On July 31 and Aug. 1, Prep Baseball Wisconsin hosted the second annual Wisconsin State Games at The Rock Complex, featuring over 200 of the top players in the state, representing grad classes 2026, 2027, and 2028. Last week, we began publishing our post-event analysis on this year’s crop of talent in our data-minded pieces that you can find below, but this article marks the start of our findings from an evaluator's point of view.

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In our final ‘Takeaways’ piece from the State Games, we’ll start by analyzing the top Class of 2028 performers from this event.

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+ Mason Borseth, LHP/1B (Pulaski): A deceptive arm from the left side, Borseth would offer a projectable name to follow for our staff. Standing in at 6-foot-1, 166-pounds with room to add, Borseth would show some wiry strength throughout the event. On the mound, he showed deliberate movements while working from a low-3/4s slot. The fastball would get up to 80 mph and was thrown alongside a mid-60s curveball with depth. Also showed a 72-74 mph slider with sweeping action. Would also show an easy left-handed bat, with an ability to create length through the zone. Took a quality round of batting practice, producing a max exit velocity of 92.8 mph.

+ Tate Hagen, RHP/MIF (Lake Country Lutheran): Hagen showed well on the mound, attacking the zone with his arsenal in this look. He's an athletic mover on the mound, and showed a fastball in the low-80s that worked up to 84.1 mph with carry through the zone. His slider showed quality 11/5 shape at 69-73 mph while also mixing in a change-up at 74-75 mph. At the plate, the right-handed hitter has smooth swing with some feel for the barrel, reaching a max exit velocity of 88 mph throughout the event. Defensively Hagen plays with athletic actions with arm strength at 84 mph.

+ Cooper Hall, INF/RHP (Cedarburg): Hall impressed on the mound. Standing in as a wiry, long-limbed 6-foot, 162-pound frame, with plenty of room to fill out. The right-hander works with a high kick, tall and fall motion, with a quick half-circle arm action from the ¾ slot. Showing a three-pitch mix, the fastball was sitting 78-81 mph with slight ride and arm side run, and the curveball was sitting 65-67 mph with 12-6 shape and big break. Through his two innings on the mound, Hall struck out three, able to generate swing and misses.

+ Evan Harbot, RHP (Cambridge): Harbort is a tall, filled-out, 6-foot-1, 208-pound frame. The right-hander works from a staggered set-up, with a high kick motion, followed by a clean full-circle arm action from the ¾ slot. Showing a two-pitch mix, the fastball was sitting 78-81 mph, with late ride at the top of the zone, then the curveball was sitting 69-70 mph, with late break from an 11-6 shape. Throughout his outing, Harbort showed obvious feel to land his curveball for strikes, pounding the zone and working at his own pace, striking out two. A strong right-handed hitter at the plate as well finding the barrel for a hit as well.

+ Eli Hart, INF/RHP (Bay Port): One of the top players in the state with a two-way ceiling standing at 6-foot, 170-pound frame. At the plate the right-handed hitter swings a smooth and strong bat with feel for the barrel maxing out at 93.8 mph throughout his round while also earning MVP honors going 5-foot-6 with a home run. Showed a three pitch mix on the mound with an upper-70s fastball topping out at 80.7 mph while showing two breaking balls in the upper-60s.

+ Camden Jeske, OF (Oak Creek): Athletic table setter standing at 6-foot, 154-pounds with feel to hit from the left-side. The incoming sophomore reached a max exit velocity of 97.1 mph throughout his round of BP going for multiple hits throughout gameplay. Defensively the outfielder has athletic and steady actions to play at all three spots in the outfield moving forward.

+ Brady Lauer, RHP (Germantown): Lean, athletic 5-foot-11,150-pound build with room to add strength. Athletic mover with an easy, repeatable delivery. Medium leg lift into a directional drop-and-drive move down the mound. ¾ slot with a short, quick arm. Attacked with his fastball at 81-83 mph touching 84 mph with ride and run. Maxed out at 27.3 inches of induced vertical break and 19.7 inches of horizontal break. Added a breaking ball with gyro shape at 70-72 mph with an average spin rate of 2,326 and a developing changeup at 76-78 mph. Struck out two batters over two innings.

+ Jacob Madlung, INF/RHP (Arrowhead): Stands at 6-foot-4, 187-pounds with room to add to the frame. At the plate the right-handed hitter takes a direct path to the baseball reaching a max exit velocity of 94.9 mph throughout his round while also finding the barrel for a hit in gameplay. On the mound the right-hander showed upside across two innings showing a three pitch mix topping out at 83.8 mph showing a low-70s curveball with tight action and an upper-70s changeup.

+ Clay Maxam, RHP (West De Pere): Maxam would offer a quick arm from the right side, hinting at more velo in the near future. A segmented delivery with explosive actions down the mound, Maxam would work from a 3/4 slot and full arm circle. The fastball would sit 77-80 mph with significant run (T23.9" HM) and was thrown alongside a 65-68 mph curveball with depth & sweeping action. Athletic 6-foot, 140-pound frame with room for added strength.

+ Ian McClure, OF (Reedsburg Area): Is one of the top athletes in the class standing at 6-foot-3, 198-pounds with more room to continue to add to his frame as he continues to mature. At the plate the right-handed hitter showed both strength and feel for the barrel reaching a max exit velocity of 98.8 mph throughout his round while averaging 91.9 mph throughout, found the barrel for a double in gameplay. Defensively McClure has the actions and footspeed to play any spot in the outfield with arm strength up to 85 mph.

+ Braedon Paczocha, C (Mukwonago): Paczocha would continue to showcase a quality, developing toolset. At the plate, presents a balanced base with some pre-pitch rhythm while utilizing a short stride to get into a position of launch. Showed an easy, repeatable right-handed swing with some present feel for the barrel and an ability to hit to all fields. Showed some present barrel strength, producing a max exit velocity of 96.8 mph during his round of batting practice. One of the top defenders in the state behind the dish with athletic actions to pair, making consistently accurate throws from the chute with poptimes in the 2.09-2.16 second ranges while looking like an asset receiving and blocking. Developing 5-foot-11, 167-pound frame with some present athleticism.

+ Samuel Patterson, LHP/OF (Sauk Prairie): Physical 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame. The rising sophomore showed an intriguing look on the mound. Works exclusively out of the stretch with a closed-off setup and a simple, repeatable delivery. Utilizes a drop-and-drive move, landing slightly across his body. High ¾ slot with a smooth, fluid arm-action. Fastball came out clean with ride, sitting in the low-80s topping at 83 mph. The breaking ball sat 68-70 mph with sweep and depth with a max of 2,612 spin rate. Mixed in a changeup with depth at 74-77 mph with an average of 2.1 inches of IVB. Finished the day tossing 1 ⅔ scoreless innings while not allowing a hit. A left-handed pitcher to follow moving forward. At the plate the left-handed hitter found the barrel during gameplay while reaching 93.0 mph max exit velocity throughout his round.

+ Cole Pettijohn, INF (East Troy): Strong 5-foot-11, 178-pounds with more room left in his frame. He started off the day running a 7.04 60-yard dash, and then put up a strong round of BP, maxing out at 97.2 mph on the day. There is little movement in his actions pre-swing, as the rising sophomore operates with a slight toe-tap trigger, works his weight back heavily during the load, and has serious bat speed through the zone. Pettijohn has active feet leading up to receiving the ball, fielding with confidence and soft hands repeatedly.

+ Toay Ragatz, C (Lancaster): Standing at 5-foot-9, 198 pounds with strength throughout his frame. At the plate the right-handed hitter swings a strong bat with feel to drive the ball on a line reaching a max exit velocity of 95.4 mph throughout his round of BP. Defensively Ragatz is a quality defender behind the dish with arm strength up to 79 mph and a consistent pop-time to second around 2.00.

+ Tyson Resch, RHP/1B (Menomonee Falls): Resch would continue to cement himself as a two-way name to follow within the state's 2028 class. On the mound showed up-tempo movements with explosive movements down the mound while working from a whippy, low-3/4s arm action. The fastball would sit in the low-80s with carry through the zone. Showed a pair of breaking balls, including an upper-60s curveball with up to 2325 rpm and a low-70s slider with 10/4 shape and up to 2686 rpm. Also showed an upper-70s changeup with arm-side fade and up to 16.1" of horizontal movement. Would also show a quality right-handed swing with easy barrel strength and pull-side tendencies. Took a quality round of batting practice, producing a max exit velocity of 93 mph with an average of 87.2 mph. Strong 5-foot-10, 214-pound frame.

+ Ben Schultz, RHP (Milton): Schultz owns an upside 6-foot-3, 178-pound frame. On the mound, he showed a loose and repeatable delivery with a clean and easy arm path. His fastball was up to 84.6 mph, and showed feel for his curveball that played with 11/5 shape, averaging -13.3 inches of horizontal movement and -1.5 inches of induced vertical break. He rounded out his three-pitch mix with a change-up that sat 73-75 mph, while throwing it for strikes. The right-hander would find success during gameplay tossing two scoreless innings striking out three batters while filling the zone and attacking hitters with his entire arsenal.

+ Benjamin Smet-Cooper, INF (Westosha Central): An advanced hitter in the state's sophomore class with both bat-to-ball skills and feel to hit both velo and spin while driving the ball in the air. Standing at a strong 6-foot, 192-pounds with strength throughout the frame, Smet-Cooper showed feel to consistently find the barrel throughout BP reaching a peak exit velocity of 101.5 mph throughout his round with repeated elevated contact. The trend continued in gameplay finding the barrel for two long home runs over the course of the event. Defensively the infielder is a capable defender at third with clean feet and steady actions and enough arm strength to stick in at third at 81 mph. One of the top players in the state's sophomore class and is a name to know moving forward.

+ Braxton Thiede, LHP (Jefferson): Thiede was one of the top performers of the Wisconsin State Games. The left-hander stands in as a lean 5-foot-8, 166-pound frame, working out of a downhill, high kick motion with clean, quick arm action, getting full extension in the back half, working from a ¾ slot. Showing a two-pitch mix, the fastball was sitting 78-81 mph, T82 mph, playing with lots of ride and slight cut, averaging 18 IVB (23 IVB max). The curveball was sitting 62-65 mph, with sweep, averaging 12.3 HM. Through his two-inning outing, Thiede was generating soft contact, attacking with the fastball, and generating whiffs with the curveball, while working with a high pace on the mound. At the plate the right-handed hitter shows feel for the barrel and the ability to make consistent contact while playing quality defense at all three spots in the outfield.

+ Carter Unger, RHP (Kewaskum): One of the top arms in the state's sophomore class with a two-way ceiling. He stands in a 6-foot-2, 170-pound frame with loose, easy action on the mound and a clean arm path. His fastball worked up to 85.7 mph, sitting mostly 82-85 mph, also showing the ability to attack the zone with an 11/5 shape curveball that sat in the low-70s with -21.3 inches of horizontal movement and -6.5 inches of induced vertical break. He rounded out his arsenal with with one change-up at 80.3 mph. One of the top prospects in the state's 2028 class.

+ Maddex Welzien, SS (West Bend West): Welzien would continue to show quality actions on the dirt that make him a must-follow name. A natural defender with easy athleticism, Welzien would get up to 82 mph from across the diamond with carry on his throws. At the plate showed an athletic right-handed swing with a developing feel for the barrel and pull-side tendencies. Took a quality round of batting practice, producing a max exit velocity of 91.3 mph and an average of 86 mph. Would also run a 6.85-second 60-yard dash. Athletic 5-foot-11, 157-pound frame. On the mound Welzien showed feel for three pitches across a 1.2 innings outing.

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