Our staff has been monitoring the development and performances of three of the top right-handers in Wisconsin’s Class of 2025 since they first stepped foot on a high school campus – and really even earlier than that.

Peter Kussow (Arrowhead; Louisville commit), Ethan Bauerschmidt (Tremper; Penn State) and Auden Pankonin (River Falls; Nebraska) were identified as a high-level prospects early on in their prep careers by our staff, following either a tournament, a showcase, or both. Fast forward to today, and these three are heading into their final springs as high school athletes and they’ve created realistic professional aspirations as only seniors.

What’s more, these three aren’t the only righties who are earning pro scouts’ attention as they begin to assemble their pref lists for March’s opening day in our state. The fact there are even more than three Wisconsin prep arms with authentic pro ceilings makes this class one that sticks out from recent history.

Within this piece, we’ll be breaking down the aforementioned trio above, as well as some of the prospects who’ve asserted cases for themselves in the last 12 months – or in the case of one Eau Claire Memorial righty, within the last 30 days.

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BREAKING DOWN THE TRIO

Throughout the past calendar year these three have continued to raise their status as pro prospects. Bauerschmidt had his stuff tick up throughout the year, paired with the trademark athleticism that had him ranked inside the top-10 in the first place; Pankonin was a standout at the inaugural Prep Baseball Senior Future Games, spinning an elite fastball; and Kussow rebounded from a 2023 that saw him deal with nagging injuries here and there, returning to his old form with premium velocity and one of the best breaking balls we’ve seen in the state in some time.

Diving into each prospect individually they each do things that make them stand out.

Peter Kussow RHP / Arrowhead, WI / 2025 Kussow’s breaking ball and stature made him a recognizable pitching prospect very early on in his prep career. As an early Louisville commit, he has come a long way since our first looks at him back in 2021. Pro-frame, durable 6-foot-5, 200-pounds with one of the better breaking balls in the country, a low-80s power offering thats gotten up to 84 mph, with big two-plane action.    Metrically, this pitch is a true outlier, throwing it in the low-80s (T84 mph), Kussow averages -8.4-inch of IVB and -16.7 inches of HM, respectively. Based on its velocity and shape, this pitch plays very similar to Clarke Schmidt’s knuckle curve, which produced a .191 wOBA and a 40.8 K% this past season for the New York Yankees. The fastball has been up to 93 mph, and Kussow has shown average ability to locate the pitch throughout the zone. The changeup can be a quality option, sitting in the low-80s, rarely needing to go to it. Demonstrating the changeup as more than just a change-of-pace pitch could affirm his projection as a next-level starter, and it has the movement profile to become a go-to offering on its own as well. Another spring of production and a tick up on his stuff could cement his status as one of the top right-handers in the Midwest. Kussow is one of the more talented pitchers in the area armed with one of the best breaking balls in the country, coupled with traits that make him an interesting case for player development departments in pro ball. Consider him arguably the top pro pitching prospect in the state, headed into the offseason.

Ethan Bauerschmidt RHP / Tremper, WI / 2025 Bauerschmidt stands at a very athletic 6-foot-3, 175 pounds, in a build that makes it easy to envision supporting more physicality, and without sacrificing any of his twitch. A high-level athlete with feel to pitch and a track record, Bauerschmidt saw his velocity tick up across the summer operating in the upper-80s touching 90 mph on occasion in front of our staff, and now the fastball routinely gets into the low-90s, and he climbed even higher in the fall, reportedly. Bauerschmidt showed innate feel to spin his sharp slider in the zone and miss bats, sitting in the upper-70s with the pitch and has flashed feel to manipulate the shape which could hint at two breaking balls in the future and both will be above-average offerings. There's a developing changeup in the arsenal, how the pitch comes along will have a great impact on his status in the draft or in college either as a starter with four pitches or a two-pitch reliever out of the ‘pen. Bauerschmidt throws two different fastballs from an average release height, a four-seam and a sinker. On the sinker, he is able to kill IVB and maximize run on the pitch, allowing it to pair particularly well alongside his sweeping slider. The sinker arguably has a higher ceiling than the four-seam, once he garners more feel for the pitch it may give Bauerschmidt another average to above-average offering. The breaking ball for Bauerschmidt is his bread and butter, and he’s working on being able to manipulate the shape at will. Bauerschmidt has flashed the ability to throw a true sweeper and a hammer breaking ball both in the upper-70s.

Auden Pankonin RHP / River Falls, WI / 2025 Pankonin was a highly regarded pitching prospect in our state for the past few years, and he was set to be invited to the 2023 Prep Baseball Future Games until a poorly timed injury prevented him from earning a place on Team Wisconsin. Outside of that small window in the late summer last year, he’s been healthy and thriving for his high school and travel club. Still uncommitted at the start of this past summer, Pankonin earned a place on the first-ever Team Midwest roster for the inaugural Senior Future Games in late July. He went on to perform as one of the event’s top overall right-handers down in Georgia. The River Falls righty stands at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, inside of a frame that isn’t finished developing physically. Pankonin has a fluid and continuous arm action with considerable arm speed and whip through release, only adding to the intrigue. Metrically, Pankonin does a lot of interesting things naturally that complement his arsenal. He throws from a lower slot that helps the fastball create different angles due to its 5.3-foot release height, on top of its true two-seam shape that spins at over 2,500 rpm on average. At the Senior Future Games, he ran his fastball up to 92.6 mph, which was the firmest we had ever seen him to this point, and the fastball should continue to tick up as he physically matures. Usually operating with three pitches, Pankonin went to his slider as his go-to secondary offering, playing more like a cutter, Pankonin throws the pitch in the low-80s, up to 84 mph. His changeup has shown potential in the past, sitting in the low-80s with late bore and run.

THE FUTURE NO. 1?

Whether it’s in July, or in July of 2028, Wisconsin has even more MLB Draft-caliber right-handed pitchers operating across the entire state. With that being said, none have more buzz than the mult-sport star from western Wisconsin: Cooper Jesperson (Eau Claire Memorial; uncommitted).

Jesperson has split his efforts between basketball and baseball throughout his prep career, both during the school year and in the summer. An injury to his non-throwing arm put Jesperson on the shelf for most of 2024, reappearing at the Northern Wisconsin Fall ID on Oct. 20 where he made national waves. In De Pere, he broke out in impressive fashion during his ‘pen, flaunting an electric four-pitch mix. The four-seamer reached a 94.7 mph high last month, operating in the low-90s throughout, playing with life out of the hand, aided by 5.2-foot average release height. His sinker flashed heavy running action but the fastballs blended together on ocasion, developing greater feel of both pitches will aide in their effectiveness.

And yet, it’s the secondaries that are the separators here. He wields a sweeping slider and a changeup that each project to perform at even the highest level of the game. The slider sits in the upper-70s (79.9 mph max) while averaging 1.2 inches of IVB and -20.1 inches of sweep. On average, the breaking ball plays like a sweeper, and one that is better than the current average MLB sweeper, based on this bullpen alone anyway. The upper-70s offering (T79.9 mph) has an IVB of 1.2 inches on average, with -20.1 inches of sweep. The MLB average of this pitch is 82.2 mph, 1.6 inches of IVB, and -14.2 inches of horizontal break. In short, Jesperson throws his breaking ball slower but kills more IVB on average while adding nearly six inches of sweep compared to the average.

The mid-70s changeup has an average IVB of 10.9 inches, and 17.7 inches of run. On shape alone, the pitch is similar to Jacob Webb of the Orioles, though Webb’s is thrown much harder albeit. On average Webb’s changeup has 9.5 inches of IVB and 17.9 inches of run.

Added velocity to the changeup and a healthy spring season could boost Jesperson right into a selection inside of the 2025 MLB Draft.

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MORE MLB DRAFT FOLLOWS

+ Sawyer Deering (Kimberly; Tennessee) committed to the Volunteers a few months after turning heads at the 2023 Future Games. It was at the event in Georgia that he reached 91.1 mph with up to 21 inches of IVB from a 5.5-foot release height. His hammer, upper-70s curveball averaged over 2,800 rpm, and he liked proving that his changeup was a swing-and-miss pitch too. Though the curve was one of the best breaking balls of the event, and he trusts it completely. On top of the arm talent and stuff Deering possesses, he’s earned a reputation as one of the most competitive arms in Wisconsin as well, and we’ve seen it first-hand. He operated as the ace of Kimberly’s staff as just a sophomore, and the group was one of the state’s best rotations too. And all the while, he led the state in home runs this past year as well, proving that he’s dangerous with or without the ball in his right hand.

The two pitches give Deering a substantial floor, and he continued to grow into more and more velocity at a faster rate than we anticipated before going down this late spring with an injury. Even still, it’s tough to count out the 5-foot-11 righty, even as he rehabs from injury this offseason.

+ Dylan Campeau (Greendale; Florida SouthWestern JC) is a recent Florida JUCO commit with a physical 6-foot-2, 232-pound build. Campeau battled some injuries earlier in his prep career, but he thrived throughout 2024 and he bloomed into one of the state’s top uncommitted arms by the time he attended the Senior Future Games, teaming up with a few names on this same list. It's a potenial power arsenal, reaching a 91.7 mph high down in Georgia in July, and he gets to his velocity from a low-effort delivery, due in part to that prototypical starter’s frame. Add in an upper-70s breaking ball with bite and a deceptive circle change and Campeau has the ingredients to become a dependable college starter, and beyond.

+ Cameron St. John (Appleton West; Campbell) is one of four right-handers on this list who represented our state on Team Upper Midwest at the inaugural Senior Future Games. However, unlike the others on this list, St. John doesn’t have as extensive a track record as his peers but he makes up for that in exceptional physicality, listed at a pretty athletic 6-foot-4, 228 pounds. He prioritized pitching in 2024 for the first time and he flashed pro-level upside, reaching a 94.5 mph max down in Georgia.

As you might expect, his newness to the mound and max effort approach have led to some issues in strike-throwing, but he still has some traits that no one else in this class possesses. He also recorded the highest max EV (102.9 mph) in batting practice among Senior Future Gamers, for what it’s worth – and that’s actually a couple ticks short of two balls he hit in 2023 at our events, at 105.0 and 104.6, respectively.

+ Jaxon Clayton (Brookfield Central; BYU) made gains in 2024, maximizing on his standout athleticism, flashing velo more often, sitting in the upper-80s and even touching a 90.2 mph max back in March. He has several interesting offspeed offerings, though his go-to as it stands is a top-down breaking ball that does have some hammer traits to it. Clayton’s curve can spin at over 2,700 rpm, with depth and sweep, at 70-73 mph that he lands in and around the zone with confidence. The long levers, athleticism, and 6-foot-1 stature make it easy to envision a future in which Clayton keeps climbing into a pro prospect, if not now, then in college.

+ Jack Roventini (Arrowhead; Chandler-Gilbert JC) is the fourth member of this list who attended the Senior Future Games in July, and he earned a sizable jump from No. 33 to 18 overall in the state rankings since the spring. Roventini is an athletic mover on the mound and he creates above-average extension (6.7 feet), especially for a player his age. Listed at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, the Arrowhead senior sat in the upper-80s in most of our looks this year, though did climb to 91.3 mph in the heat of the summer at SFGs. Roventini’s best secondary is his slider, 75-79 mph, which sweeps around 15 inches on average, and he relies on it comfortably.  

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