From the WIAC —
The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) has announced its baseball awards for the 2026 season.
University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Anthony Massa collected Position Player of the Year honors, while UW-La Crosse’s AJ Curtis was tabbed Pitcher of the Year. UW-Platteville’s Brayden Knoll received Newcomer of the Year accolades and UW-Whitewater’s John Vodenlich secured Coach of the Year.
Massa is the second player in program history to collect the distinction, joining Jonathan Kelso (2021). Massa leads the WIAC with a .799 slugging percentage, 1.304 OPS, 71 hits, 58 RBI and 15 home runs, while ranking second with a .433 batting average, third with 54 runs scored and fourth with a .505 on-base percentage. He had a 19-game hitting streak to start the season and produced a season-high four hits against Illinois College on March 20 and Edgewood University (Wis.) on May 4.
Curtis is the sixth Eagle to receive the honor, joining Joe Ohm (1997), Andy Elskamp (2000), Caleb Boushley (2016), Zach Pronschinske (2019) and Isaiah Katz (2023). Curtis was an All-WIAC honorable mention pick a season ago and the Newcomer of the Year. He leads the conference with 66.1 innings pitched, while ranking third with 59 strikeouts, tied for fourth with a 3.53 earned run average and tied for fifth with five wins. Curtis had a season-best eight strikeouts against UW-River Falls on March 29 and UW-Stout on April 11.
Knoll is the first Pioneer to receive the Newcomer award. He is tied for fourth in the WIAC with 10 home runs, seventh with a .619 slugging percentage, eighth with a .361 batting average and 1.033 OPS, and tied for eighth with 56 hits.
UW-Whitewater’s Leyten Bowers (with UW-Stout) and Aaron Holland were repeat selections on the first team from a year ago, while the Warhawks’ Andy Thies secured first team laurels in 2024.
Vodenlich secured the award for a conference record 13th time. He has led the Warhawks to a 41-4 record, including a 28-0 mark in WIAC games. UW-Whitewater put together a 36-game winning streak this season - the longest in WIAC archives. The Warhawks also claimed the conference regular-season championship and tournament title.
An All-Sportsmanship Team was named for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. It included one member from each team as selected by that team.
2026 All-WIAC Baseball Team
Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)
Leyten Bowers, Whitewater, Senior, Firstbase, Mineral Point, Wis. (Mineral Point)
Chris Calico, La Crosse, Junior, Centerfield, West Salem, Wis. (West Salem)
AJ Curtis, La Crosse, Sophomore, Pitcher, Waukesha, Wis. (Waukesha North)
Owen Deprez, La Crosse, Senior, Pitcher, New Franken, Wis. (Luxemburg-Casco)
Tommy Drohner, Stevens Point, Junior, Outfield, Plover, Wis. (SPASH)
Bryce Ehr, Stevens Point, Senior, Pitcher, Plover, Wis. (SPASH)
Aaron Holland, Whitewater, Junior, Catcher, Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton North)
Tanner Hraby, River Falls, Sophomore, Infield, Medford, Wis. (Medford)
Jackson Koenig, Whitewater, Junior, Pitcher, Blaine, Minn. (Blaine)
Ben Lee, Whitewater, Junior, Pitcher, Amherst, Wis. (Amherst)
Anthony Massa, Platteville, Sophomore, Thirdbase, Manhattan, Ill. (Lincoln-Way West)
Nicholas Meuser, Eau Claire, Junior, Pitcher, Burnsville, Minn. (Burnsville)
Braylen Nystrom, Stevens Point, Sophomore, Outfield, Stevens Point, Wis. (SPASH)
Kamden Oliver, Stevens Point, Senior, Infield, Viroqua, Wis. (Viroqua)
Evan Olson, Whitewater, Sophomore, Outfield, Kimberly, Wis. (Kimberly)
Logan Schill, Oshkosh, Junior, Outfield, Pewaukee, Wis. (Pewaukee)
Jackson Spring, Whitewater, Sophomore, Shortstop, St. Charles, Ill. (St. Charles North)
Sam Steuber, Whitewater, Junior, Pitcher, Muskego, Wis. (Muskego)
Gradin Taschner, Whitewater, Junior, Pitcher, Neenah, Wis. (Neenah)
Andy Thies, Whitewater, Senior, Secondbase, Tallahassee, Fla. (Tallahassee Lawton Chiles)
Honorable Mention
Baris Brua, Oshkosh, Freshman, Pitcher, Mundelein, Ill. (Mundelein)
Austin Buck, Eau Claire, Senior, Secondbase, Afton, Minn. (Stillwater)
Brady Burrill, La Crosse, Junior, Rightfield, Oconomowoc, Wis. (Oconomowoc)
Sebastian De La Toba, Eau Claire, Senior, Pitcher, Chula Vista, Calif. (Olympian)
John DiGregorio, Eau Claire, Freshman, Catcher, Westfield, N.J. (Gill St. Bernard’s)
Keegan Fleischman, La Crosse, Junior, Shortstop, Lodi, Wis. (Lodi)
Shaun Gavin, River Falls, Sophomore, Pitcher, Oshkosh, Wis. (Oshkosh North)
Brett Gaynor, Oshkosh, Junior, Pitcher, Long Grove, Ill. (Stevenson)
Will Johnson, Eau Claire, Sophomore, Shortstop, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minneapolis Southwest)
Carver Kamentz, Platteville, Freshman, Pitcher, East Dubuque, Ill. (East Dubuque)
Franklin Kirchner, Whitewater, Junior, Pitcher, Elk Grove Village, Ill. (Conant)
Brayden Knoll, Platteville, Freshman, Centerfield, Byron, Ill. (Byron)
Max Krebs, River Falls, Junior, Infield, Inver Grove Heights, Minn. (Simley)
Dominik McVay, Whitewater, Centerfield, Outfield, Mineral Point, Wis. (Mineral Point)
Austin Olla, La Crosse, Sophomore, Pitcher, Milwaukee, Wis. (South Milwaukee)
Chayce Osterhaus, La Crosse, Junior, Pitcher, Dalton, Wis. (Markesan)
Ethan Pettis, La Crosse, Sophomore, Pitcher, Blaine, Minn. (Blaine)
Emiliano Ramos, La Crosse, Senior, Secondbase, Hartland, Wis. (Hartland Arrowhead)
Kenny Schultz, Stevens Point, Senior, Pitcher, Plover, Wis. (SPASH)
Brayden Skenandore, Oshkosh, Junior, Firstbase, De Pere, Wis. (West De Pere)
Kellen Smith, Eau Claire, Freshman, Centerfield, Altoona, Wis. (Altoona)
Luke Walton, La Crosse, Junior, Firstbase, Farmington, Minn. (Farmington)
All-Sportsmanship Team
Ryan Casimier, Eau Claire, Senior, Infield, Columbia, Tenn. (Battle Ground Academy)
Danny Hopper, Whitewater, Senior, Infield, Palatine, Ill. (Palatine)
AJ Kargel, Stout, Junior, Outfield, Otsego, Minn. (Otsego Kaleidoscope)
Jacob Melendrez, Platteville, Senior, Pitcher, Little Chute, Wis. (Little Chute)
Tino Ramirez, Stevens Point, Senior, Infield, Muskego, Wis. (Muskego)
Charley Rowan, La Crosse, Sophomore, Infield, Stillwater, Minn. (Stillwater)
Parker Thompson, Oshkosh, Senior, Pitcher, Wauwatosa, Wis. (Wauwatosa East)
Kaleb Zabielski, River Falls, Sophomore, Outfield/Pitcher, Burlington, Wis. (Burlington)
Position Player of the Year: Anthony Massa - Platteville
Pitcher of the Year: AJ Curtis - La Crosse
Newcomer of the Year: Brayden Knoll - Platteville
Coach of the Year: John Vodenlich - Whitewater
Max Sparger Scholar Athlete: Andy Thies - Whitewater
UW-Whitewater’s Thies Named Baseball Max Sparger Scholar Athlete
MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Andy Thies has been named the recipient of the 2026 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Baseball Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award.
A senior from Tallahassee, Fla. (Tallahassee Lawton Chiles), Thies is majoring in accounting and maintains a 3.642 grade point average. He secured a spot on the 2025 NCAA Division III Academic All-America® Baseball Second Team, selected by the College Sports Communicators. Thies is a two-time Academic All-District® First Team honoree and three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll. He was named a UW-Whitewater Chancellor’s Scholar Athlete in 2025 and has received academic scholarships. Thies has appeared on UW-Whitewater’s Dean’s List numerous semesters.
Thies is a two-time D3baseball.com All-American, securing third team honors in 2025 and landing on the fourth team in 2024. He received All-Region recognition from D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association both years. Thies helped UW-Whitewater win the 2025 NCAA Division III Championship after finishing as the national runner-up in 2024. A team captain this season, he earned All-WIAC first team honors for the second time in his career (2024) and was a honorable mention choice in 2025. Thies has helped the Warhawks win three straight WIAC regular-season championships and tournament titles.
Off the diamond, Thies has worked as a camp counselor for Warhawk Baseball Camps since 2022.
Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were: UW-Eau Claire’s Austin Buck (Sr., Afton, Minn./Stillwater); UW-La Crosse’s Owen Deprez (Sr., New Franken, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco); UW-Oshkosh’s Owen Housinger (Sr., Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Stevenson); UW-Platteville’s Connor Gresens (Jr., Rochester, N.Y./Rochester Irondequoit); UW-Stevens Point’s Joe Schneider (Sr., Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander); and UW-Stout’s Nathan Weckop (Sr., Hampton, Minn./Randolph).
The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Max Sparger, who served as commissioner of the Wisconsin State University Conference for 22 years from 1971-93. He oversaw the transition of the conference from NAIA to full NCAA membership. Sparger arrived at UW-Stout in 1959 and served the institution in a variety of capacities, including an assistant football and basketball coach, head wrestling coach and head football coach. He served as UW-Stout's athletics director from 1969-71 and was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, he must be in his last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years. The award is based on academic achievements, athletics accomplishments and involvement in other campus activities, organizations and community service projects.
Travis Wilson serves as the Bound Wisconsin Manager. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisBound or reach him at [email protected].
