The 2025 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 2025 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: Wisconsin Lutheran Vikings
Preseason Rank: 24
Head Coach: Steve Kargus
WIAA Division: 1
Conference: Woodland West
Last Year’s Record: 19-7
2024 Season Highlights: Back-to-back conference champs; Eddie Rynders consecutive conference, regional POY, selected in the MLB Draft.
Key Players Lost:

• Eddie Rynders (MLB Draft, Pirates, Pick No. 112)
• Jake Ross (Bryant & Stratton JC)

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ROSTER PREVIEW

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X-FACTOR

MIF/RHP Cooper Seivert (2027) made a name for himself last season when he broke out as one of the top freshmen in the state. Hitting at or near the top of the order while playing a number of positions, playing them well notably. With the graduation of Eddie Rynders – their star player these past couple seasons – Sievert will be relied upon to help fill the void left at shortstop and by not just one but two of the top performing pitchers in the state. Already entering this spring as an arrow-up sophomore, and one of the top shortstops in the state, Sievert will be relied on as the starting shortstop while seeing an increased workload on the mound.

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IMPACT UNDERCLASSMEN

OF Carter Fry (2027) and RHP/INF Eli Dreier (2027) were standouts as freshmen, Fry serving as the leadoff hitter and everyday centerfielder, Dreier was a capable bat and reliable arm for the Vikings. As sophomores, with the departures of Jake Ross and the aforementioned Rynders, both Fry and Dreier along with Sievert will step in and are more than capable of the task. 

Fry is a standout defender in center field with natural and twitchy actions. At the plate, Fry swings a fluid and quick right-handed bat and has repeatedly shown feel for the barrel in front of our staff.

Dreier is a strong 6-foot-2 two-way athlete. On the mound, the strong armed right-hander has shown feel to locate his mid-80s (T87 mph) fastball in the zone with two secondaries to pair. At the plate, the right-hander swings a strong bat capable of impacting the baseball with authority, leveraging the ball in the air.

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TEAM OUTLOOK

“Even though we lost two of the best pitchers in the state – and arguably the best player in the state – we fully expect to compete again for a conference championship and a state tournament run. We are young but full of talent that is eager to make a name for themselves.” – Steve Kargus, head coach

It isn’t so common to have a youthful roster like this one that is also somewhat experienced, but that’s what the Vikings are bringing back to the Woodland West in 2025. Like head coach Steve Kargus is quoted above, WISCO is without its two best players from a year ago, a year in which they won their conference at 10-2 overall.

We think, however, that the 2024 season this special Class of 2027 experienced will pay dividends this spring. This is a unit that hit the ground running as freshmen a season ago, and there’s really no reason to think they’ll take steps backwards in 2025, they’re that good. The X-Factor Sievert is one of the state’s top sophomores with a pedigree of performance to this point, and his two-way abilities will be crucial to the success of the Vikings this spring, but he’s also aided by fellow sophomores Fry, Dreier, and C/UTL Cole Kugler, INF Chase Muma, and RHP/INF Ayden Schneble.

Fry and Dreier have been on the radar for awhile now, but Kugler, Muma, and Schneble all feel capable of busting out as sophomores in 2025, and they can be the ones who really propel WISCO back to the top of the Woodland West.

When it comes to the returning upperclassmen though, Wisconsin Lutheran’s a little light but there’s some key seniors and juniors who can really be the leaders that they’ll need in 2025. RHP/CIF Wynn Hotchkiss, who’s committed to Concordia, St. Paul for football, is a powerful right/right two-way player who can be one of the team’s most reliable arms and run-producers. LHP/1B Henry Szymanski is another football commit (UW-Eau Claire) who should contribute on both sides of the ball for WISCO in 2025.

The junior class is also going to be useful in its depth, like LHP/OF Brayden Abramowski, who was useful in a relief role as a sophomore last spring. Junior backstop Andrew Bellott really looked like he leveled up this offseason, standing out at our West MKE ID in February. There, the catch-and-throw traits were strong – with 1.92 to 2.09 pops and a 79 mph arm – and he flashed some power potential with a right-handed swing that connected for an 89.9 mph average EV (92.9 max) and a max batted distance of 342 feet.

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BOTTOM LINE

Sure, they’re young, but they’re also talented straight up the middle of the diamond, which signals both a bright future and intriguing present. The Class of 2027 isn’t new to the varsity scene so there’s plenty of reason to believe that they’ll gel right away this spring, and there’s enough upperclass talent here to bolster the rest of the roster, giving WISCO the chance to capture a third consecutive conference title.

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Find more information on the 2025 Wisconsin Lutheran program below:

• Follow the Vikings on X: @WL_VikingBsball
• The 2025 Wisconsin Lutheran Season Schedule

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