Preseason Power 25: No. 6 Sun Prairie

March 21, 2017

The Wisconsin high school season kicks off on March 28, the first day for regular season games. Most teams will begin practicing on March 20, getting their rosters set and finalizing their lineups.

Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we will be rolling out team previews of high school teams all across the state and across all classifications, eventually launching our Preseason Power 25.

We have been sending out our annual Preseason Questionnaire to coaches all across the state and as the responses flood in we will bring you a snapshot of what to expect along with top players and keys to success for that particular team. If you don’t see your team’s season preview make sure your head coach fills out his Preseason Questionnaire.

Team: Sun Prairie
Preseason Rank: 6
2016 Record: 23-6
Conference: Big Eight
WIAA Division: 1
Head Coach: Rob Hamilton
Playoff Run: Sectional Champions
2016 Final Rank: 8
Returning Starters: 4
Returning Pitchers: 2

TOP PLAYERS

Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
Ben Hauser	WI	Sun Prairie	2017	OF/RHP	Air Force
Walker Jenkins	WI	Sun Prairie	2017	SS/RHP	Madison College
Ty Hamilton	WI	Sun Prairie	2018	C
Alex Oakley	WI	Sun Prairie	2018	RHP/OF
Taylor Jansen	WI	Sun Prairie	2018	RHP
Luke DePrey	WI	Sun Prairie	2018	LHP
Carson Holin	WI	Sun Prairie	2018	OF/LHP

X-FACTOR

SS/RHP Walker Jenkins will be pull double duty for the Cardinals again in 2017. Last year Jenkins started at shortstop and hit .390, while posting a 5-0 record with a 1.86 ERA on the mound. Jenkins, a Madison College commit, best tool is his arm strength, he is 90 mph across the infield and has topped out at 87 mph on the mound.

STAT RAT

.782: The winning percentage Sun Prairie coach Rob Hamilton has achieved in his career, as he enters his 17^th season at the helm of the Cardinals. Hamilton has won five state titles at Sun Prairie and has only had one losing season in his tenure.

OUTLOOK

The Cardinals only bring back four starters and two pitchers from a team that made it to state. Despite losing a lot the Cardinals have a lot of players that will step up from the JV squad that went 20-3 last year. Junior RHP Taylor Jansen will jump into the rotation and Carson Holin will contribute on the mound and in the outfield. Air Force commit Ben Hauser hit .341 last year and went 4-1 on the mound with a 2.93 and will be the ace of the staff this year. Alex Oakley saw time on varsity last year and hit .283. The Cardinals compete every year behind Coach Hamilton, who has only had one losing season. This year will be no different as the Cardinals bring back a pair of committed seniors to go along with payers from a successful JV team.