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Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 5 Monona Grove

March 22, 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: Monona Grove Silver Eagles

Preseason Rank: 5
Head Coach: Kevin Connor
WIAA Division: 1
Conference: Badger Large
2023 Record (Finish): 22-5 (Lost in Sectional Semi-Final)
Key Players Lost: Mac Vesperman (Edgewood College), Miles Nelson (Milwaukee Area Technical JC), Sam Baum, Jackson Hewitt (Saint Mary’s (MN)), James Cullison, Eddie Rivera. 

ROSTER PREVIEW

Team Strengths: Our pitching staff and defense should be strong. We return our top 2 starters from last year who threw the most innings and have great command for the zone, our IF Defense should be solid as we return everyone other than 1B
No. of Returning Starters: 5 starters 10 total
No. of Returning Pitchers: 7 (Top 2 starters from last year)

NAME STATE CLASS POS COMMITMENT
Nicholas Guidici WI 2024 OF Parkland JC
Auden Jatszak WI 2024 RHP Wisconsin Lutheran College
Reece Chynoweth WI 2024 RHP -
Terek Verhage WI 2025 C/RHP St. Thomas (MN)
Kaden Connor WI 2025 INF/RHP Xavier
Dom Najacht WI 2025 INF/RHP -
Noah Schaller WI 2025 RHP/1B -
Carson Coyle WI 2025 OF/INF/RHP -
Drew Larsen WI 2025 LHP/OF/1B -
Chase Yinko WI 2025 RHP/INF/OF -
Mason Wiese WI 2025 RHP/INF -
Cal Moreau WI 2026 RHP/INF -
Eli Bauler WI 2027 RHP/1B -

X-FACTOR

+ It is tough to pick just one ‘X-Factor’ for this Silver Eagles squad as a number of prospects will be making some big impacts on both sides of the ball. Arguably though, C/RHP Terek Verhage (2025; St. Thomas, MN commit) might make the biggest, as he is set to lead the team from behind the plate while also earning some innings on the mound, too. Verhage, a 2023 Prep Baseball Future Games participant is one of the most defensive minded catchers in the state. He features a strong arm that was recently up to 83 mph from behind the plate which helped him record pop-time lows of 1.97 at the Madison Preseason ID just a couple of weeks ago. At that same event he also registered a 92 mph high on his hardest bullet from the outfield and if that is any indication of what he is like on the bump, he certainly will add a whole new aspect for Monona Grove this spring. His smooth left-handed bat is also an impactful part of his game, and over the past few looks he has continued to add more-and-more pop to it. The current No. 24-ranked player in the state’s 2024 class certainly has the talents to contribute heavily and he brings back a whole lot of experience, something that is common throughout this Silver Eagles team.

UNDERCLASSMEN TO WATCH

+ RHP/INF Cal Moreau (2026) is one of the top sophomore’s in the state and is set to make an even bigger impact for Monona Grove than he did last season. Despite being just a freshman, Moreau seemed to do it all for the Silver Eagles as he pitched to a 2.56 ERA and also batted .279, respectively. Moreau’s tools are some of the best in the state, regardless of class; he is a 6.61 runner in the 60-yard dash, features a clean right-handed swing that we have seen collect a number of hits in-game, and also possesses a mid-to-high-80s fastball. Our staff also hasn’t seen Moreau in about a year now, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he has taken his game to an even higher level since.

Cal Moreau (3/12/23)

TEAM OUTLOOK

Last year served to be a breakout year for Monona Grove as they were inside of our Power 25 for the entirety of it and finished atop the Badger Conference for the first time in the past decade. Now heading into 2024 they bring back a large and important group that contributed to that success, shaping up to be one of the top teams in the state.

Without a doubt, OF Nicholas Guidici (2024; Parkland College commit) will be the senior leader on this team. Guidici swings a heavy left-handed bat that produced upper-90s exit velocities at last year’s Madison Preseason ID and Top Prospect Games. He returns a .311 batting average from a year ago and he will serve as a power bat in the heart of Monona Grove’s lineup this season.

Nicholas Guidici (7/11/23)

Another junior on this Silver Eagle squad who enjoyed a standout sophomore campaign that saw him ultimately commit to Xavier was INF/RHP Kaden Connor (2025). He recently made it out to the annual Madison Preseason ID, where he put together one of the better all-around performances of the day. He returns the highest batting average from last year at .328 and he was also a key cog in their pitching efforts too, as he went a perfect 7-0, holding the opposition to just over one earned run a game.

Two arms that earned some valuable experience last year, RHP Noah Schaller (2025) and RHP Auden Jatszak (2024; Wisconsin Lutheran), are set to take on larger roles this season. RHP Reece Chynoweth (2024) and RHP/INF/OF Carson Coyle (2025) are two other names that will see some quality time on the mound this season. Both Schaller and Coyle are expected to be contributors with the bat, too.

Offensively, freshmen 1B/RHP Eli Bauler (2027) is set to contribute during his first year at the varsity level. Built at a mature 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, Bauler already presents a loud skill set that we saw a couple of weeks ago at the Madison Preseason ID, where he put up the highest exit velocity of the day at 98.1 mph from a strong left-handed swing. He also ran his fastball up to 85 mph, with feel for a couple offspeed pitches there too.

INF Dom Najacht (2025) is another veteran bat to know on this roster. As a sophomore, he hit to a tick of .288 while being a consistent defender on the infield too. Rounding out the offensive efforts for the Silver Eagle this season will be OF Drew Larsen (2025).

Dom Najacht (3/12/23)

BOTTOM LINE

+ The Silver Eagles have quickly become one of the top programs in the state over the past couple of years. In 2024 it seems to be their year to make an even deeper playoffs run, as they are backed by a talented and deep squad that many of which gained valuable experience last season. They kick of their 2024 campaign with a trip down to Tennessee to take on a handful of teams from the Volunteer state.

Find more information on the 2024 Monona Grove program below:

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