Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 10 Stevens Point Area

X-FACTOR

Noah Marschke (7/27/23)

+ LHP/1B Noah Marschke (2024) was one of the most dominant sophomores in the WIAA last year. The lefty had a sub-1.00 ERA in 57 innings in 2022, and he punched out 79 batters along the way, en route to Wisconsin Valley Player of the Year honors and a spot on our Second Team All-State roster. The Panthers get their top prospect back in his junior year, who’s since become one of the most noteworthy uncommitted players inside the state’s Class of 2024. When he’s not on the mound, Marschke’s one of the Panthers’ top hitters too, and he hit over .300 last spring as evidence of this. All in all, Marschke’s one of the most valuable players in the state, and he’s tied to SPASH’s chances of making a run at a state championship after winning what could be a fifth straight WVC title.

IMPACT UNDERCLASSMAN

+ This year’s roster is a particularly experienced edition of the Panthers, though sophomore 3B Max Kruger (2025) does seem capable of pushing himself into regular playing time as an underclassman to watch. He has an upside 6-foot-1, 185-pound build, and he’s athletic for his size and age, which helps him swing a loose right-handed bat that could play a role in SPASH’s lineup as soon as this season.

OUTLOOK

SPASH has truly been one of the most dominant forces in the state, owning their region of the state throughout head coach Kraig Terpstra’s 19-year tenure. The Panthers have won 333 games entering Terpstra’s 20th season in charge, and the 2023 version of Stevens Point returns the majority of its top performers from a season ago, including the ‘X-Factor’ Marschke as well as senior OF Benett Klish (2023; Minnesota-Duluth). Klish shared a spot next to Marschke on the Wisconsin Valley’s first team all-conference list after hitting .386 as a junior.

Senior teammate 2B Kale Roth (2023) also returns, as well as C Deacan Koback (2023), MIF Carl Biechler (2023), OF Jackson Fox (2023), C Kaleb Meyer, and INF Ben Fonti. That’s a stable experienced core that’s familiar with winning, and prepared to cap their prep baseball careers the best way any team can.

Stevens Point will be especially strong on the mound, with Marschke operating as a true ace, flanked by a fellow junior who we’re optimistic will be able to take a positive step in development as a junior now: RHP Ty Rechner (2024). Rechner’s an imposing presence on the mound, listed at 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, and he moves pretty well for a player that size too. As a result, he has a heavy mid- to upper-80s fastball that we haven’t seen since last summer, and the changeup is generally his best secondary, though he also has a short breaking ball that has shown signs of generating swings and misses one day, too. The uncommitted junior performed well in the summer and the fall, reportedly, so we’re eager to see how he contributes to SPASH this spring after a productive offseason.

Ty Rechner (7/12/22)

After the two talented juniors, senior RHP Josh Opiola (2023) and fellow junior OF/RHP Braylen Nystrom (2024) appear next in line to eat innings. Opiola was a fixture on the staff in 2022, earning three wins as a junior. We saw Nystrom in Green Bay at a showcase in late February where he looked like an interesting outfield prospect, with a muscular 6-foot-1 build that produces bat strength from the right side, and he also has a low-80s fastball that runs and carries effectively as well, fortifying this pitching staff. 

Braylen Nystrom (2/23/22)

Elsewhere, INF Jacob Garth (2024) has bat-to-ball skills and hand speed from the right-handed batter’s box, and he might just make an impact at varsity this spring, too. He’s also shown well defensively, with quick feet backed up by a 7.14 time in the 60-yard dash recorded this winter, and that could be where he contributes most as a junior in 2023.

BOTTOM LINE

SPASH has won its conference 14 times in the last 17 seasons, and there’s little reason to think there will be a different outcome in 2023, considering the Panthers are constructed even more competitively this spring. They’re headlined by a legitimate go-to arm that could shut down any team he faces come playoff time, and he’s backed up by talented teammates that could push them all the way to Appleton. Stevens Point is used to winning the Wisconsin Valley, though it hasn’t resulted in many lengthy postseason runs in recent years, but this year could be its best chance to alter that narrative.

Make sure to follow @PBRWisconsin on Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage throughout the 2023 season.

Find more information on the 2023 Panthers below:

+ Team Website
+ Team Schedule
+ Team Twitter

PRESEASON POWER 25 COUNTDOWN