Wisconsin Class of 2028 Rankings: Initial
June 4, 2025
Wisconsin’s Class of 2028 rankings make their debut today, offering our first look at a group that’s already generating plenty of buzz across the state. This is a release that’s been highly anticipated, and after months of evaluating this freshman class through winter events and early spring action, we’re excited to unveil the initial top-25 board.
There’s still plenty of development ahead for these young prospects, but the early returns show real upside and competitive depth. Today’s story breaks down the top of the class, with more analysis to follow in the coming days.
THE TOP-5
+ C Braedon Paczocha (Mukwonago) debuts at the top spot in the class. 5-foot-10, 175-pound frame with lean strength and more room to add to the frame. Already an advanced defender behind the plate with a high ceiling defensively. Natural actions behind the plate with confidence and easy catch and throw traits with soft and strong hands to pair. The athlete stands out both behind the plate and at the plate, swinging a smooth and fluid right-handed bat with feel to use the entire field. The bat-to-ball has shown in flashes and there’s more power to harness once he starts filling into his frame.
+ INF/RHP Eli Hart (Bay Port) athletically built at 6-foot, 172-pounds with lean and twitchy strength with more room to add as he matures. Two-way upside, at the plate the right-hander repeats with ease, impacting the baseball out front with leverage, using the entire field. Defensively, Hart looks the part as an up the middle defender with a chance to stick at shortstop long term. On the mound, Hart has shown feel to fill the zone locating his fastball to both sides of the plate and feel to spin a bigger breaking ball, looking like a potential go-to option.
+ INF/RHP Maddex Welzien (West Bend West) athletically built at 6-foot, 155-pounds with lean strength to the frame. Another middle infielder with two-way upside, at the plate the right-hander takes a direct path to the baseball, and has shown consistent feel to put the bat on the baseball. Defensively Welzien is a steady defender capable of sticking up the middle. On the mound, Welzien fills the zone with two pitches, a low-80s fastball with life out of the hand that he locates to different parts of the zone to pair with a low-70s breaking ball as his go-to secondary.
+ RHP Carter Unger (Kewaskum) debuting as the top right-hander in the class, showing clear upside on the mound standing at a lean and long-limbed 6-foot-3, 175-pound with clear physical upside to the frame. Simple and repeatable delivery with a slight crossfire finish, the arm action works loose from a low 3/4 slot creating tougher angles for any hitter. Already making an impact on varsity as a freshman, mostly two pitches with a fastball that reaches 86 mph with life out of the hand and feel to locate to both sides of the plate and feel for a big sweeping breaking ball that plays in the low-70s.
+ RHP Maxwell Webb (Port Washington) high-waisted and projectable at 6-foot, 160-pounds with room for added fill. Clean and fluid mover with feel for multiple pitches, with feel to repeat. The fastball plays with life out of the hand in the low-80s with leverage downhill while showing feel for three secondaries. Two breaking balls, a low-70s curveball with tight downer action, and a slider in the same velo bucket with tight and late sweeping action while also showing feel for a changeup that is completely different from the fastball. Webb also provided an impact on the mound this year as a freshman, pitching to a sub-1 ERA across 29 innings while limiting walks and striking out 38 batters throughout the regular season.
ROUNDING OUT THE TOP-15
+ OF/RHP Ian McClure (Reedsburg) stands at a 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame with present strength and athleticism. McClure clocked in a 6.87 60-yard dash at the Madison Preseason ID, placing him second within the 2028 class. A two-way talent, McClure features a whippy, slightly uphill swing at the plate that saw him hit .339 for Reedsburg this season. On the mound, he showcased a three-pitch mix up to 83 mph with the fastball in Madison, with a slurvy breaking ball with a two-plane break and feel for a low 70s change up.
+ OF Camden Jeske (Oak Creek) comes in at 5-foot-11, 153-pounds with developing strength. His athleticism was on display at the South Milwaukee Preseason ID, clocking in at 7.28 in the 60-yard dash. Jeske operates from a tall setup with a smooth left-handed swing with an uphill path, and registered a max EV of 91.2 in South Milwaukee.
+ RHP Clay Maxam (West De Pere) debuting at No. 9 in the initial update after a loud look over the winter with clear upside to the frame, standing at 6-foot, 137 pounds. The right-hander showed feel for multiple pitches including a ride and run fastball in the low-80s that plays with life out of the hand. The breaking ball and changeup show promise and could develop into potential weapons for him moving on, the slider plays with late sweeping action in the upper-60s and turning over a heavy fading changeup in the low-70s.
+ C Thomas Check (La Crosse Logan) showed off some impressive defensive numbers this winter at the Madison Preseason ID, highlighted by a 1.95 pop time, which was 5th best in the event. Check stands in at an athletic 5-foot-10, 177-pounds with broad shoulders, leaving room for additional strength, and his 7.00 60-yard dash was the third best time among the 2028 group. At the plate, Check has a flat-path swing and showed a good feel for the barrel, producing line drives all throughout his round. His natural feel for the catching position has many of us excited to see the type of player Thomas Check can continue to develop into.
+ INF/RHP Benjamin Smet-Cooper (Westosha Central) has been one of the top performing bats in the class this spring. At the plate, the left-hander is a confident hitter with a knack for finding the barrel no matter the location, while tapping into more in-game power and producing. A capable arm on top of it, with feel for multiple pitches while showing feel for the zone.
WIAA Underclass Scout Blog: “Uncommitted, one of the top freshman performers so far this spring, listed at 6-foot, 193 pounds with strength to the frame. At the plate, he delivered a clutch two-out single in the bottom of the fourth, driving in a pair of runs. He’s already homered in each of his first two varsity games this season. Natural power at the plate from the left-hander, showing increasing feel to lift the ball in the air.”
+ INF Kallen Magli (DeForest) is an uber-athletic infielder whose athleticism was on full display this winter, registering the best 60-yard dash of the day at 6.85 seconds in the Madison Preseason ID. The rising sophomore set up from the right side of the plate with smooth, repeatable actions in the box and a quick swing with a level path. Magli showed an advanced feel for the barrel and an up-the-middle, line drive approach during his round of batting practice that really impressed us all and has us excited to see how well the bat continues to develop.
+ LHP/OF Braxton Thiede (Jefferson) shows plenty of athleticism in his 5-foot-10, 175–pound frame and is a two-way talent with upside on both sides of the ball. The bat in particular has been fun to see develop, as it continues to get better. He showed off a strong feel for the barrel earlier this winter with a right-handed swing that caught many barrels throughout his round of batting practice. On the mound in the same event, Thiede topped out at 82 with two different FBs, a tight breaking curveball and a feel for a change up.
+ RHP Jacob Madlung (Arrowhead) stands in at a projectable 6-foot-3, 187-pound frame with a lot of upside on the mound. We saw him at West Milwaukee earlier this winter, where he showcased an athletic delivery that moved in line. He topped out at 84 with the FB. Complimenting the fastball is a pair of secondaries: a hard biting CB with 10/4 shape, and a mid-70s with some depth. Madlung moves down the mound with ease, delivering the ball out of ¾ slot with loose arm actions, and is a name to keep an eye on going forward.
+ RHP Nicky Vitucci (Whitefish Bay) features a lean and projectable frame at 6-foot-1, 158-pounds. Featuring a methodical, stretch-only delivery with a high-leg kick, Vitucci delivers the ball out of a higher ¾ slot. Earlier this winter, his FB topped out at 82 on the day with life out of the hand and arm-side run, as well as a low-70s downer CB and a high spin CH with a similar shape to his FB.
+ INF/RHP Tate Hagen (Arrowhead) is a two-way talent that shows off plenty of versatility around the diamond. Standing in at 5-foot-10 and 140-pounds, there is still plenty of room for added strength. On the mound, Hagen has a repeatable delivery that is paired with a quick arm and feel for a three-pitch mix, highlighted by a FB that sat in the low 80s (T85) on the day with a quality feel for spin at just under 2300 RPM on average earlier this winter. At the plate, showed off an impressive feel for the barrel and a line drive approach that has many of us excited to see his development as a two-way player.