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Wisconsin Power 25 Update: Final

June 22, 2026
By Andy Sroka
National Managing Editor, Scouting

The 2026 WIAA season is in the books, and for the final time this spring we’re updating the Prep Baseball Wisconsin Power 25 Rankings after we crowned our four state champions in Appleton last week. This final edition of the Power 25 will also double as a season-long story arc, and no team wrote a better final chapter than our new No. 1-ranked program in the state: The new WIAA Division 1 champions, Kaukauna.

Kaukauna entered June ranked No. 15 and left the month on top of the state, climbing all the way to No. 1 after capturing the school’s first state championship since 1953. The Ghosts were one of two teams ranked inside the preseason Power 25 to claim a state title, including Division 3 champs Cedar Grove-Belgium. Division 2 champs Pewaukee started the spring unranked, which was rare, and finished it all the way up towards the top as their division's state champion. Then, the Division 4 champs came out of Marshfield's Columbus Catholic.

WIAA HEADLINES

Let’s celebrate the seasons that defined the WIAA in 2026.

THE CHAMPIONS 🏆

No. 1 Kaukauna — D1 State Champions

The Ghosts were on our board from the very first preseason edition and never left it, weathering real adversity to peak at exactly the right time. In a normal year, Kaukauna would have boasted one of the best one-two punches atop any rotation in the state, but both Bron Schaefer and Paxton Schuh battled injuries for much of the spring. Schaefer still profiled as one of the toughest leadoff hitters in Wisconsin, and Schuh ultimately got healthy just in time, recording the final nine outs of the D1 state championship game against Madison Memorial.

Kaukauna finished second to Kimberly in a loaded Fox Valley Association, then saved its best baseball for the bracket. The Ghosts knocked off Appleton West in the regional final, shut out Kimberly 9-0 in the sectional semifinals, and outlasted Bay Port 6-3 in the sectional final — about as demanding a path to state as exists in D1. That gauntlet only seemed to sharpen them: at state, they took down River Falls, Nicolet, and Madison Memorial to bring the title back to Kaukauna for the first time in more than 70 years. Senior starter Carson Gates authored an excellent quarterfinal outing to push them past River Falls and set the title run in motion.

No. 2 Pewaukee — D2 State Champions 

One of the winningest programs of the last decade finally broke through, as the Pirates captured the first WIAA state championship in school history. It rarely comes easy in Pewaukee’s corner of Division 2 — the sectional they typically occupy is annually stacked with the most talented teams in the entire division. It produced last year’s D2 champion, New Berlin Eisenhower, which is precisely the program Pewaukee had to beat in this year’s sectional final just to get back to state. The Pirates shared the Woodland West Conference title with Wisconsin Lutheran along the way.

Senior Bryce Duvall anchored the staff, guiding Pewaukee past Kewaskum in the sectional semifinals and Somerset in the state semifinals despite a pitching group hampered by injuries.

The title game belonged to an unlikely arm: sophomore JonDavid Jacobs set the tone against reigning D3 champ Kenosha St. Joseph by striking out the state’s best hitter, Dominic Santarelli, on three straight changeups to open the game. Pewaukee fended off a late St. Joe’s rally in the top of the seventh to finish it off. Junior SS Cayden Burtness was the heartbeat of the lineup all spring, hitting .610 with a 1.543 OPS, 14 doubles, four triples, two homers, 36 stolen bases, and 39 RBIs from the middle of the order, all while playing lockdown defense at shortstop.

No. 15 Cedar Grove-Belgium — D3 State Champions 

The Rockets sat atop our preseason D3 ranking, and after some early-season ups and downs, they delivered when it counted. Junior OF/SS/RHP Ira Hilbelink is squarely in the running for Prep Baseball Wisconsin Player of the Year and he led the charge all spring long, with Carter Schmitz, Josh Anzia, and Austin Knapp all integral to the lineup.

Cedar Grove-Belgium powered through a pair of tough sectional tests in Living Word Lutheran and Lake Country Lutheran, then handled its business at state, beating Marathon 13-4 and Dodgeville 13-9. Hilbelink punctuated the semifinal with three triples and a double against Marathon in a record-setting performance.

Columbus Catholic — D4 State Champions

Led by senior MacArthur Konieczny, Columbus Catholic knocked off one of the top D4 arms in the state in a 3-1 semifinal win over Loyal, then took down Potosi/Cassville 8-4 to bring home the Division 4 title, their first-ever state title.

SPECIAL SEASONS ✨

No. 3 Madison Memorial (D1)

The Spartans surged from No. 19 to No. 3 in this final update on the strength of a deep senior core in Caleb Liggon, Ezra Liggon, and Brayden Banyai. Their signature moment came in the state semifinals, where they erased a seven-run deficit against reigning D1 champs Muskego to punch a ticket to the title game. Memorial ran out of gas against Kaukauna in the final but battled to the end, with Ezra tripling twice in the championship game that had the Spartans in the momentary lead early. His twin brother Caleb finished his career at Madison Memorial as the program's all-time leader in doubles, home runs, and RBIs; Banyai is top-five all-time in the program for hits, doubles, triples, walks, RBIs, steals, wins, and strikeouts (pitching). And despite missing the first nine games of the season with an injury, Ezra ultimately finished with a team-high 1.495 OPS and 29 RBIs.

No. 5 Fond du Lac (D1)

No team closed the board hotter than the Cardinals, who jumped from No. 22 to No. 5 in the final edition behind senior catcher and team leader Jack Brenner. It was a treat to watch Brenner compete on the D1 state stage to close out his prep career before he sets off to Oklahoma, or possibly even in the MLB Draft next month. He finished the spring with a 1.322 OPS and just four Ks, which was two fewer than the number of homers he hit.

No. 10 River Falls (D1)

The Wildcats’ senior ace Ethan Jeffers got the better of western Wisconsin’s top squad, Hudson, twice this spring – and that's including in the sectional final that sent River Falls to state for the first time since 2015. He finished the year with a 2.15 ERA in 62 innings with a WHIP below 1.00.

No. 16 Kenosha St. Joseph (D2)

Senior Dominic Santarelli closes a legendary career one win shy of back-to-back state championships after capturing the D3 title in 2025, helping carry the Lancers to three consecutive state title appearances before graduating. The top-ranked player in Wisconsin’s senior class is already among the best hitters the state has ever produced and he led the state this season in OPS (1.842).

Senior teammate Zach Rizzo was every bit as critical down the stretch; his two-run homer to center in the top of the seventh of the title game pulled St. Joe’s back within a run of Pewaukee before time ran out. Rizzo tied Santarelli with 10 home runs this spring and he also operated as the team's ace on the mound. Santarelli, meanwhile, caps his career with another special season and a real chance to be named Prep Baseball Wisconsin Player of the Year for a second straight season, which has never been done before in the state.

No. 18 Nicolet (D1)

The Knights authored one of the more unlikely runs of the postseason, reaching state as the No. 5 seed in their sectional after taking down Arrowhead and Wauwatosa East to be crowned sectional champions. Senior Nick Bongard was a huge reason why, tossing a complete-game gem against No. 2 seed Milton to carry Nicolet all the way to the D1 state semifinals, where they ran into eventual champ Kaukauna.

No. 19 Neenah (D1)

It was a strong season for the Rockets, who handed ranked West Bend West just its second loss of the year in the sectional semifinals before dropping a tight 3-2 decision to Fond du Lac in the sectional final. Senior SS Mack Krause hit .385 and once again served as both the offensive leader and a defensive anchor. Junior Ethan Hellengreen and fellow '27s Levi Boivin, Owen Pire, and Landen Sheppard give Neenah a foundation to chase a state trip next spring, even with the graduations of Krause, Cal Juckem, and Gus Weinholzer.

No. 25 Kewaunee (D3)

The Storm closes the year at No. 25 despite missing out on a return trip to state. Senior Brett Paulsen headlines our Prep Baseball Wisconsin Player of the Year conversation after one of the best pitching seasons of any arm in the state and he finished with an 1.110 OPS too. Paulsen threw one perfect game and three solo no-hitters this season, and he allowed just nine hits in 53 dominant innings with a 0.53 ERA and 123 Ks. Kewaunee went 28-1 this spring, and head coach Dan Spranger deserves enormous credit for what the program has built over the last two years.

+ VIEW THE FINAL POWER 25 OF 2026 HERE

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