The Wisconsin high school baseball season kicks off on March 31, opening day for regular season action under WIAA regulations. Over the next two weeks, leading up to opening day, we'll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2026 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down through the official Prep Baseball Wisconsin Preseason Power 25 Rankings.
Perennially, we've submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we're using the detailed insight they've provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2026 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: Oak Creek Knights
Preseason Rank: No. 10
Head Coach: Scott Holler
WIAA Division: 1
Conference: Classic 8
2025 Record (Finish): 23-6 (SEC champions; sectional champions)
Key Players Lost: Ryan Buchta (Winona State), Nate Schopf

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ROSTER PREVIEW

No. of Returning Players: 6
No. of Returning Pitchers: 2
Team Strengths: Returning experience, team defense.

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DATA CENTER

TEAM RANKS:

This data is sourced from the 2026 Wisconsin winter showcase circuit and select 2025 events, compiled by Prep Baseball. We took the top-three metrics recorded by players from each high school in the following categories. Here is how Oak Creek High School's top-three performers averaged across each category:

Category	Top-3 Avg.	State Rank	Out of
Avg. Exit Velocity	89.4 mph	No. 30	of 102
Max Exit Velocity	99.0 mph	T-No. 14	of 102
Bat Speed	73.9 mph	No. 6	of 102
Max FB Velocity	85.7 mph	T-No. 22	of 71
Top 60-Yard	6.95 s	No. 19	of 102

INDIVIDUAL DATA STAND-OUTS:

• Blake Ulezelski (5-foot-9, 161 pounds)
  
  • max fastball: 88.0 mph (89th state percentile)
  • IVB (rise): 17.6 in (T-No. 19 in state's 2027 class)
• Brady Martin (5-foot-8, 135 pounds)
  
  • 60-yd. dash: 6.88s (90th state percentile)
  • vert. jump: 25.3 in (88th state percentile)
• Brian Simmons (6-foot-2, 180 pounds)
  
  • max EV: 98.0 mph (87th state percentile)
  • avg EV: 88.2 mph (80th state percentile)
• Camden Jeske (5-foot-11, 162 pounds)
  
  • max EV: 97.0 mph (T-No. 23 in state's 2028 class)
  • avg EV: 89.1 mph (No. 25 in state's 2028 class)
  • rot. accel.: 17.0g (88th pctile. in state's 2028 class)
• Cooper Schnitzler (5-foot-8, 167 pounds)
  
  • max EV: 98.0 mph (T-No. 19 in state's 2028 class)
  • CB spin: 2,332 rpm (No. 12 in state's 2028 class)
• Jackson Villarreal (5-foot-11, 191 pounds)
  
  • max EV: 101.0 mph (95th state percentile)
  • bat speed: 80.0 mph (No. 3 overall in Wisconsin)
  • rot. accel.: 20.0g (93rd state percentile)
  • 60-yd. dash: 6.89s (90th state percentile)
• Mason Robertson (5-foot-8, 146 pounds)
  
  • max fastball: 86.0 mph (80th state percentile)
  • SL spin: 2,464 rpm (No. 14 in state's 2027 class)
  • vert. jump: 25.2 in (87th state percentile)
• Steven Hastings (5-foot-9, 165 pounds)
  
  • bat speed: 71.5 mph (84th state percentile)
  • rot. accel.: 23.0g (97th state percentile)
• Hunter Shepstone (5-foot-11, 211 pounds)
  • max fastball: 83.5 mph (No. 3 in state's 2029 class among LHPs)
  • avg EV: 90.9 mph (T-No. 2 in state's 2029 class)

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X-FACTOR

INF Mack Endres (2026; Whitewater commit) currently ranked No. 144 in the Badger State’s senior class, will enter this spring season in an instrumental leadership role as one of the top returning bats in this Knights lineup. A performer at the Wisconsin State Games this past summer, Endres achieved a top exit velocity of 97.2 MPH while showing athleticism at the corner infield positions. Projected to bat third in this Knights lineup, Endres will look to lead this Oak Creek team to a third straight SEC championship. 

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NEWCOMER TO WATCH

OF/LHP Camden Jeske (2028) currently ranked No. 3 in the state’s sophomore class, is an athletic and balanced hitter looking to take on a bigger role for the Knights this year. A performer at the Wisconsin State Games this past summer, Jeske achieved a top exit velocity of 97.1 MPH while showing a mature line drive approach at the plate. Projected to lead off for the Knights, Jeske will be an integral part of this Oak Creek offense. 

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TEAM OUTLOOK

Oak Creek baseball enters 2026 carrying one of the most remarkable streaks in Wisconsin high school sports. The Knights have now won at least 20 games in each of the last 23 consecutive seasons, a WIAA state record, and they have backed that sustained excellence with back-to-back Southeast Conference titles and consecutive state tournament appearances. Head coach Scott Holler has built something historic in Oak Creek, and the program is not slowing down. The headline for this spring, however, is not just what returns but where the Knights now play. Oak Creek has moved from the SEC into the Classic 8 Conference, a league that perennially stands as the toughest in Wisconsin, featuring programs such as Muskego, Arrowhead, Mukwonago, Oconomowoc, Waukesha West, Kettle Moraine and Catholic Memorial. For a program with Oak Creek's pedigree, the move is a natural fit, but extending that 20-win streak will demand more than ever before.

The Knights graduate two significant contributors from the 2025 rotation in Ryan Buchta, a first-team all-WBCA selection who departs for Winona State, and four-year starter Nate Schopf, whose experience will be difficult to replace. Those are meaningful innings and leadership to account for. But Oak Creek returns six everyday offensive starters and two of its top arms, which gives Holler a strong foundation to work from. At the top of the lineup, OF/LHP Camden Jeske (2028) is the program's most exciting young talent, a first-team all-conference center fielder as a freshman who hit .312 with 11 doubles, 23 runs scored and 26 RBIs a season ago. Alongside him in the field, SS Brian Simmons (2027) was also a first-team all-conference honoree as a sophomore, posting a .333 average with seven doubles and 18 RBIs while drawing praise as one of the better defensive shortstops in the Milwaukee area. The combination of Jeske in center and Simmons at short gives Oak Creek a defensive spine that coach Holler specifically pointed to as a program strength entering this season.

The offensive depth behind that duo is genuine. 1B/3B Mack Endres (2026; Wisconsin-Whitewater) hit .384 as a junior with eight extra-base hits and 20 RBIs, bringing proven production to the middle of the order. OF Jackson Villarreal (2026; UW-Eau Claire) is a state champion wrestler who enters his senior year as one of the most physically imposing left-handed hitters in the state, and after hitting .264 a season ago, there is room for him to break out in his final prep campaign. MIF Gavin Zastrow (2027), who projects to start at second base for a third consecutive season, batted .344 as a sophomore. C/OF Brady Martin (2027) returns behind the plate after a solid sophomore year, providing stability for a pitching staff in transition. On the mound, P Jayden Pryor (2026) is the staff ace after finishing with a 1.67 ERA over 42 innings last spring, striking out 45 against just 16 walks. RHP/INF Blake Ulezelski (2027) logged 26 innings with 31 strikeouts and a 2.42 ERA in 2025 and looked sharp in preseason work at our recent Milwaukee ID. LHP/OF Mason Robertson (2027) is expected to step into a larger role and help absorb the innings vacated by the departures. The primary area to watch is bullpen depth, which Holler acknowledged as the key developmental question heading into the spring.

Beyond the headliners, Oak Creek has a wave of capable underclassmen who figure to shape the team's identity as the season progresses. RHP/SS Cooper Schnitzler (2028) projects as both a lineup contributor and a relief option after a standout JV season, and OF/RHP Steven Hastings (2027) will compete for everyday outfield time after impressing at the JV level in 2025. The Knights will also make a spring break trip to Kentucky for two games against West Jessamine (KY), led by former major leaguer Austin Kearns, a challenge that speaks to the program's appetite for high-level competition. Back home, Oak Creek will host Kimberly on April 18 and will hold a pregame jersey retirement ceremony April 25 for 2015 graduate Doran Turchin, the former WIAA State Player of the Year who was drafted by the Orioles in 2018 out of Illinois-Champaign.

It adds up to a season packed with meaning, both on and off the field. Holler put it plainly: "The opportunity to compete against high level programs night in and night out in the Classic 8 is something we are very much looking forward to. This weekly grind will have us prepared for the postseason and hopefully put us in a position to make our fourth trip to state in the past six years."

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BOTTOM LINE

Oak Creek has the pitching, the defense and the lineup depth to compete for a Classic 8 title in their first season in the conference. If the rotation holds and the bullpen develops, a fourth state tournament appearance in six years is well within reach for one of Wisconsin's most storied programs.

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Find more information on the 2026 Oak Creek program below:

+ Team Website
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Wisconsin Preseason Power 25 homepage

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POWER 25 COUNTDOWN