The end of the 2024 season saw the Madison College baseball team match its own NJCAA record with a sixth straight appearance at the Division II World Series in Enid, Oklahoma, as well as coach Mike Davenport earning his 1,100th career junior college coaching win as they advanced to the quarterfinals. Gone from that 39-14 WolfPack squad are 22 players, including three all-region recipients, two region players of the year, and a NJCAA All-American. Thus, the 2025 will undergo a bit of a youth movement as it seeks to break the consecutive appearances record and maintain its spot atop Region 4. Regardless, tradition and history remind us to never overlook Madison College, who opened the season ranked #8 in the NJCAA Division II Preseason Poll.

Madison College 2025 Schedule | Madison College 2025 Roster

"Our roster is about two-thirds freshman, so we have a lot of new faces," stated Davenport, who embarks on his 21st season at Madison College. "It is a talented group of newcomers both with the bat, glove, and on the mound. It will be a huge goal to have most our freshman be sophomores by the time we start tournament play."

The strength of the 2025 team will lies with the returning position players and the batting lineup. Infielder Charlie Schau led the team with a .349 batting average as a freshman, racking up 53 hits, 43 runs scored, and 38 runs batted in en route to First Team All-Region 4 honors for the native of Park Ridge, Illinois. Shortstop Jalen Gellings posted a .335 average with 52 hits, 28 runs, and 23 RBI in his debut season. The Eden, Wisconsin, product showed off his glove and his bat late in the season, earning Region 4 Tournament Most Valuable Player recognition. Howie Rickett, Marcelino Edison Alonso, Chris Calico, and James Duncan will also look to build on solid freshmen seasons.

"The returning position players are solid all-around players that can play multiple defensive positions well. They will likely make-up most of the top and middle of our batting order. Defensively, I think this has a chance to be our best strength. We have versatility with a lot of our defenders, as many can play multiple positions well."

On the mound, the Pack will try to fill the void left by Michael Carpenter, the Region 4 Player of the Year and NJCAA All-American that was drafted by and signed with the Minnesota Twins after breaking the program's single season strikeout record. Righthander Noah Musolf, from Franklin, Wisconsin, is the top returning arm from a season ago after going 3-0 over 13 appearances and registering a 2.45 earned run average with 34 strikeouts over 29-plus innings. Sam Steuber and Carson Klaus, both righthanded pitchers, saw action in 13 combined games. Steuber went 2-0 and fanned 17 batters in 17 innings.

The incoming group of pitchers includes Quinn Falish, a transfer from NCAA Division I Michigan State University after prep career at De Pere HS that included conference pitcher of year accolades. Noah Marschke was a two-time conference player of the year and two-time WBCA All-State at Stevens Point Area Senior High, while Chase Baker and Braycen Burg have also raised some eyebrows during fall and spring camps.

"We do not return very many innings on the mound from 2024, but it is a little deceiving because three of our five sophomore pitchers did not play much or at all last season due to injury. They are all pretty consistent and reliable on the mound. Some of the team strengths that showed up through our fall season is our quality pitching depth. We have little more pitching on this staff then past year's, so there are a good number of quality arms that will get opportunities to have big roles for us come tournament time."



Some of the other newcomers expected to contribute right away are first baseman Tyler Butina, a Jefferson, Wisconsin, native and transfer from NCAA Division I Central Michigan University. The three-time WBCA All-State selection and Rock Valley Conference Player of the Year already demonstrated his power with a home run in the WolfPack's impromptu season opener on Sunday against Des Moines Area Community College. Catcher and outfielder Nate Novinska and Sam Moses, an outfielder, first baseman, and pitcher, have also displayed productive bats in the lead up to the season.

"I'm hoping that we continue to progress at the plate with this group. We have a good mix of right and left-handed hitters. We do not have many burners on the base paths, but some are at least average speed and good base runners. We will continue to progress with our approach as the year goes on."

Already with a NJCAA Top 20 win over #17 DMACC to open the season after warmer-than-usual temperatures allowed for an earlier-than-planned start, Madison College departs for their annual Arizona Spring Trip and is slated to play ten games over ten days. Part of that trip will include two games against #10 South Mountain Community College on March 14 and March 20, as well as a March 18 contest at Central Arizona College, which opened the year ranked #18 in the NJCAA Division I Preseason Poll.

Following four Region 4 away games once back in the Midwest, the WolfPack will host in-state foe Bryant & Stratton College for the home opener on April 1 at Robin Roberts Field. It marks the first of 12 home dates for Madison College, including an April 19 doubleheader against Triton College that will include a tailgate party in celebration of longtime manager Gary "Big Dog" Breneman's 50 Years at Madison College. Some other key dates include an April 5 road trip to #19 Kankakee Community College and an April 26 twin bill at home with the College of DuPage, ranked #10 in the NJCAA Division III Preseason Poll.

"We have done well in our region and made many trips to Enid, but Region 4 has always been a tough and competitive region. I believe that this year may have even more quality depth than most years. We keep adding teams to Division II from both NJCAA Division I and III that are good programs and are continually making Region 4 better each season."

"Our biggest goals are to have our players improve at showing up to the field with consistency and to get better in some way...not only based on performance or stats. As a team, we would like to be playing our most resilient and focused baseball in May."

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