Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 13 West De Pere

West De Pere has been the class of the Bay Conference for the last decade, winning seven of the last 11 conference crowns, all under the tenure of Coach Rukamp. They’ve won three straight BC titles, too, and are the favorites to take home their fourth in a row.

They’re the conference favorites despite losing three core members of last year’s team: C Kyle Kosobucki (Winona State), OF Matthew McNabb (Wisconsin-Oshkosh), and RHP Cole Nelson (Marian, WI). Those three earned first team all-conference honors in 2017 and their absence in this lineup will be felt, especially at the start of the spring while Coach Rukamp tinkers with his lineup in order to identify the right combination of players that can take them back state, potentially.

The Phantoms will be afforded some time to figure out what their best defensive alignment and lineup look like because their strength remains in their starting pitching. West De Pere is returning most of their best arms, including junior LHP Connor Langreder (Northern Illinois). Langreder might be handed the No. 2 role in this rotation, but Langreder still has ace-like stuff. He’s the No. 3-ranked left-handed pitcher in Wisconsin’s 2019 class, on our list, because of his mid-80s fastball that pairs very well with his sweeping curve. He was 3-0 last year with a 1.83 ERA as just a sophomore.

Connor Langreder (8.2.17)

Senior RHP Jordan Strick (Winona State) might be the one taking the ball on opening day for the Phantoms, and he’s earned it. He was 5-2 last year with a 2.33 ERA. Strick’s experience will help him lead this staff, considering this talented rotation will be the reason makes it further than last year and onto the state playoffs. Fellow senior RHP Trevor Teske was reliable last year and featured another sub-3.00 ERA that this team will deploy this spring. He’s ranked as the No. 38 right-handed pitcher in his state’s class, mainly because of the physical projection he still holds. He’s 6-foot-5, 200 pounds and may be able to unlock some more velocity in his senior season that could push the Phantoms to another level.

This rotation is dependable and it’s the reason why West De Pere is once again the favorite to represent the BC once summer rolls around. But they’ll still need to score some runs.

For that, they’ll be leaning on their one returning all-conference pick from a season ago, 3B Dylan Govin (John Wood CC). Govin hit .337 last season, the best mark among returnees, and will be counted on to be the main source of runs within this year’s edition of West De Pere’s lineup. He’ll be joined by fellow seniors OF Devin Tyler (.305 batting average last year), OF Cal Jensen (.265), and C Nick Pawlak (.250). Pawlak’s duties go beyond his part in the batter’s box, too. He’s taking over for the graduated Kosobucki who captained this quality staff for so long from behind the plate. Coach Rukamp called him a steady defender so it should be well within his abilities to receive this experienced and strike-throwing staff.