Wisconsin Class of 2026 Rankings: Newcomers
December 8, 2023
As the fall comes to an end and the 2026 class heads into their junior campaigns, we take a look at the newcomers in the state’s 2026 rankings.
Earlier this week, our staff officially updated our 2026 board, highlighting several of the state’s top prospects within our release. You can find that by clicking HERE. We followed that up with a piece in which we highlighted the prospects making seismic jumps up our board in our ‘Risers’ story, which can be found HERE.
We'll dive deeper into the rankings themselves today, shining light on a handful of players that earned a spot on our board after showing well to our staff. Below you'll learn more about these names that are trending upward as the offseason is set to start.
TOP-50 DEBUTS
+ C/MIF Jack Brenner (Fond du Lac) is the highest ‘Newcomer’ on this list as he debuts at No. 40 in this rankings update. Brenner is an athletically built backstop who swings a quick right-handed bat. At Creekside for the Midwest Premier Super 15 this summer, Brenner proved to be a name to follow in the class, as he collected a number of barrels while hitting in the heart of his travel teams lineup. Defensively, Brenner is an athletic defender both behind the plate and on the infield. In our looks, Brenner has marked pop-time lows of 2.01 from a quick and clean exchange.
Jack Brenner (7/20/23)
+ INF Jace Mataczynski (Hudson) is an upside 6-foot-2, 165-pound infielder to note in this crop of newcomers to the rankings board. At the plate, Mataczynski sets up with rhythm and swings a direct right-handed bat that already is showing well above average bat-to-ball skills. On the infield, he features clean footwork and up-the-middle actions with a strong arm that has already been up to 85 mph across the infield. The ceiling is high for this young prospect and he now debuts in the top-50 in this rankings update.
+ MIF/RHP Cruz Ramirez (Muskego) From 3/18/23 “...hit with a well-sequenced, centered and balanced swing and drove balls consistently gap to gap. He really opened some eyes with the glove as well with smooth fluid actions and a quick first step in the middle of the infield. He threw the ball 80 mph across the infield with accuracy and carry through the first basemen. Ramirez impressed with his performance on the mound as well. He showcased a clean and repeatable delivery with a quick arm from a three-quarter arm slot getting his fastball up to 79 mph with some arm side run and feel for the zone. His fastball sets up a sharp 11/5 curveball that he can land for strikes and get below the zone for swing and miss and chase. He also features a slider with short quick two plane break that he can land in the zone and get chases on the pitch. Finally his change up rounds out the impressive arsenal with hard running fade at the plate at 71-72 mph.”
UPSIDE OFFENSE
+ 1B/C Jack Butler (Waterford Union) From 6/25/23 “...Butler impressed behind the dish and at the plate on Sunday. Behind the dish, Butler shows a strong and accurate arm, soft hands, and ability to block balls in the dirt. At the plate, he went 2-for-3 out of the three-hole with two RBIs, including a double and a triple. Butler is a left-handed hitter who uses the whole-field with line drives and is a bat to continue to follow the rest of the tournament.”
+ MIF Ethan Karaszewski (Wauwatosa East) From 3/18/23 “...is an interesting middle infield prospect who flashed tools and skill on both defense and with the bat. Karaszewski stands 5-foot-10, 152 pounds with fill and strength coming to his already athletic build. He displayed what scouts call “Hitter’s Hands” during batting practice with a loose, rhythmic and whippy swing that creates bat speed and consistent line drive contact out front. On defense, Karaszewski showcased fluid actions and soft hands in the middle infield.”
+ OF/CIF Jimmy Angle (Kettle Moraine) From 10/14/23 “...is 6-foot, 179-pounds with strength throughout his athletic frame with long levers. He hits from an upright and balanced set up, flowing into a well-sequenced swing in which he uses his lower half to drive his swing. He has a loose and repeatable swing and consistently showed the ability to barrel up balls through the middle of the field. He flashed the ability to drive a ball 326 feet, showing off his raw power.”
Jimmy Angle (10/14/23)
DEBUTING ATHLETES
+ OF Adam Morrell (Hortonville) is an athletic outfielder in the state’s 2026 class. Built at a lean 6-foot, 185-pounds, Morrell has logged 60-times as low as 6.90 and has reached a top speed of 19.7 mph, both of which are notable metrics. Offensively, he swings a quick and simple right-handed bat that is capable of spraying line drives to all parts of the field. As he continues to develop, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more pop shortly follow. Morrell is certainly an intriguing prospect in the state’s sophomore class and will be someone to closely monitor heading into the new year.
+ OF Nolan Schmidbauer (Waukesha West) From 9/16/23 “...is an athletic member of the state’s sophomore class and he was all over the barrel across a couple of looks this weekend. Schmidbauer features a quick right-handed swing which flashed some power potential throughout the tournament, highlighted by a deep triple to his pullside during Saturday’s action. In the outfield, his twitchy athleticism makes him a suitable option anywhere in the outfield.”
Nolan Schmidbauer (9/16/23)
+ INF Hudson Burg (Fond du Lac) From 10/14/23 “...is a strong and sturdy 5-foot-8, 175 pounds. Hudson is a polished player with a consistent and repeatable swing. He hits with a loose and fluid swing and consistently delivers the barrel with leverage hitting line drives to all fields. Burg has middle of the diamond actions and should be able to stick on the dirt long term.”
Hudson Burg (10/14/23)
INTRIGUING ARMS
+ RHP Jonathan Urban (Wauwatosa West) From 3/18/23 “...is listed at a well proportioned and athletic 6-foot, 170-pounds. On the mound, he showed athleticism with a fastball that sat 78-81 mph with quality spin (2,143 avg.) and running action. His slider showed 11/5 actions, and he slightly dropped his arm slot on the pitch. Rounding out his mix, he threw a changeup that flashed fade and depth resulting in 12’ of induced vertical break and 12.1’ of horizontal movement, on average.”
Jonathan Urban (6/2/23)
+ RHP Brady Stelzer (Sun Prairie East) From 9/8/23 “...was a quality contributor for his Sun Prairie East squad, a team that was in our Power 25 rankings for a number of weeks, as just a freshman. Built at a strong 5-foot-9, 170-pounds, Stelzer is armed with a fastball that was in the low-80s across multiple looks this spring. Also, he possesses a low-70s curveball that plays with lateral break and he spins it at an above-average rate, over 2,300 RPM, too. He rounds out his three-pitch mix with a fading changeup in the mid-70s as well. Now entering his sophomore year, Stelzer seems primed to build off of his success that he maintained in 2023.”
+ RHP/OF Brayden Banyai (Madison Memorial) From 9/8/23 “...is a compact framed two-way prospect inside of the state’s sophomore class. The righty is a competitive strike thrower on the mound while also being an athletic and clean mover as well. His loose over the top slot creates some sinking action on his fastball and he also has feel to spin a curveball with depth, too. Offensively, Banyai swings a quick right-handed bat that produces repeated line drive contact to all parts of the field. Overall, Banyai is a confident gamer type and is certainly a young prospect to continue to monitor as he develops throughout his high school days.”
MORE NOTABLE NEWCOMERS
+ OF Jackson Niemiec (Muskego) From 3/18/23 “...showed well in Milwaukee, especially on defense. From the outfield position he showed athletic actions and worked on-line on his throws to home. He featured a loose, quick arm that produced a velocity of 79 mph on throws to home. At the plate, he showed the ability to drive balls to both gaps, and he used his quick hands to produce a max exit velocitY of 83.3 mph.”
+ C Isaiah Ahlberg (Solon Springs) is a compact framed backstop debuting in this update, coming it at No. 63. Ahlberg is a simple and controlled mover at the plate, already having 90-mph pop in his bat. Ahlberg really shines behind the plate as he features a quick and clean transfer on his throws to second. He has produced pop-time lows of 2.01 already, all while being a quiet and advanced receiver. His defensive skill set behind the plate is certainly impressive and if his right-handed bat can continue to trend in the right direction, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ahlberg climb up these ranks.
+ INF/C Nathan Hinek (New Berlin West) swings a simple but aggressive bat from the right-side and debuts in this update because of it. He already has produced 90 mph exit velocities and he has shown an innate feel for the barrel, too. His BLAST metrics also offer a point of interest, as he has reached a max bat speed of 78 mph in our looks, pointing to some power potentially coming soon.