Inside the Numbers: Wisconsin's 2018 Early Signing Period
November 16, 2017
The early signing period wrapped up yesterday (Nov 8- Nov 15) and all NCAA Division I and Division II scholarship athletes were able to put pen to paper and sign their National Letter of Intent.
This year’s signing class is big in Wisconsin with 60 total early NCAA commits, 39 at the Division I level and 21 at the Division II level.
Three of Wisconsin’s top 2018 prospects have committed to top 25 Division I programs according to D1Baseball’s final 2017 rankings. No. 5 Louisville nabbed both Jarred Kelenic and Alex Binelas in the 2018 class while No. 11 North Carolina will be adding RHP Max Alba to next year’s roster.
This year was a big year for out of state commitments, only two early commits have decided to stay in state and attend Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The rest of the committing class is moving out of state. Here’s a breakdown by state D1 commitments.
Illinois - 13
Indiana - 4
Missouri - 4
Ohio - 3
North Carolina - 2
Kentucky - 2
Wisconsin - 2
Minnesota - 1
Connecticut - 1
North Dakota - 1
Tennessee - 1
Washington - 1
Michigan - 1
Nebraska - 1
Kansas - 1
New York - 1
Illinois cleaned up in the Badger State as six different schools from our neighbors to the south picked up Wisconsin commits.
11 of the 39 Division I commits went to a Power Five conference with no surprise the Big Ten leading the way with five of those. Outside of the Power Five conferences, the Missouri Valley scooped up nine Wisconsin commits leading the way in terms of conferences.
Missouri Valley - 9
*Big Ten - 5
Atlantic 10 - 4
*ACC - 3
Summit - 3
MAC - 3
*SEC - 2
Ivy - 2
Horizon - 2
American - 2
*Big 12 - 1
Big East - 1
Ohio Valley - 1
WCC - 1
*Denotes Power Five Conference
Division I Early Commits
Name | School | Pos. | Commitment | Conference |
Max Alba | Franklin | RHP | North Carolina | ACC |
Evan Albrecht | West Bend West | SS | Purdue | Big 10 |
Jordan Bailey | Janesville Parker | OF | Bradley | Missouri Valley |
Noah Berghammer | Janesville Craig | SS | Minnesota | Big 10 |
Alex Binelas | Oak Creek | 3B | Louisville | ACC |
Pierce Blohowiak | Xavier | OF | Yale | Ivy |
Peter Brookshaw | Prescott | SS | North Dakota State | Summit |
Jacob Campbell | Janesville Craig | C | Illinois | Big 10 |
Elijah Campbell | South Milwaukee | RHP | Bradley | Missouri Valley |
Aaron Chapman | Waterford | SS | IPFW | Summit |
Randon Dauman | Columbus | RHP | Ohio | MAC |
Dawson Demant | Union Grove | SS | Northern Illinois | MAC |
Nate DeYoung | Xavier | 3B | Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Horizon |
Isaac Dirker | Howards Grove | RHP | Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Horizon |
Brennan Dolwick | Lake Mills | LHP | Cincinnati | American |
Ian Drays | Jefferson | C | Northern Illinois | MAC |
Grant Emme | Kaukauna | OF | Eastern Illinois | Ohio Valley |
Chandler Fochs | Wausau West | RHP | Western Illinois | Summit |
Jarrett Fueger | Waunakee | 3B | St. Louis | Atlantic 10 |
Cedric Girard | Oregon | RHP | Illinois State | Missouri Valley |
Zach Gustafson | Eau Claire Memorial | RHP | East Carolina | American |
Nick Herbst | McFarland | OF | Illinois State | Missouri Valley |
Jeff Holtz | Arrowhead | C | Indiana | Big 10 |
Jarred Kelenic | Waukesha West | OF | Louisville | ACC |
Tanner Kohlhepp | Eau Claire Memorial | SS | Tennessee | SEC |
Bryce Konitzer | Mukwonago | RHP | Illinois State | Missouri Valley |
Stephen Lund | Verona | C | Gonzaga | WCC |
Connor Manthey | Columbus | C | Bradley | Missouri Valley |
Dillon Nowicki | Stoughton | RHP | Michigan | Big 10 |
Sean O'Brien | Marquette University | RHP | St. Louis | Atlantic 10 |
Ty Olejnik | Hamilton Sussex | OF | Missouri | SEC |
Gunner Peterson | Wilmot | OF | Illinois State | Missouri Valley |
Jackson Pothast | Sheboygan North | LHP | Indiana State | Missouri Valley |
Alan Roden | Middleton | C | Creighton | Big East |
Colten Schild | Fox Valley Lutheran | 2B | St. Louis | Atlantic 10 |
Paul Stefiuk | Green Bay Preble | RHP | Bradley | Missouri Valley |
Eric Torres | Sussex Hamilton | LHP | Kansas State | Big 12 |
Zach Watzka | Green Bay East | RHP | Dayton | Atlantic 10 |
Jonathan Zacharias | Notre Dame Academy | RHP | Cornell | Ivy |
Division II Early Commits
Name | School | Pos. | Commitment | Conference |
Noal Brouwer | Delavan-Darien | LHP | Purdue-Northwest | Great Lakes |
Jack Brown | Eau Claire Memorial | RHP | Minnesota State | Northern Sun |
Frankie Cistaro | Muskego | SS | Minnesota-Duluth | Northern Sun |
Steve Diderrich Jr. | Oconomowoc | C | Upper Iowa | Northern Sun |
Jacob Fietz | De Pere | OF | St. Cloud State | Northern Sun |
Devin Fish | Eisenhower | RHP | Salem International | Independent |
Kyle Gendron | Wilmot | RHP | Winona State University | Northern Sun |
Grant Hill | Wausau West | RHP | Minot State | Northern Sun |
Jaxon Kostka | Eau Claire Regis | OF | Mary | Northern Sun |
Anthony Lupa | Northwestern | LHP | Minnesota-Crookston | Northern Sun |
Calvin Nowak | Waukesha South | OF | Lindenwood University (MO | Mid-America |
Danny Osep | Franklin | SS | Upper Iowa | Northern Sun |
Evan Rice | Brillion | RHP | Upper Iowa | Northern Sun |
Ryen Ryba | Homestead | SS | Minnesota State | Northern Sun |
Jacob Salonek | Eau Claire Regis | 1B | Minnesota-Duluth | Northern Sun |
Mitchell Seager | Beloit Turner | OF | Winona State University | Northern Sun |
Austin Selz | Eau Claire Memorial | RHP | Minot State | Northern Sun |
Jordan Strick | West De Pere | RHP | Winona State University | Northern Sun |
Blake Thiesse | Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau | RHP | Upper Iowa | Northern Sun |
Ryan Venne | Eau Claire North | 3B | Lindenwood University (MO | Mid-America |
Nick Zeeveld | Indian Trail | C | Illinois-Springfield | Great Lakes |
Baseball continues to grow in the Badger State and it’s plain to see that high level talent continues to pour out of Wisconsin. From the MLB Draft to college prospects, baseball is alive and well in Wisconsin.