2017 Preseason Showcase Schedule
January 11, 2017
By Matt Huck
Area Scout
Wisconsin’s winter preseason schedule is up and posted and this year we’ve added a new event. In addition to our usual Preseason ID events in Appleton, Caledonia, and Madison we will be heading to the Fielder's Choice Training Academy in Kenosha, WI.
Last season's Preseason circuit featured 20 of the top 25 players in the Class of 2017. Last year's preseason events also included 18 of the 23 players who represented Wisconsin at the 2016 PBR Future Games in Indiana.
Let’s take a look at the upcoming events with a look back at the top prospects from last year.
Unsigned Senior Showcase
Date: January 22
Location: The MAX (McCook, IL)
Details: Open to any Uncommitted 2017 Graduates. Although taking place in Illinois this event has been open to Wisconsin prospects the last three years and have seen several of the states best uncommitted seniors land on college rosters. This event has been sold out every year it has been in existence. Be sure to register before the event, as no walk-ups will be accepted.
Last year’s top commits: RHP Anthony Laughlin (Gibraltar) came in as a relative unknown and walked away as the top overall prospect from the event. Laughlin committed to Hill College in Texas after the event. Rick West (Homestead) to Triton College, Dryden Van Schoyck (DeForest) to UW-Oshkosh, Travis Styer (Brookfield East) to Aurora University, Alexander Prickett (Cedarburg) to Concordia (WI), Tanner Natzke (New Lutheran) to Iowa Wesleyan University and Jon-Anthony Caban (St. Thomas More) to Madison College are a few more commits from the event.
Kenosha Preseason I.D.
Date: January 28
Location: Fielder's Choice Training Academy (Kenosha, WI)
Details: This will be the inaugural Kenosha Preseason I.D.. An every growing area of the state that continues to churn out some high end prospects year after year. This event will give players the opportunity to showcase their stuff in front of our scouting staff, giving us the opportunity to identify top players to follow during the spring season.
Fox Cities Preseason I.D.
Date: February 18
Location: Players Choice of the Fox Cities (Appleton, WI)
Details: This event is open to all graduating classes and will feature some of the top players in the state. Located in Appleton, WI this event takes place in the heart of the Fox Valley Association Conference, which has consistently been one of the top baseball conferences in the state and we’ve seen several of the area’s top players in attendance last year. This event is used to identify and rank top prospects in the state prior to the spring season and give our scouting staff and college coaches the opportunity to identify top players to follow during the spring season.
Last Years Top Prospect Lists: Top Overall Prospects
Milwaukee Preseason I.D.
Date: February 26
Location: Hitters Baseball Academy (Caledonia, WI)
Details: The Milwaukee Preseason I.D. is the longest running PBR showcase in Wisconsin. In 2013 the first Milwaukee Preseason I.D. was held and uncovered some of the top names to come out of the Badger State in recent years. Only freshman then, we uncovered the likes of Gavin Lux, Cyrillo Watson, Dominic Clementi and Ty Weber to name a few. This event is open to all graduating classes and always features some of the top players in the state. This event is used to identify and rank top prospects in the state prior to the spring season. This will give our scouting staff and college coaches the opportunity to identify top players to follow during the spring season.
Last Years Top Prospects: Six of the states top 10 seniors attended this event last year.
Madison Preseason I.D.
Date: March 12
Location: GRB Academy (Madison, WI)
Details: In years past this has typically been our largest Preseason I.D. with well over 100 prospects in attendance last year. Our last Preseason I.D. before the spring season begins, this is the last opportunity for high school prospects to put themselves on the PBR radar prior to the WIAA season. Like all other PBR showcases, this event is used to identify and rank top prospects in the state and gives our scouting staff and college coaches the opportunity to identify top players to follow during the spring season.
Last Years Top Prospects: Several Future Games participants came out of the Madison Preseason I.D. last year. RHP Max Alba (Franklin), OF Ty Olejnik (Hamilton Sussex), RHP Cedric Girard (Oregon), 3B Jarret Fueger (Waunakee), RHP Bryce Konitzer (Mukwonago), C Connor Manthey (Columbus), OF Alan Roden (Middleton), LHP Jacob Schellpfeffer (Mayville) and LHP Eric Torres (Sussex Hamilton) to name a few, most of which are now committed.
