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Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 4 Hudson

March 25, 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: Hudson Raiders

Preseason Rank: 4
Head Coach: Brent Blegen
WIAA Division: 1
Conference: Big Rivers
2023 Record (Finish): 22-5 (Lost sectional championship)

Key Players Lost: Jake Busson (Iowa Central CC), Ben Berkhof (North Dakota State), Wyatt Gavin, Payton Lawrence

 

ROSTER PREVIEW

Team Strengths: Core group of seniors who are proven with a strong offense.
No. of Returning Starters: 9
No. of Returning Pitchers: 5

NAME STATE CLASS POS COMMITMENT
Hunter Carlson WI 2024 C Wichita State
Bradyn Bezanson WI 2024 OF/LHP Maryville University
Landon Zeuli WI 2024 INF/RHP Winona State
Jack Solheid WI 2024 INF St. Mary's-MN
Aaron Schwechler WI 2024 LHP Wisconsin-La Crosse
Bennett Brathol WI 2025 INF/RHP -
Nick Hirsch WI 2025 INF/RHP -
Sam Abrahamson WI 2026 INF/RHP -
Logan Hagman WI 2027 C/OF -

X-FACTOR

+ RHP/INF Sam Abrahamson (2026) is back for his second year at the varsity level, and he will be looking to make big contributions on both sides of the ball. His freshmen campaign proved to be one of learning and gaining experience but heading into his sophomore year, he has the chance to make a huge impact on Hudson’s success this season. It seems like he was hard at work this offseason, making some big gains to his game which he showed off at the annual Green Bay Preseason ID roughly a month ago. There he put together one of the top BP rounds of the day, taking quick and direct swings from the right-side which produced triple-digit exit velocities at his peak. His standout performance did not stop there though, as he ran his fastball up to 88 mph, while also showing feel for a slider and changeup. Now as an experienced name on this team, Abrahamson’s role will certainly increase this season, and he will be looked to fill some big voids left by Hudson’s talented 2023 class.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH

+ One of the top freshmen in the state, C/OF Logan Hagman (2027) is looking to make an immediate impact during his first year at the prep level. Hagman is one of the more advanced prospects in the state’s 2027 class, already built at an athletic 6-foot, 175 pounds with some strength throughout. This winter he came away one of the bigger winners from the Eau Claire Preseason ID, where he put up exit velocities upwards of 101 mph, an advanced metric and not just for someone his age. He is also an athletic defender both behind the plate, where he has record sub-2.00 pop times and in the outfield. While it could take some time for him to fully get acclimated to the varsity level, which is to be expected from a freshman, his talents and what he could possibly add to this team can not be overlooked heading into the spring.

Logan Hagman (2/10/24)

TEAM OUTLOOK

Last season, the Raiders amassed 22 wins, en route to a first place finish in the always competitive Big Rivers Conference. Though they lost some massive pieces from that team, a number of names are set to fill those gaps, and they are shaping up to be once again one of the top teams in the northern part of the state.

One of the biggest pieces of the Raiders offense will undoubtedly be C Hunter Carlson (2024; Wichita State commit), who is fresh off a standout junior campaign that saw him hit to a .427 average and 23 RBIs, which earned a spot on our Second Team, All-State list as a result. Over his illustrious prep career Carlson has been key in Hudson’s success and it seems this season will be no different.

Hunter Carlson (2/21/24)

Last season, LHP/OF Bradyn Bezanson (2024; Maryville University commit) was limited to a DH role due to an injury, but he seems back to full health which is certainly a huge return for this team. Bezanson didn’t let his injury hold him back last season though as he still recorded a team-high .431 batting average. With the injury now healed, he is projected to be this team’s No. 1 in the rotation, too. There he delivers his four-pitch mix with some funk from left-side, which includes a mid-to-high-80s fastball. It seems that Bezanson is peaking at just the right time for Hudson, and he is set to be one of more impactful prospects for the Raiders heading into his senior season.

Bradyn Bezanson (7/11/23)

Fellow senior leaders, INF Landon Zeuli (Winona State commit) and INF Jack Solheid (Saint Mary’s-MN) are two other talented and experienced names on this team. Zeuli is coming off a quality junior campaign where he hit over .400, while also seeing some time on the mound. As for Solheid, he too had a stellar season a year ago, hitting to a tick of .325 while holding down the hot corner defensively.

Landon Zeuli (6/19/23)

RHP/1B Nick Hirsch (2025) and INF Bennett Brathol (2025) are a pair of juniors that are set to step into larger roles this season. Hirsch attended our Green Bay Preseason ID just over a month ago, where he looked like one of the top uncommitted two-way players in attendance. On the mound, he delivers fastballs up to 88 mph from a loose and clean delivery. He also can spin in both a low-70s curveball and a low-80s slider, while killing spin on an upper-70s changeup that rounds out his productive four-pitch mix. Offensively, he swings a loud bat from the right-side, which flashed some power potential at that event with an upper-90s max exit velocity.

Nick Hirsch (2/24/24)

As for Brathol, he earned some valuable yet limited time on the varsity level, hitting .714 in 14 at-bats, but expect that to increase this season and he will also be a piece out of the ‘pen for the Raiders, too.

One more junior on this team is LHP Aaron Schwechler (Wisconsin-La Crosse commit), who popped late on into the summer circuit last year. At a long 6-foot-3, 170 pounds, Schwechler features a mid-80s fastball that comes from a loose and clean delivery. Off that he can spin in a mid-60s slider and curveball, that both spin at above-average rates, while throwing in a deceptive changeup, too. He earned a quality amount of time in a starters role last season, pitching to a 2.14 ERA and recording a 2-0 record. In 2024 though he will take on a much larger role, and will be the second of a quality one-two punch atop this Raiders rotation.

Aaron Schwechler (7/18/23)

One final name that is expected to see quality time this season is OF Steele Homme (2025) who will be looking to make an impact during his first full season on the varsity level.

BOTTOM LINE

+ Hudson lost 11 seniors from last year's roster, but have a quality amount of talent returning and a number of others took advantage of the offseason to make some big gains to their game. With that, Hudson seems to be the team to beat in the BRC for the second straight year and they have the depth to make a deep run all the way to the state tournament in 2024.

Find more information on the 2024 Hudson program below:

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