For the third time this season, the PBR Wisconsin staff is updating its Power 25 rankings following the fourth week of the WIAA season. This past week, Wisconsin was interrupted more cold and more rain, but the weather was cooperative enough to feature a mostly full slate of games throughout the week. As a result, four teams exited the Power 25 in this update, making way for four brand new programs to the board, including some traditional powers that span the largest three Divisions.

We’ll be breaking down the Power 25 in full today, highlighting the new-look top-five, as well as the four teams making their season debut on the list below.

NOW ON TOP

+ No. 1 Franklin (12-0): After Kimberly was handed their first and second in-state losses of the year during Week 4, the Franklin Sabers are now atop our Power 25 board for the first time this year. While we were confident in Franklin to start the year, they have maybe even exceeded our own expectations this early into the season. Last week, the Sabers added on three more wins to their total as they swept then-ranked No. 21 Kenosha Tremper in a three-game series, and all of their wins came in somewhat convincing fashion. The road isn’t going to get any easier for Franklin as they now look to a three-game set against their conference rivals Oak Creek, which is shaping up to be a marquee matchup not only in the Milwaukee area, but the entire state. This is a well-rounded roster with impact offense up and down the daily lineup, and the Sabers are pitching it even better than anticipated, which has helped them build up this undefeated start.

+ No. 2 Menomonee Falls (13-0): This Phoenix team just flat-out keeps winning, and winning in impressive fashion. Menomonee Falls started off their 4-0 week with a close 2-1 win over West Allis Hale in which RHP Grant Schultz (2023; Wisconsin-Oshkosh commit) twirled a complete game gem. They then rattled off three straight dominant wins over some tough competition, starting with a 10-4 win over then-ranked No. 4 Marquette, which was their most important in terms of Power 25 status. On Thursday, they defeated a solid Brookfield East team 4-2, and finished the week with an overwhelming 8-1 win over preseason-ranked Brookfield Central. Menomonee Falls has arguably been the hottest Division 1 team in the state since they heated up toward the end of the 2022 regular season, and they haven't stopped since, really.

CLIMBING

+ No. 3 Janesville Craig (10-0): After going 2-0 last week, which included two dominant wins over then-ranked No. 19 Sun Prairie West, Janesville Craig moves up to No. 3 in this Power 25 rankings update. On Tuesday, Craig was led by a dominant pitching performance from LHP/1B Aiden Schenk (2023; North Dakota State) and RHP/3B Charlie Claas (2024), who combined to hold the Wolves’ offensive scoreless. On offense, OF Devin Gudenschwager (2023; College of Lake County) continued his impressive season as he drove in two RBIs. Game two was one of Janesville Craig’s closest games of the year, but they still took down Sun Prairie East 5-2. In this matchup, SS Jake Schaffner (2023; North Dakota State) drove in two runs, and Gudenschwager, RHP/OF Denver Hughes (2023), and MIF Joseph Stried (2023) each tallied two hits, too. This offense has been the most productive in the state, and they have also been getting some impressive pitching performances which has helped widen the massive gap in run differential to this point.

+ No. 4 Union Grove (10-2-1): The Broncos are back up to No. 4 in this rankings update after cooking up a 3-0 week. Their week started off with two dominant wins over Delavan-Darien in which they outscored them by a combined 17-1. They then took on a solid Middleton opponent and won again in dominant fashion, 7-0. While the Broncos did waver slightly during the beginning of the season, they seem to be figuring it out as of late and it could not have come at a better time as they take on a Westosha Central squad who was in our Power 25 until our update last week, in a two-game series this week.

+ No. 5 Hudson (7-2): While the Raiders only tallied two wins last week, the two wins were their biggest wins of the year. On Tuesday, Hudson took conference rivals No. 8 River Falls, and despite a slow start, they rallied to a 3-2 against one of the top pitchers in the state. Then, on Thursday, these same two teams matched up for the second time, and again it was another close one, but the Raiders ended up with the win to sweep the season series and make a massive statement inside the Big Rivers. Now looking to this week, Hudson is set to take on D.C. Everest on Monday, weather depending, and they follow it up with a two-game set with New Richmond later on.

+ No. 6 St. Thomas More (11-1): The Cavaliers have been steadily moving up these Power 25 rankings since the beginning of the season, and they now find themselves at No. 6 in this update. Last week St. Thomas More grabbed two wins over rivals Kenosha St. Joseph, which were their only two wins of the week, but nonetheless impressive ones. This Cavaliers squad is deep – and not just for a Division 2 team. They could compete with any program in the state, at this rate, and they have the depth of arms to make a lengthy postseason run, and they might not be done climbing the Power 25 either.

+ No. 9 Hortonville (9-3): Despite going 1-1 this last week, Hortonville is moving up a handful of spots in this rankings update. To start the week, the Polar Bears battled in a back-and-fourth matchup with Kimberly, a team who was at the time atop our Power 25 rankings. Despite coming up short, they proved themselves to be a top-10 team in the state, the preseason No. 1 which was still the top team at the time. They followed that up with a dominant 7-0 win over Appleton East on Thursday in which RHP Thomas Burns (2023; Arizona State) authored a complete game effort. While the loss from Kimberly was a stumble, it was Hortonville’s only in-state loss so far this season and they will look to continue their impressive season as they take on Oshkosh North, Neenah and Kaukauna this week, each of which project to be competitive contests for the Polar Bears. 

+ No. 11 Sun Prairie East (12-0): Despite this being the first year since the split of Sun Prairie into two different schools, the winning culture has not changed with this Cardinals squad. Sun Prairie East captured two dominant wins on Monday over Janesville Parker in which they put up a combined 31 runs on the day. They then followed it up with two more wins over Beloit Memorial where the bats continued to be hot as they put up 24 runs in those two games combined. Sun Prairie East’s toughest test of the season came on Friday as then-ranked No. 13 Monona Grove came into town. In this matchup, the Cardinals exploded for four runs late in the game that was eventually enough to take down the Silver Eagles and catapult them up our Power 25 rankings.

+ No. 16 Oak Creek (9-3): After wavering slightly to start the season, the Knights have been on fire as of late, and last week they added on four more wins to their record. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Oak Creek grabbed a pair of wins over conference foe, Kenosha Indian Trail, with both coming in convincing fashion. On Thursday, they took on one of the other Kenosha area schools in Bradford and came out with the win thanks to some late game heroics. They then completed the season sweep of Indian Trail on Friday as they cruised to a 10-0 win. Mentioned earlier, arguably Oak Creek’s biggest series of the year is happening this week as they take on Franklin in a must-see matchup.

+ No. 18 Stevens Point Area (7-1): SPASH tallied four more wins over the course of last week, all of which came in pretty convincing fashion, and have moved up a handful of spots as a result. On Tuesday and Thursday, the Panthers grabbed two shut-out wins over Merrill, in which the Blue Jays could only muster a combined two hits. SPASH’s hot week continued into Saturday where they tallied two more wins over a sound Watertown program in a double-header, highlighted by an offense explosion of 16 runs in their game one victory. 

SLIPPING

+ No. 7 Kimberly (8-3): It was a forgettable week for the Papermakers as they sustained two losses to unranked opponents and they moved down to No. 7 in this update because of it. Despite the rough week, the Papermakers did start off strong with a 4-3 win over then-ranked No. 12 Hortonville which gave them their second win against a Power 25 team of the year. They then cruised to a dominant 11-1 win over Oshkosh West the following day, too. Then on Thursday, the Papermakers came up short against a sub-.500 Appleton East team. To finish their week, Kimberly split a double-header on Saturday, with the win coming over Jefferson and the loss coming at the hands of a plucky Burlington team. While last week was obviously not the ideal for Kimberly, the star power up and down this roster is apparent and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them get back towards the top as the season progresses. 

+ No. 10 Marquette University (9-3): After starting the season off hot, the Hilltoppers cooled off a little bit across their four games last week. While they did still get three wins, all three came down to the wire as they beat Germantown 6-5, Hamilton 7-6, and Brookfield Central 5-4. Their lone loss of the week came at the hands of Menomonee Falls who cruised to a 10-4 win. 

WELCOME…

+ No. 19 Appleton North (8-2): The lightning are making their Power 25 debut at No. 19 in this week's update. Appleton North started the week with a walk-off win over Appleton East, courtesy of a C William Hoerner (2024) single. Then on Tuesday and Thursday they grabbed dominant wins over Oshkosh West and Fond du Lac. The aforementioned Hoerner, a recent PBR Future Games Participant, has been a spark plug in the middle of this Lightning lineup and last week he tallied seven RBIs and three hits to help them to their 3-0 week. Senior leader, INF Garrett Hietpas (2023: Northern Colorado) and junior INF/RHP Alex Ramus (2024) have controlled the middle of the infield, and both are enjoying successful seasons at the plate, as well. As for the pitching staff, the Lightning have leaned on a plethora of arms, including RHP/2B Caden Popp (2023; Northern Iowa, football), the aforementioned Ramus and RHP/UTIL Matthew Hietpas (2026) to just name a few.  Looking ahead, this Lightning squad will face its toughest test of the season so far as they travel to Kimberly to take on a "slipping," yet ultra-talented Papermaker squad on Tuesday. 

+ No. 22 Muskego (6-3): The Warriors split their only two games last week, a conference series against No. 13 Kettle Moraine, and this was coming off a win over new No. 5 Hudson the week prior, so Muskego’s showing the signs of positioning themselves for a competitive stretch in the second half of the season. In their first contest against the Lasers, the Warriors tallied 12 team hits en route to a comfortable 11-1 win, but the bats were quieted in the 3-2 loss later in the week. There have been some ups and downs so far this season in Muskego, but the roster is as talented as any in the state, frankly. They’re just in search of a little more consistency as the Classic Eight schedule heats up with the playoffs not too far away.

+ No. 23 Waupun (14-1): The other Warriors team new to this update, Waupun, makes their debut here in the Power 25 after a 3-0 week and going 8-0 in the last two weeks. With quality wins against Westosha Central and Beloit Turner followed up by a sweep against Ripon and a 7-1 win against Howards Grove this past week. Junior OF/LHP Mason Holtz (2024) has been a big contributor on both sides of the ball for Waupun over the past week. UTL/RHP Evan Sauer (2024) is another key junior on this roster who has helped the Warriors win 14 of their first 15 games this spring, and the team has also been boosted by two freshmen who are making positive contributions earlier than expected: Chase Beahm and Emmett Hull.

+ No. 24 La Crosse Aquinas (9-0): The Blugolds make their Power 25 debut after being winners of nine straight, with some quality wins against division 1 opponents as well. Coming off of a 3-0 week with a sweep over La Crosse Logan and a win over Prairie du Chien. Freshman INF/RHP Aedan David (2026) tossed a no-hitter in the 10-0 win over Prairie du Chien, while star SS Eddie Peters (2024; Xavier) continues to do the heavy lifting offensively.

DROPPED OUT

There’s quite a bit of turnover in this week’s Power 25, as four teams exit from the rankings: Whitefish Bay (9-2), Sun Prairie West (7-3), Kenosha Tremper (6-5), and Wisconsin Rapids  (13-2).

The Blue Dukes lost its first two games of the season last week, and while one was a narrow 7-6 loss to a competitive West Bend East squad, they were trounced on Saturday against Slinger, 16-1, which unfortunately pushed them off the board entirely, in this update.

Sun Prairie West still has a solid overall resumé and we wouldn’t be surprised to see them back on the Power 25 in another update, but they’re 2-3 in their last five games, though they played new No. 3 Janesville Craig tough in their two-game set, considering the Cougars have been producing lopsided victory margins in most of their other eight wins this season.

Tremper was on the tough end of a three-game sweep last week against Southeast rivals No. 1 Franklin last week, out-scored 24-1. This is a hard-nosed program capable of using this to rebound back toward competing inside their conference in time to make a playoff run.

And Wisconsin Rapids landed on the Power 25 for the first time in last week’s update, but they dropped two games last week to Wausau East and Merrill, which unfortunately clipped them from keeping their spot on the top-25.

ON THE BUBBLE

• Altoona (9-1)

• Ashwaubenon (6-2)

• Badger (10-4)

• Beaver Dam (7-3)

• Burlington (9-5)

• Chilton (11-1)

• Chippewa Falls (8-3)

• Dodgeville (10-1)

• Homestead (6-3)

• Manitowoc Lincoln (8-2)

• Menasha (9-1)

• Notre Dame Academy (9-3)

• Reedsburg (9-1)

• Saint Croix Falls (11-0)

• University School (8-1)

• West Bend West (6-2)

FOLLOW THE 2023 WIAA SEASON

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