Wisconsin Baseball Central
Legion Baseball Week 1 Power Rankings
Every week during the season, we will post our power rankings for the top 10 American Legion baseball teams in Wisconsin. Teams are ranked regardless of what Class they are in. The top 10 is selected based on a number of factors, including record, strength of schedule, and overall team talent. Our week one power rankings are below.
Honorable Mentions
Waupun Post 210 (6-0)
Kewaunee County (6-0)
Onalaska Post 336 (10-6)
Altoona (9-3)
Beaver Dam Post 146 (2-0)
West Salem Post 51
10. Marinette
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​Marinette is 9-4 this summer, and they fared well in tournament action in Escanaba (Mich.) over the weekend. They’ve got some of the top players from Marinette, Coleman and Crivitz on their roster. Wisconsin Baseball Central Pitcher of the Year finalist Matt Osterberg (11-1, 0.65 ERA) is on the pitching staff, along with Coleman No. 2 Austin Marquardt (6-1, 1.57 ERA), Crivitz ace Tommy Sawinski and young Marinette hurler Trey Bretl. That strong pitching has shown itself early on in the season. Marinette split two games with No. 7 De Pere recently, winning one game 1-0 and losing the other by the same score. Bretl struck out eight and allowed just one run in a win over Pulaski on June 21. They have games against Green Bay Southwest and Bay Port this week before hosting their annual Firecracker tournament over the weekend.
9. Superior Reds
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​The Reds qualified for the Class AA state tournament last year, and they’re building off that this year. They are off to a 10-3 start to the summer. Most recently, they went 3-1 in the Lakeview Classic tournament in Duluth (Minn.). They’ve beaten a number of teams this summer, most of which are from Minnesota.
8. Marshfield Blue Devils
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​The Blue Devils are 5-1 this summer, and have a talented squad of players from central Wisconsin. Pittsville’s Jacob Neve (.432 average, 1.20 ERA), the Panthers’ best player, plays for Marshfield. They’ll also have talent from Marshfield High School. Jake Brueggen (.313 average in conference play), Ryan Krueger (.286) and Jared Klein (.262) join from the Tigers. Greenwood standout Walker Wuetrich (average over .300) also plays for the Blue Devils. Marshfield has fielded very competitive teams over the last few years, and this season looks to be no different.
7. De Pere
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​As seems to be the case every year, there’s a lot to like about De Pere this summer. Both De Pere and West De Pere had successful spring seasons, and their merged efforts this Legion season have led to a 10-4 start to the year. They’ve got West De Pere ace Cole Nelson and sluggers Matt McNabb and Kyle Kosobucki on the roster, as well as De Pere all-conference picks Lucas Reynolds (.394 average, 10 extra-base hits), Matt Freeman and Jordan Zimmerman. They will face Bay Port this Tuesday before playing in a tournament in Kimberly over the weekend.
6. Eau Claire Post 53
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​Eau Claire has a deep and talented roster, and is off to a 6-2 start to the season. Eau Claire area high schools had tons of success this year, and Post 53 has some of the best players from those teams. They have two finalists for our Pitcher of the Year award—Eau Claire North’s Tanner Halvorson (11-1, 1.03 ERA) and Immanuel Lutheran’s Levi Schaller (10-1, 0.60 ERA, 157 strikeouts). If two of the top pitchers in the state isn’t enough, they’ve got more. Regis’s Paul Petit (5-2, 1.89 ERA) and Elk Mound’s Trey Mohr (8-4, 2.19 ERA) and Ethan Kjellberg (7-2, 2.51 ERA) are in the mix, too. At the plate, they have top performers like Eau Claire North’s Zac Stange (.395 average), Regis’s Jaxon Kostka (.493) and Eau Claire Memorial’s Adam Krajewski (.392). Halvorson, Schaller, Petit, Mohr and Kjellberg all had good springs at the plate as well.
5. Beloit
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Beloit probably has lofty expectations for this summer, and for very good reason. They finished as Class AAA state runner-up last year and won a game at the American Legion Great Lakes Regional. This spring, both Beloit Memorial and Beloit Turner made it to the WIAA state tournament. They’ll have some (but not all) of the top players from those teams on their roster. Memorial ace Miguel Betancourt (6-2, 1.87 ERA), first baseman Drew Freitag (.424 average), outfielder Matt Elliott (.342) and catcher Steven Makinen (.258) are all on the Legion roster. The same goes for Turner catcher Ethan Burns (.414), infielder Sam Behm (average above .300) and pitcher Hunter Martindale (9-2, 1.70 ERA). They also got former prep standouts Kevin Raisbeck and Nate Loomis back. So yeah, it should be a fun summer for Beloit. They’ve got No. 3 Oshkosh and No. 4 Janesville on the schedule this week, among others.
4. Janesville Post 205
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​Post 205 is 7-2 this summer and just won the Verona Invitational over the weekend. They don’t have quite the talent that they’ve had in the past few years (when they were absolutely loaded), but they have five players who earned all-conference honors this spring. First team all-Big Eight infielder Austin Kraus, second team infielder Sam Nemetz and outfielder Sam Garvoille, and honorable mention outfielders Caleb White and Jaydn Ellis all bring momentum over from solid high school seasons. Post 205 has already played No. 5 Beloit twice this year, splitting the series so far. They will face them a third time this Tuesday.
3. Oshkosh
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​Oshkosh is unbeaten at 7-0 this summer. Oshkosh North and Oshkosh West both had strong spring seasons this year, so that’s not much of a surprise. From North, they have top hitters Kyle Waller (.368 average, seven extra-base hits) and Nathan Noe (.345) as well as ace Josh Leib (5-0, 1.63 ERA). Things are just as good coming from West with players like Carter Footit (.380) and Michael McBriar (4-2, 1.24 ERA). In their latest game, Oshkosh beat defending Class AA state champion Menasha 7-4.
2. Madison Impact
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​The two-time defending state champions look to be one of the top teams in the state again this summer. The Impact are 7-2 so far this season, and have done well in tournament action. They won a tournament in La Crosse two weekends ago, and finished as runner-up to No. 1 Fond du Lac in Sheboygan last weekend. Per usual, their roster is like an all-star team from the Madison area. They’ll have some top contributors from Division 1 state runner-up Sun Prairie, including shortstop Walker Jenkins (.365 batting average this spring) and ace Taylor Middaugh (0.93 ERA). Madison La Follette’s Lucas Trebian (.333 average, nine extra-base hits), Columbus’s Eliot Turnquist (.340), Lodi’s Cody Matush (first team all-conference utility player) and Lake Mills’ Jacob Anhalt (honorable mention all-conference pitcher) are some the Impact’s other prep talent. They’ve also got a good crop of college players returning for the summer. They will face Waupun, who is 6-0 and coming off a run to the Division 2 state championship game this spring, this Wednesday. Then they’ll head to Rochester (Minn.) for tournament action over the weekend.
1. Fond du Lac Post 75
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​Fond du Lac checks in at No. 1 in the first rankings of the season. Post 75 is 11-0 this summer and is fresh off a tournament win in Sheboygan last weekend. They beat No. 2 Madison in the championship game. That makes them 2-0 against defending state champions this year—they defeated reigning Class AA champ Menasha on June 17. Their roster has five players who earned all-Fox Valley Association honors this spring, including Wisconsin Baseball Central Pitcher of the Year finalist Austin Wagner. They also have New Holstein 2016 grad Josh Burg, who was one of the top hitters on a state tournament team last year. Looking ahead, Fond du Lac has games against Hortonville, Neenah and New London this week. Then they’ll travel to Rochester (Minn.) over the weekend for tournament action.
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