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: Sun Prairie East Cardinals
Preseason Rank: No. 4
Head Coach: Jack Marchese
WIAA Division: 1
Conference: Big Eight
2025 Record (Finish): 21-8
Key Players Lost: Max Glusick (UW-Milwaukee), Alex Klun, Reed Saugstad, and Trystan Fry

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ROSTER PREVIEW

Team Strengths: "Pitching - with Brady Stelzer coming back in May, we should be pretty deep pitching wise."

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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 Sun Prairie East's top-three performers averaged across each category:

Category	Top-3 Avg.	State Rank	Out of
Top 60-Yard	6.73 s	No. 2	of 102
10-Yard Sprint	1.66 s	T-No. 25	of 102

INDIVIDUAL DATA STAND-OUTS:

• Van Vogler (6-foot, 158 pounds)
  • max EV: 96 mph (84th state percentile)
  • 60-yd. dash: 7.08s (78th state percentile)
  • vert. jump: 27.5 in (96th state percentile)
• Camden Glusick (5-foot-11, 181 pounds)
  
  • avg EV: 90.8 mph (90th state percentile)
  • bat speed: 72.5 mph (89th state percentile)
  • 60-yd. dash: 6.67s (T-No. 21 overall in Wisconsin)
  • 10-yd. split: 1.63s (93rd state percentile)
• Brayden Johnson (6-foot, 171 pounds)
  
  • 60-yd. dash: 6.66s (No. 19 overall in Wisconsin)
  • vert. jump: 26.5 in (94th state percentile)
• Grayson Uttech (6-foot-2, 196 pounds)
  • max fastball: 83 mph (T-No. 5 in state's 2028 class among LHPs)
  • max EV: 93 mph (T-No. 13 in state's 2028 class among LHHs)
  • rot. accel.: 17.0g (83rd state percentile)

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X-FACTOR

Set to be the ace of the staff, LHP Joseph Tamboli (2026; Madison commit) is looking to lead a loaded pitching staff into the spring once again. In his junior year, he tossed 58.2 innings, striking out 66, walking 33, with a 1.31 ERA. The left-hander has a mid-80s arsenal working from a deceptive slot, creating consistent discomfort for opposing hitters. He fills the zone with confidence, shows the ability to work ahead, and competes with a steady presence on the mound. With a mix that keeps hitters off balance and the experience to handle big moments, he’s poised to be a tone-setter at the front of the rotation this spring.

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NEWCOMER TO WATCH

LHP/1B Grayson Uttech (2028; uncommitted) is set to play a pivotal role on both sides this spring, impacting the lineup and providing valuable innings on the mound. The freshman showed early promise last season, hitting .306 with a .721 OPS and four doubles, while also making noise on the bump. In 14.1 innings, Uttech struck out 28 with just seven walks, posting a 2.93 ERA. With a well-rounded two-way skillset and the ability to contribute in multiple spots, he’ll be counted on as an important piece in both the lineup and pitching staff moving forward.

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TEAM OUTLOOK

In 2025, the Cardinals won 21 games, advanced to the state tournament, and lost to the eventual champion, Muskego, at the hands of Tyson Grulkowski. In what was otherwise another successful spring for this storied program. That run came on the backs of a senior-heavy core, and now head coach Jack Marchese faces one of the more significant roster rebuilds in his tenure. Gone are Max Glusick (UW-Milwaukee), who hit .484 with three home runs and 24 RBIs, Reed Saugstad, who batted .420 with a .565 on-base percentage and 24 stolen bases, Alex Klun, who made 10 starts on the mound and went 7-1 with a 3.20 ERA, and Trystan Fry, who contributed a .329 average and 25 RBI in a key middle-of-the-order role. Replacing that collective production is the defining challenge of 2026.

The good news is that the Cardinals return a legitimate core around which to rebuild, starting with SS Van Vogler (2026; Minnesota State-Mankato), who hit .378 with a .453 on-base percentage and 18 stolen bases last spring while playing stellar shortstop defense.

"I feel Van is the most underrated player in this state," Marchese said. "He creates chaos on the bases. He runs, hits, and throws as well as anyone, and his defense is elite, maybe one of the best defenders in the state."

C Manny Abreu (2026; Madison JC) is back behind the dish after posting a .299 average and a .444 OBP. Coach Marchese called his catcher one of the best energy players he has ever coached at any level. He brings a toughness that sets the tone for the clubhouse. LHP Joseph Tamboli (2026; Madison JC) anchors the pitching staff after a 6-3 season in which he struck out 66 batters over 58.2 innings with a 1.31 ERA, relying on heavy arm-side run and a sharp breaking ball that Marchese believes could carry him a long way as his velocity continues to climb. Tamboli has the ingredients to be one of the very best pitchers in the WIAA this senior season, a true ace on staff.

The rotation gains a significant boost with the expected return of RHP Brady Stelzer (2026; UW-La Crosse), who is recovering from an injury that cost him all of 2025. Stelzer was the program's ace heading into last year after pitching Sun Prairie East to a 2024 state semifinal victory over Oak Creek as a sophomore. His projected return in mid-May gives the Cardinals a potential front-of-the-rotation arm for the stretch run of the regular season and into the postseason. Behind Tamboli and Stelzer, OF/RHP Brayden Johnson (2027) and LHP/1B Grayson Uttech (2028) round out the projected starting four. Johnson went 3-3 with a 2.33 ERA in 30 innings as a sophomore last spring and beat Marquette and Monona Grove in the same season, while Uttech went 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA in 14.1 innings and is one of the program's most intriguing young two-way players. Marchese cited pitching depth as the team's clearest strength entering 2026.

The lineup will lean heavily on youth, and Marchese embraced that reality head-on. OF  Camden Glusick(2027) steps into an enormous role as the full-time center fielder, and the expectation is that he will more than hold his own. Glusick was one of the few Cardinals to see regular action in 2025 as an underclassman, batting .437 with nine doubles, three home runs, and 38 RBI in 108 plate appearances, numbers that rank among the best on the team. Marchese suggested Glusick's bat has taken another step forward this offseason, which we saw for ourselves earlier this month at the Madison ID. Beyond Glusick, the Cardinals lean on a group of young players that includes RHP/INF Brady Seim (2029), RHP/OF Lushy Baasalo (2029) and OF Jack Ostrenga (2028), who Marchese expects to fill significant holes.

As always, this is a roster filled with athletes first and foremost, whether they're primary baseball players or not. Ostrenga, for example, is a prominent prospect on the gridiron, but like his older brothers, he'll make his mark in the outfield of Sun Prairie East's baseball program too. Even Vogler, while a baseball-first prospect, led SPE in points per game in basketball and reeled in a team-high 40 receptions and seven TDs in the fall during football season. INF Jack Marchese Jr. (2027) hauled in 139 receiving yards in the fall during football before this spring, where he's set to earn everyday at-bats occupying first base. Marchese Jr. and MIF Jack Parker's (2027) introduction into this daily lineup will be important as the Cardinals figure out how to make up for the production lost to graduation.

"We will be young in some important spots," Marchese said. "Manny Abreu, Van Vogler, Brady Stelzer, and Joey Tamboli will lead us. We will be tough, and we have culture. Up and down the program, we have good baseball players."

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BOTTOM LINE

The pitching staff, anchored by Tamboli and eventually bolstered by Stelzer's return, gives Sun Prairie East a legitimate ceiling of another deep postseason run. If the young lineup develops quickly enough to support that staff, this Cardinals team has the culture and the talent to be a dangerous out in Division 1 come June.

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Find more information on the 2026 Sun Prairie East program below:

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

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POWER 25 COUNTDOWN