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: Badger
Preseason Rank: No. 24
Head Coach: Nick Hughes
WIAA Division: 1
Conference: Southern Lakes
2025 Record (Finish): 23-8 (WIAA D1 State Runners-Up)
Key Players Lost: Trent Ertmann, Riley Lussmyer (Millikin), Gavin Stewart (Kalamazoo), Zach Walton

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ROSTER PREVIEW

No. of Returning Players: 6
No. of Returning Pitchers: 3
Team Strengths: "We will be very strong offensively again. We return four of our top six hitters from last year. Baserunning, our collective team speed makes us very dangerous on the basepaths and we run the bases very aggressively to put pressure on the defense. Defensively, we will be very strong. We return our middle infielders and two-thirds of our outfield and we have a really strong catcher coming into our program this year."

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DATA CENTER

INDIVIDUAL DATA STAND-OUTS:

• Matthew O'Grady (5-foot-11, 194 pounds)
  • max EV: 101.9 max (98th state percentile)
  • bat speed: 79.2 mph (No. 3 overall in Wisconsin)
  • 60-yd. dash: 6.60s (98th state percentile)
• Bradley McCarthy (6-foot, 178 pounds)
  
  • max EV: 97.0 mph (84th state percentile)
  • bat speed: 71.3 mph (84th state percentile)
  • 60-yd. dash: 6.85s (92nd state percentile)
• Brendan Kellar (6-foot, 203 pounds)
  
  • max EV: 98.0 mph (87th state percentile)
  • avg EV: 92.4 mph (94th state percentile)
  • bat speed: 71.0 mph (82nd state percentile)
• Connor Kavanaugh (5-foot-10, 161 pounds)
  
  • IVB: 19.1 in (No. 7 in state's 2028 class)
  • CB spin: 2,301 rpm (No. 16 in state's 2028 class)

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X-FACTOR

Matthew O’Grady finished his junior campaign with First Team All-Conference honors and on our First Team All-State in 2025. Now entering his senior season, the future Cadet will look to do more of the same as he leads a high-powered Badger offense. In his 117 plate appearances, O’Grady lead the team multiple offensive categories, including batting average (.406), home runs (6), RBIs (31), runs (32), and stolen bases (17). The senior is a premier athlete that can make his presence felt on all sides of the ball, and we are expecting big things from the West Point commit. 

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NEWCOMER TO WATCH

With the departures of Riley Lussmeyer and Gavin Stewart leaving a hole at the top of the pitching staff, expect RHP Troy Hibbard to get more opportunities in the rotation. Although not a complete stranger to the varsity level, the sophomore will likely be a regular in the rotation for the first time after appearing in five games and posting a 3.50 ERA in 2025. A strong season from Hibbard can add stability to a Badger rotation that will be looking to replace some notable departures this spring.

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TEAM OUTLOOK

The Badgers will enter the spring coming off of their first state appearance in the program's history. Part of the reason for their success in 2025 was due to their high powered offense, and they will retain a good chunk of that offensive core in 2026. In addition to the aforementioned Matthew O’Grady, the Badgers will see the return of middle infield duo Ryan Albanese (2026) and Bradley McCarthy (2026; Milwaukee Area Tech). Both were key contributors to the offensive success last season, with each hitting .378 and .319 on the season, respectively. Also making a return to the Badger lineup is 3B Brendan Kellar (2026), who could add an element of power to the lineup after hitting three home runs last spring. Keep an eye on underclassman C Tim O'Grady (2028) to provide stability behind the dish for the Badgers.  

On the pitching side, Badger will be tested after the loss of both Riley Lussmeyer and Gavin Stewart, and a number of underclassmen likely to take on large roles within the pitching. In addition to the losses, the pitching staff is likely to be seeing  Along with the previously mentioned Troy Hibbard, LHP/OF Connor Kavanaugh (2028) will likely be seeing regular time in the rotation. LHP Matthew Jensen (2027) is another southpaw that will be making a return to the pitching staff after getting a taste of the varsity level in 2025. Kavanaugh has an impressive feel for stuff  reaching up to 19.1 inches of induced vertical break on the fastball and a strong feel for spin for his secondary that leaves us intrigued as to how it will play in-game. 

When not playing the field, expect Bradley McCarthy to be one of the top options out of the bullpen this spring. RHP Jaxton Kostman (2027) and RHP Owen Skilling (2026) are a pair of upperclass arms that another option for Coach Hughes to look towards out of the ‘pen. We saw Kostman earlier this winter at the Wausau Preseason ID, displaying an intriguing feel for spin with upwards of 2200+ average RPMs on the fastball. 

Although there are some challenges that lie ahead for this Badger squad, Coach Hughes remains confident in his team and the veteran leadership. “I'm very excited about our group coming in. We lost some key seniors but we return a good chunk of our lineup as well as underclassmen who didn't get as much playing time as they could have but were with us to experience the great playoff run we had." 

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BOTTOM LINE

Badger brings back a good chunk of their offense that played a major role in leading them to their first state final's appearance in 2025. There are some challenges ahead that may come with the inexperience of the pitching staff, but we expect Badger to still be a contender to make it back to the WIAA State Playoffs in June.

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Find more information on the 2026 Badger program below:

+ Follow them on social media @LGBadgerBSBL
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Wisconsin Preseason Power 25 homepage

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