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: Kaukauna Ghosts
Head Coach: Mike Jenkins
WIAA Division: 1
Conference: Fox Valley Association
Last Year’s Record: 13-13
2024 Season Highlights: Finished above .500 in conference for the first time in over 10 years; five all-conference players, including a sophomore (Schaefer) who was first team.
Key Players Lost:

• LHP/OF Owen Jenkins
• INF/RHP Tyler Jezeski

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ROSTER PREVIEW

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TEAM OUTLOOK

“Kaukauna projects to compete for the top of the FVA conference this year returning the majority of their starters from 2024. They will be led by a strong group of pitchers and impact seniors that will help them through a tough conference and non-conference schedule. ” – Mike Jenkins, head coach

+ Team Strengths: Returning position players, experience, defense; impact arms.
+ No. of Returning Pos. Players: 7
+ No. of Returning Pitchers: 5

Prep Baseball Wisconsin’s Take: Kaukauna is off to a 2-0 start so far this spring, winning their opener over Ashwaubenon, 7-0, and we were on hand for their big FVA win over No. 17-ranked Hortonville, by the score of 2-1 that took nine innings to determine a winner.

In essence, that victory over Hortonville went about exactly how we thought it might have, and it underscores the Ghosts’ outlook in 2025. They return a healthy amount of starters from last year’s squad that finished .500, though competed admirably inside the always tough FVA. The experience gained in 2024 is essential, and it has us thinking that Kaukauna can really challenge for more than just conference this spring.

It’s a senior-heavy squad, which always helps, though they’re motored by junior LHP/OF Bron Schaefer (2026; Appalachian State commit). He was first team all-FVA as a sophomore last year, and he’s a safe bet to be one of the best players in the area again in 2025. So far this season, he’s appeared in both of Kaukauna’s games and he’s combined to punch out 20 batters in just nine innings, allowing only two hits along the way. That’s his profile, too – strikes at a high tempo, with swing-and-miss secondaries that align well next to his mid-80s velocity.

We also got a glimpse at another high-profile junior in that game against Hortonville: LHP Paxton Schuh. Schuh’s uncommitted and he made major gains in the offseason, showcasing a fastball that touched 90 mph at our first-ever Wausau Preseason ID just a few weeks ago. He reached 87 mph in relief on a cold April day, and he K’d four in his two innings out of the ‘pen.

(Paxton Schuh, 3/23/25)

The seniors here really set the foundation for a fun season: OF Andrew Luckow (North Iowa Area CC), RHP/3B Zander Leick (Ellsworth CC), 1B Isaac Maas (UW-Oshkosh, football), and RHP Jacob Fritz. Luckow is athletic and he was an all-conference honorable mention as a junior last spring. Leick can really spin and pitch, and he’s got some bat speed from the right side too. Fritz is a 6-foot-6 righty coming back from injury who reportedly has even more velocity to add to an already impressive set of arms. Maas and Schaefer help round out the lineup – Schaefer is already 4-for-7 this spring with a double, and Maas has a couple hits himself so far.

The Ghosts are going to pitch it, and they can defend too, with athletic junior Pierson Bauer (2026; uncommitted) penciled in at shortstop. It has the makings of becoming a memorable season in Kaukauna, and they shouldn’t be sneaking up on anyone in the FVA this spring.

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