitters in the state as a junior and he earned a nod on our Preseason Second Team All-State list, too. Bartel hit .500 last spring with seven doubles and triples each, as well a home run, and he looked primed to churn the middle of the order again as a senior.

Spencer Bartel (3/10/19)

Xavier recruit Matt DePrey is a premium defensive catcher who will continue to perfectly partner with this staff, one that looks very much like the one that helped carry the Cardinals to last year’s title game, like No. 1 RHP Noah Wendler (Wisconsin-Whitewater commit). 

Wendler led last year’s team with 38 innings pitched headed into the state playoffs, with a 0.37 ERA. He was all set to take back the ace’s role in his senior year. Fellow senior righty Carson Fluno (Madison JC) was also coming back, though not necessarily inside the rotation. He was a go-to option out of the bullpen last spring and that may have been his best role this year, though the team could have used another starter after Wendler, given the graduation of a couple of last year’s staff-mates. Either way, he’s a hard-throwing righty with a tight slider that would be another effective arm to implement into a regular role of some sort. The catcher DePrey also pitched quite a bit as a junior, grooming a 1.16 ERA in over 30 innings, leaving his understudy Caron to do the catching for him.

Given the returning experience on the roster, combined with an exciting set of potential impact underclassmen, the Cardinals looked like the No. 1 program in the state headed into the start of the season. With a mix of reliable arms, dynamic and productive bats, and a savvy and proven coaching staff to guide them, Sun Prairie was set to be the team to beat in Wisconsin this spring, eager to finish the job this group started last season.

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