Last month, thousands of high school baseball players across the country signed their National Letters of Intent to lock in their official commitments to their respective schools, with hundreds of these signings hailing from Wisconsin.

Over the next few weeks, we will spend some time highlighting the names from the Badger State that signed their NLI to play baseball at the Division I level. We’ll do so by breaking these names up by conference. Recently, we highlighted prospects that are heading to the ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12.

Today, we'll be looking at the players from Wisconsin that signed to play at schools in the Missouri Valley Conference with videos, scouting reports and more, below. 

ILLINOIS-CHICAGO

Coming off of their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Flames continue their successful run of recruiting in the Badger State with the addition of a pair of arms: RHP Payten Jibben (Oak Creek) and LHP Robert Barrera (Union Grove).

Payten Jibben

From 7/15/23: “"[Jibben] is fresh off a standout junior spring, in which he earned Southeast Conference Player of the Year honors and also made an appearance on our PBR Wisconsin All-State Second Team list, too. On Tuesday, he continued his streak of impressive performances in front of our staff with yet another at this loaded event. Built at an athletic 6-foot-4, 210-pounds with noticeable strength in his lower half, Jibben features a clean and repeatable delivery on the mound. Out of a ¾ slot, Jibben’s fastball topped at 88.8 mph and sat in the 85-87 mph range throughout his outing. He also showed confidence in a pair of developed offspeed pitches, the first being a 11/5 curveball with late bite. The second was a deceptive changeup that played with late depth and fade, averaging nearly a foot of horizontal movement. Jibben has been on a tear throughout the last calendar year or so, and Tuesday was yet another solid showing from arguably the top uncommitted arm in the state."”

Robert Barrera

From 11/16/23: "[Barrera] has continued to trend up inside of this class and now moves up to No. 43 in this update. Listed a sturdy 6-foot-1, 195-pounds, Barrera is an easy moving southpaw that has been up to 89.1 mph in our looks. He pairs that with a tight and short slider in the mid-70s, and a running changeup thrown at arm speed. Barrera has always shown a real feel to pitch and now as more and more velocity is coming from his live arm, he finds himself moving up, yet again."

VALPARAISO

Two prep products from Wisconsin inked their letters of intent to play at Valparaiso: INF Javin Gauthier (De Pere) and OF RJ Thomae (Hartford Union). In our most recent rankings update, each were slotted among the top at their respective position.

Javin Gauthier

From 2/25/23: "We have long known Gauthier to be a top prospect in the state’s ‘24 class and his performance at Green Bay backed that point up even more. It seems like Gauthier has added some more strength since our previous look at him as he now is built at a thicker 6-foot, 193 pounds. Gauthier started his day by running a 7.01 in the 60-yard dash and then followed it up with one of the top rounds of infield defense of the day. While manning the infield Gauthier showcased quality actions, with soft hands that make him a reliable defender. He pairs it with a strong arm that topped at 86 mph on his throws across the diamond, which point to him being able to stick on the left-side of the infield at the next-level. Then during the hitting portion of the event, Gauthier averaged an exit velocity of 89.9 mph, which was the third highest of the event, and his hardest hit ball came off at 94.6. It seems that with each and every look we get at Gauthier he continues to hit the ball for more power which enhances his overall prospect as a middle-of-the-order threat at the next level."

RJ Thomae 

From 3/15/23: "Thomae showed exactly why he is one of the best overall players in the state at the MOSH on Saturday. A 6-foot, 175 pound twitchy athlete, he ran one of the best 60 yard dashes of the day at 6.82 seconds, showing textbook running gait and quick burst out of the blocks. During batting practice, Thomae was all over the barrel with a simple swing that creates backspin line drives to both gaps. It’s easy to see why he puts up such gaudy numbers during game play with the bat speed, the hand speed and the feel for the barrel. He threw the ball 86 mph during the outfield defense portion of the event showcasing a quick and loose arm with a quick release and accuracy. It’s no wonder why he was so coveted during the recruiting process by Valparaiso University."

MISSOURI STATE

This past year, the Bears put together their best season since 2017, amassing 33 wins and finishing second in the conference. Joining them next fall will be Logan Dunn (Wautoma), the state's top-ranked outfielder. 

Logan Dunn

From 11/15/23: "[Dunn] will be moving up a number of spots in the National Rankings after another impressive fall. Dunn’s explosive athleticism affects the game in a multitude of ways, as he is an easy moving defender in the outfield that covers a lot of ground and pairs it with a strong arm that has been up to 91 mph in front of our staff that surely will allow him to stick in center field at the next-level. At the plate, he gets the most out of his strong 6-foot, 185-pound frame to consistently rip line drives all over the field and has the ability to stretch them out for extra bases. This fall, Dunn’s offensive abilities were on full display at The Rock for the Fall Championships, where his quick and loose left-handed swing collected a number of hits with a healthy amount of them coming off some high-end velocity. Dunn has long been one of the state’s top talents and heading into his final prep season, things are no different as he maintains his No. 4 spot in our 2024 rankings board."

BRADLEY

The Braves have recruited well throughout Wisconsin over the last several years, with five different Badger State natives on their 2024 roster. They will be adding INF CJ Trask (Oak Creek), a member of our 2023 WIAA 2nd Team All-State.

CJ Trask

From 9/28/23: "It seems that every time our staff gets a look at INF CJ Trask, he is all over the barrel, and our time at The Rock was no different. To kick off the weekend for Hitters, Trask got off to a hot start as he went 3-for-3, which included a deep double to the left-field wall, and a homerun over the left-center wall. Also, he was a lockdown defender on the infield, with up-the-middle actions and arm strength that will stick on the infield in the long term. Trask is a name who has been on an upwards trajectory for a good chunk of his prep career, and he continued to do more of the same over the weekend.”

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