Wisconsin Draft Recap: History, Trends and Takeaways
January 9, 2026
At Prep Baseball, our bandwidth truly covers all the bases of high school baseball within our borders. Our staff is able identify prospects as freshman, sometimes even younger, and watch them blossom into eventual next-level players. As we prepare for a busy winter and spring season we take a dive into the state's former prep players that have gone on to begin their pro careers. Few players, if any, will move on and turn their abilities into a career within baseball, with Wisconsin boasting several natives selected from the college ranks in each years' MLB Draft.
SEVEN-FIGURE BONUSES
| NAME | CLASS | DRAFT | POS | ROUND | TEAM | BONUS |
| AJ Vukovich | 2020 | 2020 | OF | 4 | Diamondbacks | 1.25 million |
| Noah Miller | 2021 | 2021 | SS | CB-A | Twins | 1.7 million |
| Connor Prielipp | 2019 | 2022 | LHP | 2 | Twins | 1.83 million |
| Max Wagner | 2020 | 2022 | 3B | 2 | Orioles | 1.9 million |
| JD Dix | 2024 | 2024 | SS | CB-A | Diamondbacks | 2.15 million |
| Gavin Kilen | 2022 | 2025 | MIF | 1 | Giants | 5.25 million |
| Mitch Voit | 2022 | 2025 | MIF | 1 | Mets | 1.72 million |
Shortstops and athletes have historically been valued highly in draft circles so no surprise to see the majority of the bonuses being allocated towards shosrtstops and atheltes that can play up the middle. Continuing a trend we saw in the late-2010s of high-end shortstops coming out of Wisconsin and this group has the potential to exceed the prior group.
POSITIONAL BREAKDOWN
| POSITION | PLAYERS | % |
| Right-Handed Pitchers | 10 | 29.4% |
| Left-Handed Pitchers | 7 | 20.6% |
| Middle Infielders | 6 | 17.6% |
| Catchers | 4 | 11.8% |
| Outfielders | 4 | 11.8% |
| Corner Infielders | 3 | 8.8% |
From a positional standpoint, the amount of arm talent that has came through the state has been notable for sometime now. Since 2020 nearly 50% of all the players signed in the MLB draft have been pitchers with only two of those 17 players getting selected as preps.
FULL LIST
| NAME | CLASS | DRAFT | POS | ROUND | TEAM |
| AJ Vukovich | 2020 | 2020 | OF | 4 | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Noah Miller | 2021 | 2021 | LHP | CB-A | Minnesota Twins |
| Alex Binelas | 2018 | 2021 | 1B | 3 | Milwaukee Brewers |
| Tanner Kohlhepp | 2018 | 2021 | RHP | 5 | Detroit Tigers |
| Max Wagner | 2020 | 2022 | 3B | 2 | Baltimore Orioles |
| Connor Prielipp | 2019 | 2022 | LHP | 2 | Minnesota Twins |
| Drake Baldwin | 2019 | 2022 | C | 3 | Atlanta Braves |
| Alan Roden | 2018 | 2022 | OF | 3 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Griffin Doersching | 2017 | 2022 | 1B | 8 | San Diego Padres |
| Dylan Questad | 2023 | 2023 | RHP | 5 | Minnesota Twins |
| Christian Oppor | 2022 | 2023 | LHP | 5 | Chicago White Sox |
| George Klassen | 2020 | 2023 | RHP | 6 | Philidelphia Phillies |
| Avery Owusu-Asiedu | 2020 | 2023 | OF | 9 | Philidelphia Phillies |
| Luke Fox | 2020 | 2023 | LHP | 17 | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Riley Frey | 2020 | 2023 | LHP | 19 | Atlanta Braves |
| JD Dix | 2024 | 2024 | SS | CB-A | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Eddie Rynders | 2024 | 2024 | SS | 4 | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Josh Caron | 2021 | 2024 | C | 4 | Seattle Mariners |
| Michael Carpenter | 2022 | 2024 | LHP | 11 | Minnesota Twins |
| Jacob Kisting | 2021 | 2024 | RHP | 14 | Minnesota Twins |
| Brady Marget | 2021 | 2024 | 1B | 16 | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Owen Rice | 2021 | 2024 | LHP | 20 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Gavin Kilen | 2022 | 2025 | MIF | 1 | San Francisco Giants |
| Mitch Voit | 2022 | 2025 | MIF | 1 | New York Mets |
| Nate Snead | 2022 | 2025 | RHP | SUP-3 | Los Angeles Angels |
| Peter Kussow | 2025 | 2025 | RHP | 4 | New York Mets |
| Rory Fox | 2022 | 2025 | RHP | 6 | New York Yankees |
| Brady Counsell | 2021 | 2025 | INF | 10 | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Will Vierling | 2022 | 2025 | C | 11 | Philidelphia Phillies |
| Jacob Hartlaub | 2021 | 2025 | RHP | 14 | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Alex Breckheimer | 2022 | 2025 | RHP | 16 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Luke Nowak | 2021 | 2025 | OF | 17 | Kansas City Royals |
| Tyler Schmitt | 2022 | 2025 | RHP | 17 | San Diego Padres |
| Ethan Cole | 2022 | 2025 | LHP | 20 | Colorado Rockies |
The Twins lead the way with 5 signees since 2020, on the high school side Whitefish Bay had the most drafted and signed players since 2020 with four players including mulitiple Day One selections, East Troy and Catholic Memorial would follow up WFB with two draft signees each. Over the past two years, 19 former Wisconsin prep players have been selected, 16 of those players were selected from their respective two/four year program.
The amount of preps being selecting and signing has increased alongside the college prospects. Since 2023 five prospects have been selected with four signing for reasonable and even over-slot bonuses and that number should look to only increase with a healthy and talented class of prep players inside the state this spring.