Wisconsin's Signing Day 2019: D-I Commits

MISSOURI VALLEY

The prospect distribution amidst these familiar conference destinations aligns a lot like it did last year, with the The Valley edging out the likes of the Big Ten and MAC, although the programs doing the most heavy lifting in Wisconsin look different. Last year, Evansville and Bradley led the way inside the the 2019 class where as it’s Valpo doing most the most digging in Wisconsin’s 2020 class.

For Valparaiso, they’re getting three prospects, including two former PBR Future Games reps, OF Alex Ryan (Lakeside Lutheran) and LHP Brady Renfro (Antigo). Ryan is the No. 19-ranked prospect in the state and one of its best athletes. He’s an all-around impact with loud tools in a compact and twitchy frame. Renfro helped his high school win state as a junior last spring with a huge two-way effort. He’s a mid-80s southpaw who can really hit, too, so it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out in 2020 for him. Lastly, there’s Pewaukee RHP Josh Cottrill, who’s largely flown under the radar to earn a commitment from Valpo. Both he and the Pirates will be under the microscope in the spring.

Bradley bound is the No. 11-ranked prospect in the state: SS T.J. Manteufel. There’s very little Manteufel can’t do, as a plus runner with gap-to-gap pop with a heads-up instinct for the game. He’s going to make a lot of noise in Peoria. Fellow senior, LHP Kaden Krueger (Appleton West) is a deceptive lefty who has been up to 90 mph in front of our staff and will also be joining the Braves in Peoria. 

Evansville locked down one of the state’s most intriguing left-handers, Donovan Schultz (Kimberly), who, at the very least, has the makings of being a nightmare match-up for lefty bats long-term. The Purple Aces are also getting athletic middle infielder Tyler Swanson (Burlington Catholic Central), who’s a quick and smooth defender with a twitchy right-handed bat, and the No. 40 prospect in the state’s senior class.

BIG TEN

To no surprise, the Power Five conference with the most Wisconsin-bound prospects is the Big Ten, with five names looking likely to finalize their commitments this week.

Iowa and Minnesota each recruited a pair from our state, while Michigan State snagged an upside arm late in the recruiting game. For the Golden Gophers, they managed to earn the verbal commitment of RHP George Klassen (Port Washington), the No. 6-ranked prospect in the state, after he hit the open market following his de-commitment from Purdue in June. Klassen’s live arm lifted him onto the national scene throughout 2019 and culminated in a big commitment to the Twin Cities.

Headed to Iowa City next fall: SS Michael Seegers (Home School) and RHP/INF Will Semb (De Pere). Seegers has long been one of the more impressive athletes in the state, and is ranked No. 8 for it. He’s a sub-6.80 runner who plays shortstop with a high energy and motor. That same motor helps him profile well at, or near, the top of the order with a simple contact-oriented approach. Semb has been, unfortunately, missing in action for most of 2019 with an injury, but before going down he was proving himself to harness one of the most live arms in the state – one that had been up to 92 mph back in March. He’d long been considered a top prospect up the middle of the diamond, but the strides he’s made on the mound have made his future a little clearer.

In late August, the No. 31-ranked prospect in the state, RHP Nick Smith (Wauankee), was among the top prospects in the state without a commitment when he finally announced a verbal commitment to Michigan State. Smith is set to join Sparty and add his big fastball and firm slider, a two-pitch combo with knockout potential.

MID-AMERICAN

Four prospects from the state are set to get in on the MAC-tion next fall, two of whom are headed to DeKalb, Ill., to join the Northern Illinois Huskies: INF/RHP Eric Erato (Sussex Hamilton) and OF Jacyk Uehling (South Milwaukee). Erato is a thin left-handed hitter who’s competitiveness plays all over the diamond with easy actions, at both the plate and on defense. He made a jump in summer 2018 on the mound continues to progress well there, too, so we’ll see how he looks in his final spring as a prepster. As for Uehling, Northern Illinois is getting the single quickest player in the state’s ‘20 class. He ran a 6.60 at this summer’s Top Prospect MKE event. Uehling does whatever it takes in the box to get on base where he makes good use of that premium footspeed. He’s also been up to 91 mph from the outfield where his legs play, naturally, as well.

Central Michigan just welcomed a few Wisconsin products to campus this fall and the Chippewas are adding at least one more from our state in 2020. 3B Colton Coca, the No. 16-ranked prospect in Wisconsin, is a powerful and athletic right-handed hitter who’s actually been making some huge strides on the mound. Back in early March of this year, Coca was up to 89 mph on the mound with the makings of some serious swing-and-miss offspeed.

Few prospects have rocketed up the 2020 board as hastily as OF Dylan Nevar (Wisconsin Dells), who committed to Western Michigan is early August. We were fortunate enough to see Nevar a few times in live game action this summer and Nevar never failed to impress, punishing baseballs with sneaky all-fields pop and athleticism. He reached new heights as the No. 15-prospect in the state in our August update.

POWER FIVE

• Three Wisconsin products have Big 12 commitments, including RHP Tyler Chadwick (Marshall) and LHP Ben Hampton (West De Pere), who are both tied to West Virginia. Chadwick is the No. 2-ranked prospect in the state and has some realistic MLB Draft potential, so the Mountaineers will be hoping they can sneak the flamethrower to campus somehow. Hampton is the state’s No. 10 prospect and has a dynamic fastball-curve combo himself. The third Wisconsin prep name headed to the Big 12 is Oklahoma LHP Tommy Lamb (Grafton), the No. 5 prospect, who utilizes an arsenal a lot like Hampton’s with maybe a tick more velocity and breaking ball consistency.
• Three of the best prospects in the state are headed to the ACC, including the No. 1 A.J. Vukovich (East Troy), who’s committed to Louisville. His one-of-a-kind pop earned him national attention in 2019 and it’s entirely possible the Cardinals aren’t exactly relying on him to make it to campus because of it. The No. 3-ranked Max Wagner (Green Bay Preble) has thrived all year and is gaining some serious steam toward the June draft, and he’s committed to Clemson. His bat is, pound-for-pound, one of the best in the Midwest. LHP Luke Fox (Catholic Memorial), a Duke commit, has long been one of the premier athletes in the state and it’s finally all coming together for him on the mound. He’s up to No. 4 in the class and touched 89 mph at the Badger State Battle in what was the best he’s ever looked in front of our staff.
• There’s one SEC committed prospect in the state’s 2020 class and that’s LHP Ryan Stefiuk, a Vandy recruit. He’s an upper-80s arm who works with a live and effort-y arm, a profile that’s kept him near the top of this state’s 2020 rankings since their inception.
• Finally, headed west to the Pac-12, is two-way prospect Joe Hauser (Waunakee), who committed to Arizona State in May. At a March showcase, he came away as one of the top duel talents in the country, tossing an uber polished ‘pen with middle infield actions and a powerful right-handed bat.

THE OTHERS

• The Ohio Valley has a few prospects headed their way: RHP/OF Mitchell Alba (Franklin; Eastern Illinois), OF Avery Owusu-Asiedu (Waukesha West; Southern Illinois-Edwardsville), RHP Chris Byhre (Catholic Memorial; Eastern Kentucky). Each are ranked inside the top-35. Alba is one of the state’s top two-way talents, Owusu-Asiedu has big pop and athleticism, and Byhre is equipped with a hard fastball that’s been up to 92 mph.
• There’s two catchers headed to the Atlantic Sun: Jacksonville’s Jake Berg (Bay Port) and North Alabama’s Levi Jensen (Luck). Berg is the top backstop in this class as an athletic and quick defender with a strong and easy left-handed bat. Jensen has been trending up and just committed to North Alabama in October. He has a big, athletic frame and moves especially well for his size – and there’s pop in his bat, too.
• Belonging to the Big East, future Xavier backstop Matthew DePrey (Sun Prairie) and SS/OF John Erickson (Hudson). DePrey is a lean athlete and it works especially well from behind the plate, with a short and simple right-handed stroke. As for Erickson, he’s a versatile Creighton commit with a strong righty bat and the tools to play all over the field.
• Wisconsin’s lone D-I program, UW-Milwaukee, is bringing in three prospects to its 2020 class: LHP Riley Frey (Oshkosh West), C/1B Thomas Otto (Appleton North), and OF Christopher VandenHeuvel (Xavier). We last saw Frey dominate in the Badger State Battle where he was up to 87 mph solid feel for his curve-change offspeed. Otto is a hulking right-handed bat with some of the easiest pop in the class. And VandenHeuvel is a live-bodied left/left athlete with strength and impact tools.
• We didn’t get a chance to see RHP Connor Kurki (Iola-Scandinavia) first-hand in 2019, but the Coastal Carolina commit has a lanky 6-foot-3 frame with a loose arm with upper-80s velocity the last time we saw him, and the projection makes him among the top-ranked arms in the state, No. 14 overall.
• And lastly, headed to the Atlantic 10 is Saint Louis commit OF Will Ross (Waunakee). Ross is a physical and compact 5-foot-11 with prime bat strength from the right side with the actions to slide well into a corner outfield role at the next level.

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