Wisconsin Class of 2024 Rankings: Newcomers
November 17, 2023
As the fall comes to an end and the 2024 class heads into their senior campaigns, we take a look at the newcomers in the state’s 2024 rankings.
Earlier this week, our staff officially updated our 2024 board, highlighting several of the state’s top prospects within our release. You can find that by clicking HERE. We followed that up with a piece in which we highlighted the prospects making seismic jumps up our board in our ‘Risers’ story, which can be found HERE.
We'll dive deeper into the rankings themselves today, shining light on a handful of players that earned a spot on our board after showing well to our staff. Below you'll learn more about these names that are trending upward as the offseason is set to start.
NEWCOMERS IN THE TOP-200
+ After popping at our Fall Championships at Rock, RHP Sean Dooley (Palmyra-Eagle, 2024) is the highest ‘Newcomer’ on this list, slotting in at No. 123, respectively. During the final day of the tournament, Dooley ran his fastball up to 87 mph, while sitting in the low-to-mid-80s throughout, from an easy and athletic delivery. While he didn’t need it much, Dooley did flash a sharp slider too. It was an eye opening look at Dooley and he now firmly inserts himself as an uncommitted name-to-know inside of the state’s senior class.
Sean Dooley (9/24/23)
+ RHP/C Carter Lund (Cambridge, 2024; Madison JC commit) Here’s a report from the The Rock Fall Championships: Takeaways “...had an upside look in the night cap of Saturday’s slate of action, rushing his fastball up to 86 mph. Over his two innings of work, Lund struck out four batters and didn’t allow a hit, maintaining his momentum after a strong spring and summer. In addition to a fastball that sat in the mid-80s with carry, Lund showcased a quality breaking ball that was thrown for strikes and used as an out-pitch.”
Carter Lund (9/23/23)
+ RHP Drayton Lou (Janesville Craig, 2024; St. Cloud State commit) was another name who popped at our annual Fall Championships at The Rock. There, the 6-foot, 175-pound right-hander ran his fastball up to 84 mph while sitting in the low-80s throughout. He also went to a mid-60s curveball and a low-70s slider that both earned swings-and-misses, too. Just recently, Lou announced his commitment to St. Cloud State to cap off his successful 2023 campaign.
+ This winter, RHP Grant Schroeder (Denmark, 2024; Rock Valley commit) came onto the scene at the annual Green Bay Preseason ID after putting together a high-upside ‘pen. Listed at long 6-foot-2, 160-pounds, Schroeder ran his fastball up to 82 mph from an athletic delivery. As for his offspeeds, his curveball featured short 11/5 action in the 68-72 mph range and his slider played with depth, sitting 70-72 mph.
+ RHP Jacob Riddick (Ripon, 2024) Here’s a report from the Eastern Wisconsin Open: Quick Hits “...stands at a strong 6-foot-2, 192-pound frame, and showed well at his first showcase of his prep career. It started at the plate for Riddick, where the batter primarily used an opposite-field approach to drive the baseball. A direct bat path allowed him to remain consistent in his session, projecting well in the near future. On the mound, Riddick separated himself as a standout arm, beginning with an 84 mph fastball. The lively fastball was complemented by a curveball and changeup to complete his arsenal. Riddick featured an 11/5 shape with the curveball, remaining in the zone while presenting some depth. The same could be said about the changeup, where the pitch sat in the bottom of the zone and was located effectively throughout. He finished off the day with a clean round of defense in the outfield, maxing out at 79 mph on his throws, providing efficient routes and an over-the-top arm motion. Riddick departed Sheboygan as a winner of the event, priming himself for a quality fall and offseason.”
Jacob Riddick (8/21/23)
+ RHP Payton Kaiser (New Berlin West, 2024; Rock Valley commit) is an upside 6-foot-3, 180-pounds and he too popped during the winter circuit earlier this year. At the Milwaukee Preseason ID, Kaiser showed off a low-80s fastball that topped at 82 mph. His curveball played in the high-60s with 11/5 action and depth, flashing out-pitch potential. He also showed off a fading changeup that he flashed feel for in the mid-70s. While Kaiser is still a raw prospect, the ceiling is high for the Rock Valley JC commit and he now finds himself making his rankings debut at No. 182.
+ RHP Tyler Sachen (Campbellsport, 2024) like the aforementioned Kaiser, Sachen came away from the Milwaukee Preseason ID as a winner. At a strong 5-foot-10, 175-pounds, Sachen is an athletic mover on the bump with power down the mound and in our looks has been up to 84 mph with his fastball. As for his offspeeds, his breaking ball has featured over 2,300 RPM on average and plays with sharp 11/5 action. He rounds out his three-pitch mix with a low-70s changeup that he effectively kills spin on.
+ RHP Bo Anderson (Hortonville, 2024) Here’s a report from the PBRT Wisconsin Open: Takeaways “...Showed impressive athleticism on the mound, standing at a physical 6-foot-1, 230-pound frame. Fluid, repeatable delivery that offered deception at times. Dominated in his start, tallying 11 strikeouts in a complete-game shutout. Fastball sat 80-83 T84 mph and was used to attack hitters early in the count. Played off the fastball with a sharp, low-70s curveball as an out-pitch that was thrown at arm speed and kept hitters guessing.”
UPSIDE ARMS
+ RHP/3B Cashton Jones (Madison Memorial, 2024) Here’s a report from the South Milwaukee Preseason ID: Quick Hits “...showed to be an interesting two-way prospect at the event on Sunday. Standing at a strong 6-foot-1, 200-pounds, Jones showed well on the mound, specifically. Out of a high ¾ slot, he showed a fastball that sat 81-84 mph (84.7 mph max) with life out of the hand. He showed three offspeed pitches; a curveball that showed 11/5 shape with quality spin (2,361 rpm average), a slider that flashed 10/4 sharp action, and a changeup with slight fade to the arm side. Defensively, he showed off his strong arm with accurate throws across the diamond that reached a max velocity of 83 mph. During batting practice, Jones had a flat bat path and used the whole field, and he registered a max exit velocity of 88.3 mph.”
+ RHP/3B Logan Kurth (Coleman, 2024; College of Lake County commit) is a strong bodied arm that is making his rankings debut in this update, coming in at No. 206. Kurth features a fastball that, in our looks, sits in the low-to-mid-80s from a simple and easy delivery. He pairs it with a quality breaking ball and a changeup which complements his arsenal as a whole, too.
+ RHP Lawson Hink (Brookfield Central, 2024) Here’s a report from the Eastern Wisconsin Open: Quick Hits “...is a high-waisted 6-foot-4, 170-pounds and he presented a high-upside look during his ‘pen at Wildwood. Out of an up-tempo delivery, Hink reached highs of 82.5 mph with his fastball and sat in the 77-82 mph range. He also spun in two breaking balls, a curveball with sharp 10/4 action and a slider that is still developing. He rounded out his four-pitch mix with a knuckleball with downer action at the bottom part of the zone.”
Lawson Hink (8/21/23)
+ LHP Alex Vogt (Burlington Catholic Central, 2024) Here’s a report from the South Milwaukee Preseason ID: Quick Hits “...Vogt is an interesting uncommitted left-handed pitching prospect in the state. Vogt stands 6-foot, 210 pounds with strength throughout. Vogt showed late run and sink to the fastball topping out at 83 mph and a changeup with late depth and fade at 68 mph. He can also land a sweeping breaking ball for strikes giving him a quality three pitch mix.”
+ RHP Kael Johns (Catholic Memorial, 2024) Here’s a report from the PBRT The Rock Open: Takeaways “...In our nightcap Johns tossed a complete game shutout. Standing at 6-foot-2, 187-pounds Johns is a fluid mover down the mound with feel for the zone. Mostly relied on fastballs, 80-82 T84, in this look, Johns also spun a low-70s curveball that he was able to locate in the zone for strikes.”
POSITION PLAYERS TO KNOW
+ C/1B Jack Nikolay (De Pere, 2024) is an uncommitted name to know on this list, and he makes his debut at No. 195. This winter, Nikolay came away a winner from the Green Bay Preseason ID where he took a clean round of BP where he averaged an exit velocity of 83.9 mph and maxed at 90 mph from a controlled right-handed swing. His catcher defense round was also impressive as he marked pop-time lows of 2.02 on strong and accurate throws to second.
+ OF William Jensen (Amery, 2024) is a strong 6-foot-1, 200-pound outfielder who is making his rankings debut in this update. At the Western Wisconsin Open this summer, Jensen showed off his power potential as he recorded an exit velocity of 95.8 mph and a max distance of 337 feet, too. In the outfield he is an easy and controlled mover that has the ability to stick in either of the corner spots in the future.
+ Click here to view Wisconsin's Class of 2024 rankings in full.
RELATED CONTENT