Wisconsin Class of 2026 Rankings: Risers
December 7, 2023
As the fall comes to a close, we take a look at some of the risers who made names for themselves in the 2026 rankings.
Yesterday, our staff officially updated the rankings for the 2026 class, highlighting several of the state’s top prospects within our release. You can find that by clicking HERE.
We’ll dive deeper into the rankings themselves today, spotlighting a handful of players that earned a rise up our board after showing well to our staff. Below, you’ll learn more about these names that are trending upward as the fall is set to start.
RISING BATS
+ OF Luke Schaning (Nathan Hale) is a physically advanced 6-foot-1, 190-pounds and he is making a slight jump up this board. Schaning’s inherent strength allows him to create some loud contact from his quick right-handed swing and he already has high-90s juice in there, too. His BLAST metrics are also off the charts, as he has averaged a swing speed of 81.1 mph and a hand speed of 23.4 mph; both of which are advanced numbers and not just for his age. Despite his physical stature, Schaning is amongst the class’s best athletes; he is a 7.09 runner and it plays in the outfield, pairing it with a strong arm that has been up to 87 mph from the position.
+ OF Kaiden Romens (Hartford Union) here’s a report from the Grand Park Fall Championships: Wisconsin Takeaways “...is a 5-foot-8, 150-pound outfielder who was on the barrel across a couple of looks this weekend. Romens, a left-handed hitter, swings a quick and direct bat that has the ability to shoot that ball to the whole field. His bat-to-ball skills are noteworthy and he is surely a prospect to continue to keep tabs on as he continues to develop.”
(PBRT Grand Park Fall Championships; 9/16/23)
+ MIF Owen McLellan (Shorewood) here’s a report from the Southern Wisconsin Open: Quick Hits “...solidified himself as a name-to-know in the state for the class of 2026. McLellan, is an athletic and twitchy 5-foot-9, 149-pounds with some projection left in his frame. McLellan started off his day by running one of the quickest times of the day in the 60 yard dash of 7.06 seconds. At the plate, he consistently barreled up line drives to both gaps using a quick and repeatable right handed swing. His smooth actions on defense and strong and accurate arm indicate that McLellan will have no problem sticking in the middle of the diamond on defense. McLellan is certainly a prospect worth monitoring as he continues to develop, as he had one of the more impressive days at the workout.”
(Southern Wisconsin Open; 10/14/23)
+ C Manuel Abreu-Socorro (Sun Prairie East) here’s a report from the Grand Park Fall Championships: Wisconsin Takeaways “...is a lean and athletic backstop who impressed at Grand Park. Abreu-Socorro has some strength in his 5-foot-11, 165-pound frame but still has plenty of room to continue to develop. Behind the plate, Abreu-Socorro features a quick transfer and a short arm action that produced sub-2.10 pop times in between innings. At the plate, his aggressive right-handed bat flashed some big power potential as he ripped a deep triple off of a low-80s fastball.”
UPSIDE ARMS
+ LHP Brett Rybarczyk (Sheboygan North) here’s a report from the Southern Wisconsin Open: Quick Hits “...was one of the biggest winners of the day with his performance on the mound. Rybarczyk showcased a four-pitch mix using an athletic and repeatable delivery with a quick, whippy arm. His fastball sat in the 78-80 mph range, topping at 81 mph and showed quality life and finish through the bottom of the zone. His low-70s curveball has late 12/6 break and was spun over 2,400 RPM at it's peak, too. The slightly harder slider has more tilt than the curveball and offers a different look to hitters, while being spun at a higher rate, roughly 2,600 RPM at max. Additionally, Rybarczyk features feel for his mid-to-high-70s changeup that has substantial fade and depth at the plate with good arm speed out of the hand.”
(Southern Wisconsin Open; 10/14/23)
+ RHP Nathan Miller (Slinger) is a clean and simple moving arm that is on the rise in this update. Working with athleticism downhill, Miller features a hard running fastball that was up to 80 mph over the summer. As for his offspeeds, Miller’s curveball is certainly well above average, as it plays with tight 11/5 shape and also is spun at over 2,500 RPM on average. He also possesses feel for a changeup with late downer action and has flashed out-pitch potential, too.
+ LHP Tanner Buhlmann (Arrowhead) re’s a report from the Grand Park Fall Championships: Wisconsin Takeaways “...who made his rankings debut on our latest 2026 rankings update, dominated in his start on Saturday morning for his GRB STiKS squad. The southpaw utilized a two-pitch mix to earn 11 strikeouts in a complete game, shut-out effort. His fastball sat in the high-70s throughout his appearance, topping at 81 mph early on and it played with some hard running action, too. His breaking ball sat in the high-60s, featuring lateral action with 2/8 shape and he also flashed a running changeup, too. The pitchability that Buhlmann currently possesses is noteworthy and he is certainly a name to follow as he continues to develop as a prospect.”
NOTABLE TWO-WAYS
+ LHP/OF Jacob Coopman (Menasha) here’s a report from the Northern Wisconsin Open: Quick Hits “...is an athletic left/left outfield and pitching prospect that showed well on both sides of the ball from Saturday’s event. Standing at 6-foot, 162-pounds Coopman started the day by running one of the top laser-timed 60s of the event, recording a 7.06 which is a well above average time for his age. At the plate, Coopman was able to consistently make hard contact to the middle of the field, recording a max exit velocity of 88.7 mph throughout his round. Defensively from the outfield, Coopman’s arm showed out the most with advanced velocity for his age at 85 mph that played with carry and showed the ability to make accurate throws to the plate. Coopman’s arm strength translated to the mound as the left-hander put together one of the better ‘pens of the day. His fastball sat in the low-80s throughout, topping at 82.3 MPH and was able to locate it around the zone. He threw a low-70s slider that flashed tight sweeping movement, and a 2/6 curveball with tight downer movement. To round off his arsenal Coopman threw a changeup in the 69-71 mph range for strikes, too.”
(Northern Wisconsin Open; 10/21/23)
+ After making his debut in the last update, RHP/3B Cail Geiger (Menomonee Falls) moves up four spots to No. 30. Geiger is an athletic infield and right-handed pitching prospect standing in at 6-foot, 175-pounds. On the mound Geiger is a fluid mover that showed the ability to repeat his delivery. His fastball operates in the low-80s with above-average spin rates and he is able to locate to both sides of the plate. Geiger also has a tight breaking mid-70s slider and an upper-70s running changeup. At the plate, the right-handed-hitter swings a simple and compact stroke geared towards doing damage to the pull-side. In the field Geiger is a sure handed defender capable of handling the hot-corner.
+ 3B/RHP Carter Nicolato (Muskego) continues to trend up our board after making his rankings debut in our previous update and he now slots in at No. 35. With the bat, Nicolato shined across a handful of looks this summer, with his quick and aggressive right-handed swing that also flashed some power potential, too. He has also flashed some intrigue on the mound as well. Out of a clean and loose delivery, we have seen Nicolato reach highs of 82 mph with his fastball. Off of that, Nicolato can spin in a 11/5 breaking ball in the upper-60s, too. Nicolato is another name on this list who broke through this year and is certainly a name to monitor as he heads into his sophomore campaign.