Wisconsin Power 25: Update

May 19, 2025
By Wisconsin Staff

Stormy weather spoiled the end of another quality week of baseball in the WIAA. Still, most teams were able to get in at least a couple games, which allowed us to tinker with the Power 25 some. You can really begin to see the end of the spring now, as we’re learning of more and more teams that have clinched – or are threatening to clinch – their conference crowns within the next week or so.

In this update, we’ll chat about the three teams that landed on the Power 25 in the wake of the three teams that dropped out.

AT THE TOP

+ No. 1 Hudson (16-5): The Raiders were in action just twice last week and they split a crucial Big Rivers series with New Richmond, and the two remain tied atop the conference at 7-3 overall now. We view this year’s D1 scene as wide-open as ever, but we like how battle-tested Hudson will be by the postseason, having played so many of the state’s top squads, and we think this lineup can take on the state’s best arms come playoff time.

+ No. 2 Kimberly (13-3): The Papermakers are in the middle of their largest win streak of the season, and counting, at five in a row. They won both of their games this past week, two conference victories over Appleton’s North and East, limiting those teams to just a run each in total. They led Fond du Lac 5-0 early in Friday’s rain-suspended game as well, notably, which was looking like a third straight dominant start of the week, this time from LHP Shaefer Peterson (2026; video below). He followed up stellar outings from RHP Sawyer Deering (2025; Tennessee commit) and RHP Maddux Hermus (2027) in what’s looking more and more like the team’s best attribute.

+ No. 3 Sussex Hamilton (18-4): After debuting on the Power 25 after Week Three, at No. 22 overall, the Chargers have now climbed all the way into the top-three overall. They took care of business in shutout wins over Brookfield East and Middleton, and they secured the Greater Metro title officially along the way. Hamilton continues to get massive production from Ethan Hibicke (2025; UW-River Falls) on both sides of the ball, as he’s playing like maybe the best player in a particularly strong year inside the GMC. Elsewhere, RHP Nick Brauhn (2025; St. Thomas, MN) has been pitching better and better as the season’s gone on, and the timing is perfect. He’s emerging as the team’s most talented arm as the playoffs near, bolstering the tone Hibicke and RHP Jacob Osmanski (2026) have set at the front of the staff. Offensively, they’re led by Hibicke, as well as C John Arnold (2026), who has a team-high 22 hits and 17 RBIs.

+ No. 4 Sun Prairie East (14-5): The Cardinals split their mid-week series with Middleton to stay tied with Madison Memorial in the Big Eight, and they also topped Monona Grove, 5-2, while facing the team’s ace. East has dropped three of their last five, though it’s been a tough part of the schedule. Still, this pitching staff has looked like one of the most well-rounded and effective in the state all spring, the last two weeks included.

+ No. 5 Arrowhead (14-5): All year long, Arrowhead has fluctuated between spots Nos. 7-9. Finally, after a 3-0 week with wins over Muskego, Whitnall, and Sun Prairie West, the Warhawks bounce up to the top-five overall. They opened last week with a conference win over the Warriors, completing the season sweep of Muskego. This was RHP Peter Kussow’s (2025; Louisville; video below) latest dominating performance, a 10-K outing over five innings in which he allowed this talented lineup to score once on four hits, one walk. We’ve mentioned this a few times already this spring, but the Arrowhead lineup is much more competitive and deeper than we gave it credit for in the preseason. Outfielders Cameron Carter (2026; UIC), Yamato Takahashi (2025; MIT), and Niko Frangopoulos (2026) are able to generate enough runs to support their robust pitching staff, and they seem to put Arrowhead in position to win every game they play.

Kussow has been heating up with the spring weather, and he’s probably the last arm any team would want to see in these upcoming playoffs.

ARROW-UP TEAMS

+ No. 9 Whitnall (17-4): The Falcons went 3-1 last week, and their lone loss came in a 5-4 defeat to the rising Arrowhead, a quality loss for the top-ranked D2 team on our board. In that game, C AJ Clark (2025; UW-La Crosse) recorded three of hits team’s seven hits, helping lead Whitnall to a 4-2 lead against one of the Warhawks’ top arms after the top of the third. While they couldn’t hold onto that lead, Whitnall took care of business against Milwaukee Lutheran and New Berlin West. Clark and senior shortstop Jack Lutz (2025; South Florida; video below) combined for five hits in the win at NBW, three of which went for doubles.

+ No. 10 New Berlin Eisenhower (15-4): The Lions remain at No. 10 after a 3-0 week that saw them outscore their opponents 31-3. Sitting at 15-4 and have already secured a conference championship this spring, the Lions have been strong on both sides of the ball. The offense is led by Carter Hollenback (2025; Ripon) who had been really hitting the entire spring along with Sam Hirthe (2025), Alex Michna (2027), and Caleb Johns (2026). The pitching staff has been nails the entire season, headlined by Hirthe at the top to pair with left-hander Cal Schneider (2027) who has a .206 ERA across 34 innings and 62 strikeouts so far this spring.

+ No. 11 New Richmond (16-3): New Richmond moved up three spots after finishing 3-1on the week, which included a split double header against No. 1 Hudson. They sit atop the Great Rivers conference, separated by one game with a little left to go in the season. Max Kretovics (2025) had a productive week out of the leadoff spot for the Tigers, which include being the game-winning run against Hudson in extras courtesy of a Bennett Scribner (2025) sac-fly on Tuesday. Levi Wallace (2027) shined for New Richmond on Saturday in a double header against Superior, picking up a six-inning, one-run start with eight strikeouts, as well as picking up the save in the second game to help secure two wins for New Richmond.

+ No. 12 Slinger (16-3): The Owls stick at No. 12 this week after going 4-1, with the one loss being a 8-9 finish against Whitefish Bay, a game that had to be rescheduled due to weather. Across the five games, the Owls would score 71 runs on offense allowing only 12 runs on the week. Macay Wagner (2025; Bryant & Stratton CC) has been a strong presence in the middle of the lineup the entire spring, while Ethan Miller (2027) has swung a hot bat recently going 6-for-15 on the week with nine RBIs on the week, while Chase Leverence and Payton Tennies have been reliable bats throughout the spring.

+ No. 14 Germantown (14-4): The Warhawks move up to No. 14 after going 3-0 on the week which included two wins against in-conference rival Brookfield Central. Ian DeMichiel (2025) and Carter Gordon (2027) both continued their production for Germantown, with Gordon even slugging his 4th HR on the season last Tuesday. Germantown enjoyed a strong start from Evan Lauer (2025; Bryant & Stratton CC) that same game, as Lauer went 6.2 innings with 11 strikeouts in his performance to continue his strong 2025 season that has seen him put up a 1.93 ERA in 29 innings to go with 37 strikeouts and a sub-1.000 WHIP.

+ No. 16 Wisconsin Lutheran (15-5): The Vikings went 3-1 on the week, splitting against Pewaukee, one of the top Division II teams in the state, before ending their week with a pair of wins over Lakeside Lutheran and KML. The sophomores continue to perform at the top of the order with Carter Fry, Cooper Sievert and Eli Dreier all hitting one, two and three in the lineup. Left-handers Brayden Abramowski and Henry Szymanski continue to prove to be capable arms for the Vikings whether as starters or relievers.

+ No. 17 Waterford Union (16-5): The Wolverines jump up 8 spots in the rankings after they finished 3-0 on the week, extending their win streak to nine straight games as they look to finish the season strong and secure the top spot in the Southern Lakes Conference. The bats were hot for the Wolverines all week. They scored 32 runs throughout their three games, with Connor Harvie (2025; Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Carter Thompson (2025), and Zaidan Eblin (2025; Milwaukee School of Engineering) all standing out in the Waterford lineup throughout the week.

+ No. 18 Oconomowoc (14-5): Ocon moves up to No. 18 after picking up a pair of Classic Eight wins last week while sitting at the top of the conference standings. Led by seniors Marek Bolson (Kent State), Luke Schlosser (Rock Valley JC) and Ryan Brennecke (Wake Forest) on offense with sophomore Cooper Schaefgen (Louisville) continuing to hit at a high rate the Raccoons continue to be one of the more competitive squads this spring. On the mound, Brennecke and Schlosser are leading the way along with Jaiden Delaney who has been a quiet performer for them this spring.

+ No. 19 Kenosha St. Joseph (17-3): The Lancers stay put at No. 19 after a 2-0 week against larger schools in the area. The offense has been hitting all year, hitting .393 as an offense with a .507 on-base percentage, while being led by some of the top players in the state like Dominic Santarelli (2026; Louisville) and Peter Visconti II (2025; Wisconsin-Milwaukee). Zach Rizzo (2026), Chris Kenesie (2027), Patrick Davidson (2027) and Tim Falk (2025) add depth behind the two at the top, giving the Lancers a potent offense no matter what division they play in.

WELCOME

+ No. 20 Menomonee Falls (14-6): Menomonee Falls re-enters the Power 25 after a 2-0 week – they’ve lost just once in the last 30 days, rebounding from a slow start after beginning the season on the Power 25. Despite starting the season 2-5, Menomonee Falls has found their stride and is looking like the team that we envisioned having a chance to make a deep playoff run in June. Their victory against Whitefish Bay over the weekend was impressive, producing an offensive onslaught in which OF Matthew Nemec (2026; video below), SS Henry Lynde (2025) and 1B/OF Logan Vande Zande (2026) all went deep in a 12-2 victory, as well as a dominant performance from RHP Anderson Stehli (2026) in a six-inning, one-run performance.

+ No. 24 D.C. Everest (17-3): Stevens Point has won the Wisconsin Valley Conference in 18 of the past 20 years, and this is going to be one of those rare seasons in which the Panthers won’t be WVC champs. SPASH regularly earns lengthy postseason runs stemming from this region, and D.C. Everest is looking capable of becoming the latest program to represent the area strongly in 2025. The Evergreens lost their first three games of the season – a weekend doubleheader against Mukwonago and a non-conference trip to ranked New Richmond – and they’ve won 17 straight games ever since.

They’re led from the mound by an ace in senior RHP Cole O’Brien (2025; UW-Whitewater; video below), who is having an all-state kind of season. The Whitewater recruit has a 1.75 ERA in 36 innings and a WHIP of 0.83 all while punching out 62 batters over that stretch, and he’s allowed just 19 hits and 11 walks this spring.

Junior RHP Carter Miller (2026) has given the Evergreens a legitimate one-two punch at the top of the rotation. He’s thrown 35 innings this spring and has a 1.39 ERA with 26 Ks against just 10 walks. Offensively, C Cole VanSlyke (2026) is pulling more than his weight at the plate, leading the team in most hitting categories: hits (23), doubles (9), RBIs (21), walks (13) while slashing .397/.514/.638 with a 1.152 OPS.

+ No. 25 Seymour (18-2): The Thunder are cruising inside the Bay Conference, coasting to their second straight conference title and first outright at 17-0 currently (18-2 overall). Seymour’s roster is made up of several high-end athletes that excel across multiple sports, and that’s clearly helped them gel these past two seasons, culminating in this excellent spring in the making.

INF/RHP Xavier Salzman (2026) is arguably the team’s MVP to this point of the season, leading them in hitting, slashing .354/.508/.583 with six doubles, a triple, and a home run this spring, as well a team-high 24 RBIs, and Salzman has struck out just three times in 64 plate appearances. He’s also given them 26 quality innings of work on the mound with a 2.15 ERA. Classmate INF/RHP Cayden Staffeldt (2026) is hitting .397 with a team-high seven doubles as one of five Seymour players hitting over .350 with at least 45 at-bats this spring. OF Brandon Poch (2025) is another, hitting .391 with 22 RBIs and more walks (8) than strike outs (4). C Micah Byers (2026) is slugging .600 with five doubles and three triples this year, resulting in 19 RBIs and he, too, walks more than Ks.

This is a really interesting squad that’s outscored its opponents in the Bay 203-39 this spring and it feels like they can become a threat at D2 state as these Milwaukee-area programs beat up on each other in the early part of the postseason.

DROPPED OUT

+ Beaver Dam (13-6)
+ Hartford Union (13-6)
+ Monona Grove (13-7)

ON THE BUBBLE

+ Badger (15-6)
+ Beloit Turner (17-2)
+ Campbellsport (16-5-1)
+ Cedar Grove-Belgium (16-3)
+ Coleman (15-1)
+ Edgewood (14-3-1)
+ Elk Mound (16-1)
+ Franklin (16-4)
+ Holmen (14-7-1)
+ Horicon (16-2)
+ Janesville Craig (14-6)
+ Kewaskum (16-4-1)
+ La Crosse Aquinas (16-3)
+ Milton (15-7)
+ Mukwonago (13-5)
+ Oak Creek (14-4)
+ Pacelli (18-4)
+ Verona Area (14-7)
+ Watertown (13-8)