Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 18 Eau Claire North

You wonder if 2017 represented Eau Claire North’s best chance yet at a state championship.

They had a ton of great pieces, including Wisconsin’s player of the year Tanner Halvorsen, and fellow first-teamer Zac Stange. Stange is playing baseball at Winona State these days and Halvorsen’s at Indian Hills Community College, but they were complemented by a strong junior class led by 3B/RHP Ryan Venne (Lindenwood, MO) and OF Jaelin Williams (Waubonsee CC). Venne hit .371 last year even while dealing with some injuries, and Williams hit .438.

The Huskies went 22-3, won their conference for a second straight year, and earned a sectional championship before falling to the eventual Division-1 champs in the state semis, Kimberly, 2-1. They graduated seven seniors at the conclusion of the 2017 season.

Headed into this spring, Venne and Williams are two returning all-conference picks -- Venne was a second-teamer and Williams was a first. The pair is on our radar, too. Venne is the No. 4-ranked third baseman in his state’s class and Williams is the No. 10-ranked outfielder.  They’re far and away the most talented hitters on the Huskies, and they’ll almost be exclusively relied upon offensively until Coach Bob Johnson is able to unlock the right combination of juniors and returning seniors to fill the rest of his lineup. The first baseman, Hanson, is slated for a magnified role, as mentioned above, but he’ll also be flanked in the lineup by returning seniors C Tyler Greenlund, SS Jack Kron, and utilityman Jeffrey Pippenger. Those three scuffled at time offensively as juniors, but any sort of collective improvement they’ve made over the offseason will help facilitate a more balanced -- and dangerous -- lineup with two next-level bats up top.

The injuries Venne battled last season didn’t affect his results much, either in the box or on the mound; he was 4-0 with a 0.83 ERA as a starter. Typically, the Huskies relied on their ace Halvorsen for their biggest games last spring, but as it worked out, Venne was the one who started their state semifinal meeting with the Papermakers. With Halvorsen graduated, Venne is going to be this team’s No. 1. But it’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the rotation forms. Again, Hanson is a sensible pick for No. 2, but it’s a legitimate question where North is going to find its wins on the mound beyond those two.