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Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 14 Homestead

March 18, 2024
By: Isaiah Glidden
Area Scout, Content

The 2024 Wisconsin high school baseball season is quickly approaching and, as usual, excitement is abound throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across the Badger State.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in their respective WIAA Division State Championship, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams with this initial Preseason Power 25 release which will take us right up to first pitch.

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across Wisconsin. Each week we will be releasing our Power 25, Players of the Week, Diamond Notes, Scout Blog and much more.

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.     

High School: Homestead Highlanders
Preseason Rank: 14
Head Coach: Jason Kosanke
WIAA Division: 1
Conference: North Shore
2023 Record (Finish): 15-13(Lost in Regional Final)
Key Players Lost: Drew Gernert (Mount Union), Carl Roemke, and Nick Haller.

ROSTER PREVIEW

Team Strengths: Experience, Starting Pitching, Return 1-6 hitters
No. of Returning Starters: 7
No. of Returning Pitchers: 5

NAME STATE CLASS POS COMMITMENT
Jackson Brewer WI 2024 OF/1B/LHP Columbia
Paul Nuetzel WI 2024 RHP/INF Madison JC
Will Van Laanen WI 2024 OF St. Norbert
Grant Poindexter WI 2024 1B Cedarville University
Griffin Bowers WI 2024 C -
Deed Capper WI 2024 RHP -
Ryan Apel WI 2025 3B/RHP -
Lucas Wirth WI 2025 UTIL -
Charlie Blume WI 2025 INF/RHP -

X-FACTOR

+ OF/1B/LHP Jackson Brewer (2024; Columbia commit) will be headlining this Highlanders squad during his fourth and final season at the varsity level. Early on into the winter circuit, Brewer made his presence felt at the annual Preseason Procase which featured some under the radar MLB Draft prospects in Illinois and Wisconsin. There the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Brewer authored arguably the top performance of the event. He ran a 6.50 60-yard dash, recorded a max exit velocity of 99.9 mph, and also threw 92 mph from the outfield, which speaks to the impressive all-around toolset he currently possesses. We have seen these tools work arguably even better in-game, too. Last season for the Highlanders, Brewer batted to an average of .425, which included seven doubles, one triple and six home runs, earning a spot on our Prep Baseball Wisconsin All-State Second Team list as a result. If his performance back in late January was any indication of what to expect from him come the season, those numbers certainly will be even better when the 2024 season is all said and done. He is also expected to be a piece in Homestead’s bullpen this season, too. In our most recent look at Brewer on the mound, he featured a mid-80s fastball, with a quality feel for a sweeping slider and a fading changeup. While there are many other big pieces on this Homestead squad, none seem more impactful than Brewer and he will certainly play a huge role in the overall success of the team this season.

Jackson Brewer (1/31/24)

TEAM OUTLOOK

The Highlanders flashed some potential last season, but couldn’t consistently put it all together throughout the year. Heading into 2024, they bring back a super experienced team on both sides of the ball and they are our preseason pick to take home the North Shore Conference title.

RHP/INF Paul Nuetzel (2024; Madison JC commit) is a name that will make two-way contributions all season long for Homestead. On the mound, Nuetzel has run his fastball up to 90 mph and also has shown a deadly breaking ball in the mid-70s that has consistently earned awkward swings-and-misses. He is also a switch-hitter at the plate and he hit to a tune of .247 last season while also holding down the shortstop position defensively. Fellow senior leader, RHP Deed Capper (2024) will be returning for his third year on the varsity level. Last season, the 6-foot-3, 215 pounder registered a 2-2 record and look for his usage to increase this season.

CIF/RHP Ryan Apel (2025) is the only junior on this team with varsity experience and during his senior season, he is expected to see a larger workload. On the mound he logged a 2.15 ERA last year, and a 2-0 record, while also hitting .263 respectively. Apel is a name we recently just saw at our annual Milwaukee Preseason ID, where he registered exit velocities upwards of 92 mph, while also putting togther a clean 'pen. Fellow juniors UTIL Lucas Wirth (2025) and INF/RHP Charlie Blume (2025) will both be looking to make immediate impacts during their first full seasons on the varsity level, too. Wirth is another name who made it out to the Milwaukee Preseason ID, and there he took a controlled round of BP, offering some intrigue as an uncommitted junior in the state.

Ryan Apel (8/21/23)

The offense will also be predominantly senior lead, highlighted by C Griffin Bowers (2024) and INF Grant Poindexter (2024; Cedarville commit), who both surpassed the .300 mark in 2023. Other senior leader, OF Will Van Laanen (2024; St. Norbert commit) rounds out this veteran offense, and he will be looking to build off a productive junior campaign.

Griffin Bowers (3/18/23)

BOTTOM LINE

+ Despite faltering for chunks of the season last year, the Highlanders battled for a second place finish in the competitive North Shore Conference. With a number of talented and experienced names back, they seemed primed to take home their first conference title in over a decade. It won’t be easy though, as they will still have to go through reigning Div. 1 State Champions in Whitefish Bay and multiple other talented squads, but as of now the Highlanders seem to be the team to beat in the North Shore this season.

Find more information on the 2024 Homestead program below:

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