Wisconsin Baseball Central
Week 1 Power Rankings
Each Sunday during the season, we will release power rankings of the top 15 teams in Wisconsin. Our power rankings are selected by Wisconsin Baseball Central staff based on a number of factors, including record, strength of schedule, and overall team performance. Teams are ranked regardless of what Division they are in. Our week one power rankings are below.
Honorable Mentions
Beloit Turner
Coleman
Eau Claire Memorial
Chippewa Falls
15. Luxemburg-Casco
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The Spartans have been off to a blistering start to the season. They’re 5-1, and have scored an average of 10 runs per game, while allowing an average of just 2.2 runs to score against them. Overall, they have outscored teams 60-13 this spring. They have two games against Wrightstown on the schedule this week.
14. Whitewater
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The Whippets started off the season with a bang, defeating Beloit Turner (the top-ranked team in Division 2 in the preseason) 4-3. After that, they’ve won three blowouts to push their record to 4-0 this spring. They’re outscoring opponents 48-6 so far. Ace pitcher Jason Curtis has already tallied a couple of wins on the mound. They’ve got one game against Lakeside Lutheran and two against Edgerton this week.
13. Westosha Central
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​The Falcons are 1-1 this season. They took their first loss of the season on Saturday, when they were beaten 10-0 by No. 2 Kenosha Indian Trail. They will have a chance to bounce back on Monday, when they face Racine Horlick. After that, they’ve got a tough two game series against No. 6 Burlington, the defending state champion.
12. Hortonville
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​The Polar Bears are 5-0 to begin the season. They’ve won a series of close games against both conference and non-conference teams. Apart from a 12-1 win over Ashwaubenon on Friday, all of their games have been decided by three runs or fewer. They’ve got games against Fond du Lac, Oshkosh North and Menasha this week.
11. Jefferson
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​Jefferson has cruised to a 3-0 start this spring. The Eagles have outscored their opponents 37-4, and Cam Anfang tossed a no-hitter in their season opener. The Rock Valley North Conference looks primed to be a fight between Jefferson and No. 14 Whitewater. The Eagles will face East Troy twice this week before playing Fort Atkinson on Saturday.
10. Arrowhead
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​The Warhawks are 1-1 on the season, following a series split with No. 9 Oconomowoc last week. The Raccoons won the first game of the series, which gave the Warhawks their first Wisconsin Little Ten loss since they joined the conference in 2015. Arrowhead recovered with a win over Oconomowoc on Friday to settle the score. They have a two game conference series next week against Hartford.
9. Oconomowoc
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​The Raccoons narrowly edge out Arrowhead in this week’s rankings. The two split their series this week, but Oconomowoc outscored the Warhawks 7-3 in the two games, so they get the nod here. The Raccoons are now 2-1 this year. They have two games against Catholic Memorial during the week, and a round robin against Merrill and Pulaski on Saturday.
8. Green Bay Preble
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​The Hornets have only played one game so far this season—a 12-2 thrashing of Ashwaubenon. The offense is one of the question marks about this team, but it showed promise in the first game of the year. On the mound, the Hornets are loaded with college commits. With perennial Fox River Classic Conference contender Bay Port limping to a 0-3 start to the year, Preble looks to be the strong favorite in the conference early on. They will play Gladstone (Mich.) at home on Monday before playing a two game series against De Pere (who just beat Stevens Point over the weekend) later in the week.
7. Wausau West
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​The Warriors spent much of the early season playing in South Carolina. Back on Wisconsin turf, they’re 1-0. They defeated non-conference foe Bay Port on Friday, 5-2. That set them up for a big Wisconsin Valley Conference series this week, when they’ll play two games against fellow contender Stevens Point. If either team can pull off a sweep, it could end up going a long way toward a conference title.
6. Burlington
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​The defending Division 1 state champions have not played yet this season, but they’ll be tested in a big way in their first game on Monday. The Demons will square off with No. 2 Kenosha Indian Trail, which is about as tough of an opening matchup as could be asked for. Things won’t get much easier after that, as they’ve got a two game series against No. 13 Westosha Central to be played on Tuesday and Thursday.
5. Kimberly
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​The Papermakers went 1-2 on a trip to Chicago over the weekend, where they faced some of the top teams in Illinois. They beat Brother Rice, a team loaded with Division 1 prospects and ranked fifth in Illinois by Prep Baseball Report, 4-1 on Friday. They lost to Marist (ranked just outside the top 25) on Saturday, 4-3. On Sunday they got shutout by St. Rita (ranked No. 11), 5-0. The results don’t hurt them much in the rankings though, given the relative strength of their opponents. They will face teams from Wisconsin for the first time this week when they play Oshkosh North on Tuesday and Appleton East on Thursday.
4. Sun Prairie
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​The Cardinals are off to a 4-0 start to the spring and look to be continuing their program’s tradition of success. They’ve beaten non-conference foes Waunakee and Antigo, as well as Big Eight opponents Madison East and Middleton. They have a brutal strength of schedule this year, and their first matchup with top-ranked Janesville Craig awaits on Tuesday. Either Sun Prairie or Janesville Craig has won the conference title every year since 2009, and Tuesday’s game may serve as an early barometer for who has the edge this spring.
3. Eau Claire North
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​The Huskies are off to a fast 5-0 start to the year. They have only played one game that has been decided by less than 10 runs so far. Their offense is averaging 10.6 runs per game this season, and their pitching staff has allowed just four runs total in five games. Zac Stange’s bat has been hot at the top of the lineup, and Tanner Halvorson already has a couple of wins on the mound. They’ve got two games this week, both against Marshfield in a doubleheader on Thursday.
2. Kenosha Indian Trail
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​The Hawks have only played one game this season, but they certainly made it count. They beat No. 13 Westosha Central 10-0 on Saturday behind a four inning, 10 strikeout performance from Auburn commit Ryan Hoerter on the mound. There is little chance for rest after Saturday’s game, as they’ve got another big matchup on Monday against defending state champ and No. 6-ranked Burlington. They’ll wrap up the week with two games against Racine Park.
1. Janesville Craig
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​The Cougars are 2-0 on the young season following a 9-0 win over Milton and an 11-1 victory over Madison La Follette. Few teams can rival the collection of talent that Craig has. The Cougars have four Division 1 commits on their team, and the potential for more to follow. They have three games on the schedule this week. On Tuesday they’ll face No. 4 Sun Prairie in a big-time conference matchup. They’ll also play Middleton on Thursday and crosstown rival Janesville Parker on Saturday.
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