Prep Baseball Report

Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 19 Kenosha Tremper


By Josh Fields
PBR Wisconsin Staff

The Wisconsin high school baseball season kicks off on March 28, opening day for regular season action under WIAA regulations. Over the next week, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2023 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down through the official PBR Wisconsin Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a Preseason Questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis. We also utilized some of the information published inside the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association's 2023 Yearbook, which is available for purchase here.

Our 2023 preseason coverage continues today.

Team: Kenosha Tremper
Preseason Rank: No. 19
2022 Record: 20-7
Conference: Southeast
WIAA Division: 1
Head Coach: John Matera

ROSTER PREVIEW

NAME POS. SCHOOL CLASS COMMITMENT
Cal Adamczyk OF Kenosha Tremper 2023 -
Jack DeRousse OF/RHP Kenosha Tremper 2023 -
Richard Dibble UTL/RHP Kenosha Tremper 2023 -
Ryne Lesnik INF Kenosha Tremper 2023 Triton JC
Joe Mendoza C Kenosha Tremper 2023 -
Cameron Prickett 1B/RHP Kenosha Tremper 2023 Illinois Central JC
Ben Wajerski INF Kenosha Tremper 2023 -
Tanner White UTL/RHP Kenosha Tremper 2023 Southeastern JC
Rory Dutton MIF/RHP Kenosha Tremper 2024 -
Ethan Bauerschmidt MIF/RHP Kenosha Tremper 2025 -


KEY LOSSES

+1B Ivan Jake (2022)
+ RHP/OF Wyatt Modory (2022)
+ C Simon Koziol (2022)
+ RHP/UTL Jalani Hudnall (2022)

X-FACTOR

Rory Dutton (8/22/22)

+ INF/RHP Rory Dutton (2024) returns as a vital two-way role player, where last season as a sophomore he was equally successful both on the mound and offensively. After being named a second team all-conference selection as a utility player, Dutton will look to build off his sophomore campaign in his junior season. Last year, Dutton was a steady part of the Trojans lineup, in 69 at-bats he hit .348 with a .478 on base percentage, and he walked (18) more than twice the amount of times he struck out (7), while stealing 15 bags on the season. On the mound Dutton was similarly impressive, as he twirled 35 innings earning a 5-2 record with a 2.60 ERA. Dutton impressed our staff with his performance when he traveled up to Sheboygan Wisconsin, for the Eastern Wisconsin Open in August, here is what we had to say about his performance at the event:

“... is a name that has popped up on radar multiple times and made for an interesting look on Monday. Built at a lean 5-foot-10, 150-pounds, Dutton has plenty of room to add on weight as his body continues to develop. Offensively, Dutton works from a narrow base and takes direct, handsy swings toward the ball to spray line drives to all fields. Dutton then moved over to infield defense where he impressed his ability to move well to the glove side and clean transfer, pairing it with accurate throws to the bag. To round out his day, Dutton then hopped on the bump where his projection remains apparent. While on the mound, Dutton is an athletic mover and reached highs of 77.9 mph with his fastball, pairing it with a two-seam that flashed hard sink. As for his offspeeds, he spun in a tight 11/5 type breaking ball for strikes and maintained arm speed on a straight changeup.”

IMPACT UNDERCLASSMAN

+ INF/RHP Ethan Bauerschmidt (2025) has been on our radar for a while now, and he’s set to move up the state’s Class of 2025 rankings the next time we update them – already ranked inside the top-10 as it stands. Bauerschmidt made his way up to varsity last season as a freshman for the Trojans, eventually earning himself atop the lineup as the team’s catalyst. In 73 at-bats, he slashed .411/.464/.479 which was good for a .944 OPS, and he was another underclassmen on last year’s roster to walk (9) more often than he K’d (8). In our most recent look at Bauerschmidt at the South Milwaukee Preseason ID, it was clear that he used the winter to make strides in his overall game, most notably on the mound, but he’ll still be an impact everyday middle infielder and hitter for this team in 2023. Here’s our report from his performance this winter:

“... came away an obvious winner from Sunday’s event on both sides of the ball. On the mound, the right-hander sat right at 88-90 mph throughout the duration of his ‘pen with finish and life through the zone (16.2 inch IVB avg.). His slider looks to be a potential out-pitch, spinning routinely over 2,500 rpm at 73-75 mph with depth and feel for the zone. His final offering was a slight running changeup thrown with fastball intent, 80-82 mph. At the plate, the right-handed hitter stays short to the ball with quick hands and feel for the barrel – working the ball to the whole field with easy jump off the bat… His defensive round was also one to make note of, moving well to both sides of his glove to pair with athletic actions and soft hands. His aforementioned arm-strength easily translates over to the infield, reaching up to 91 mph with above-average arm-speed and accurate throws. Also a 7.03 runner in the 60.”

OUTLOOK

The Trojans are coming off of a 20-7 campaign from last season and will look to have another successful season under longtime coach John Matera. Matera’s proven himself to be one of the top coaches in the state, and last year was some of his finest work, considering Tremper played underdog and upset some of the teams ranked above them in the preseason, and that’s despite featuring a young and inexperienced roster that still managed to win 20 games anyway.

With a returning group of core players from last season, and some impact underclassmen having gained valuable time on varsity in 2022, the Trojans are in a position to make some noise this upcoming season.

Offensively, the Trojans return many familiar faces to the lineup, including the aforementioned Dutton and Bauerschmidt, who were standouts as underclassmen. Other returning pieces to this lineup include a pair of seniors Ryne Lesnik (2023; Triton JC commit) and the still-uncommitted Cal Adamczyk (2023). Lesnik was a steady presence in the lineup hitting .293 for the season and walking (15) as many times as striking out (15), while also stealing 11 bags. The same goes for Adamczyk who hit .286 with almost as many walks (13) as strikeouts (16), while also being a threat on the basepaths stealing a team leading 19 bags. More and more competitive at-bats here that will wear on opposing arms.

There will be a large group of seniors that will look to impact this team heading into their final high school season, some of them to look out for are Cameron Prickett (2023; Illinois Central JC), Tanner White (2023; Southeastern Illinois JC), Jack DeRousse (2023), Joe Mendoza (2023), Ben Wajerski (2023) and Richard Dibble (2023). Each of these seniors come with previous varsity experience in a variety of roles from last season's team that won 20 games.

On the mound the Trojans will return a group of arms that have quality varsity experience on the mound, starting off with the aforementioned Dutton who returns having fired the most innings from this group of players as a sophomore. Seniors DeRousse and Dibble themselves have plenty of innings under their belt at the varsity level. DeRousse, who was mostly used in relief last season, tossed 25.1 innings and he struck out 25 batters along the way, and he earned one save last season. Dibble saw two starts last season and also earned some work out of the ‘pen, adding 17 innings and 25 strikeouts and he, too, earned a save. White and Prickett also saw some limited action on the mound last season for the Trojans, and they should add some depth to this staff. Bauerschmidt’s presence and development over the offseason has also helped this rotation look a lot more threatening ahead of Opening Day as well.

BOTTOM LINE

This Trojan team is always a well-coached one and this year’s squad features some bright talent as well as a core of seniors that’s used to a certain standard of play. Offensively, this team is deep and full of competitive at-bats and multi-year starters at key positions. On the mound, they return quality arms that will be relied on once again in 2023, and they’re bolstered by upside arms that could keep them competitive in a Southeast Conference that will be very challenging once again.

Make sure to follow @PBRWisconsin on Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage throughout the 2023 season.

Find more information on the 2023 Trojans below:

+ Team Website
+ Team Schedule
+ Team Twitter

PRESEASON POWER 25 COUNTDOWN