MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee baseball team raises the curtain on the 2024 season this weekend with a three-game series at Fresno State beginning on Friday evening. The series will mark the beginning of Shaun Wegner's tenure as head coach of the Panthers, who will have a new-look lineup and hopes to build off last season's 25-win campaign.

WEEK AT A GLANCE
Friday, February 16 | Milwaukee at Fresno State | Fresno, California | 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Saturday, February 17 | Milwaukee at Fresno State | Fresno, California | 5:00 p.m. (CT)
Sunday, February 18 | Milwaukee at Fresno State | Fresno, California | 3:00 p.m. (CT)

QUICK LINKS
Live Audio (Friday & Sunday): mkepanthers.com/coverage
Live Stats (All Games): mkepanthers.com/coverage
Follow Along (On X): @MKE_Baseball

LEADING OFF
» A new era of Milwaukee baseball begins as Shaun Wegner takes over as head coach of the Milwaukee Panthers, becoming just the third head coach in the last 30 seasons, and fifth head coach in the Division I era of the program. Wegner had previously spent the last six years as an assistant.
» Milwaukee begins the season against Fresno State, a first time opponent, and will also take on Texas Rio Grande Valley, Long Beach State, and St. Thomas as first-time foes in 2024.
» The Panthers are coming off of a 25-32 season in 2023, where the Panthers earned the fifth seed in the Horizon League Tournament and eliminated both Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky, before being eliminated by eventual champion Wright State.
» Fresno State is coming off of a 30-27 season, with a 16-14 mark in the Mountain West, the Bulldogs lost their opening contest in the conference tournament to San Jose State, before picking up a win over San Diego State, but were eventually eliminated on day three by San Jose State, 11-8.

SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
Fresno finished the 2023 season with a 16-14 record in the Mountain West to finish fourth in the standings, while posting a 30-27 record through its full season. The team qualified for postseason play and lost to top-seeded San Jose State in the opening round before knocking out second-seeded San Diego State in the elimination bracket. In the next matchup the Bulldogs were sent home after an 11-8 loss to the top seed.

Ryan Overland is in his first full season as head coach after serving as the interim head coach last season, taking over for Mike Batesole, who led the Bulldogs for 20 years and 639 of his 895 career wins. Fresno State has a deep pedigree of baseball success with over 200 players being drafted including names such as Terry Pendleton, Tom Goodwin, Jeff Weaver, Doug Fister, Matt Garza, and most notably and recently, Aaron Judge.

This weekend the Bulldogs will toss lefty Jake Dixon, who was a preseason All-Conference selection and has totaled 10 wins over his three seasons. Dixon has a 5.12 ERA over 39 career outings over 186 1/3 innings pitched. Noah Beal transferred to Fresno State this year after a three-year career at UNLV, where he made 11 starts and tossed 52 1/3 innings with a 6.88 ERA. The third starter for Fresno State is Jack Anker was a reliever for the Bulldogs in 2023 and makes the switch to a starting role entering his sophomore year, last year he threw 42 innings with a 5.36 ERA with 34 strikeouts.

Fresno State had five players with at least 30 RBIs in 2023 and all five are back in the lineup for the Bulldogs including offensive leader Tommy Hopfe, who posted a team-best 13 home runs and 54 RBIs, while totaling 70 hits for a team-best .321 average, .971 OPS. Hopfe is a dual threat and was the team's closer with 11 saves over 18 outings on the hill for the Bulldogs in 2023.

NEW SKIPPER
During the summer, Shaun Wegner took over as Milwaukee's newest manager becoming just the third head coach in the last 30 years. Scott Doffek retired as the program's all-time leader in wins with 438 over 17 years after 12 years by Jerry Augustine from 1995-2006.

Wegner becomes just the fifth coach in the program's history during its Division I era, which began in the spring of 1991. Doffek and Augustine in their combined 29 years have accounted for 785 of Milwaukee's 1,049 wins as a varsity program going back to the first season of Milwaukee baseball, which began in 1957.

Wegner is no stranger to the program after six years as an assistant with the program before taking over as head coach this offseason. He also spent time as an assistant coach at Division III Whitewater, while also working as a graduate assistant coach at Minnesota-Mankato from 2010-12.

He graduated from Milwaukee in 2010 and had 162 hits with 28 doubles and nine home runs as a catcher with the program. He hit .286 and had a .390 slugging percentage over 180 career games, while also scoring 101 runs and drove in 87 during his career.

NEW & RETURNING FACES TO THE STAFF
Back to begin his third decade with the Panthers as an assistant coach in year 21 is Cory Bigler, the Panther pitching coach that has served as an assistant under Jerry Augustine, Scott Doffek, and now Shaun Wegner, and has guided dozens of Milwaukee pitchers to All-Conference recognition. Bigler is no stranger to the program as a player, as he was the Panthers' second-ever Major League Draft Pick, selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1995 draft.

Re-joining the coaching staff this season is Mike Porcaro, another former Panther student-athlete, who spent time with the Panthers on the field from 2011-15. During his sophomore season of 2013, Porcaro was named Horizon League Player of the Year, and was also a multi-time All-Conference selection. Porcaro spent one season as an assistant coach with the Panthers in 2021 before working with Arizona State baseball each of the last two seasons.

New to the staff as well is Jack Sievers, who will primarily work with the team's outfielders. Fresh off the field, Sievers played last season at Western Illinois, while also playing collegiately at Iowa Central Community College. The Minnesota-native also worked for Prep Baseball Report, and coached at the NorthStar Baseball Club, among other coaching positions.

RACKING UP THOSE MILEAGE POINTS
This season, Milwaukee will visit California, Kentucky, and Illinois twice, as well as Texas and Ohio during the first six-plus weeks of the season before playing in their first home game against Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, March 28. In total, the Panthers will travel a total of 14,548 miles from campus to campus before opening the home portion of their schedule.

NEW ON THE DOCKET
Milwaukee will meet several opponents for the first-time ever in their Division I history beginning with the season-opening series at Fresno State. The Panthers will also meet Texas Rio Grande Valley from February 23-25, Long Beach State from March 1-3, and St. Thoms at home on April 1 as first-time foes in 2024.

SOME BIG OPPONENTS
After going 2-2 against their four Big Ten opponents last year, the Panthers will take on both Iowa and Northwestern for the third consecutive season, while also facing Michigan for just the second-ever occurrence and first time since 2009.

Last year the Panthers split a home-and-home series with Northwestern, as the home team won each time, while the Panthers fell to Iowa on the road. Milwaukee blanked Minnesota early in the season by a 3-0 score on March 1.

SO LONG, ACE
For the 25th time in program history, Milwaukee had a player selected in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft as Riley Frey was selected in the 19th round by the Atlanta Braves organization in July.

Frey earned three consecutive Horizon League Second Team All-League nods in each of his three seasons with the Panthers, and was among the league leaders in wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched during his most recent season with the team. Last year he led the MKE staff with 15 starts and a 4.90 ERA while striking out 87 batters over 90 innings of work. He went a season-high seven innings in three starts in 2023, including his final start as a Panther, where he helped Milwaukee eliminate fourth-seeded Youngstown State from postseason play as he allowed just two runs and struck out six Penguins along the way.

Frey became the 11th draft pick by the Panthers in the last decade and 12th player over that span to sign on with a Major League organization. With Frey joining the Braves organization in 2023, it becomes the 15th different Major League organization to draft or sign a Panther.

STRENGTH IN ARMS
Despite the loss of Riley Frey, the Panthers also saw seven pitchers depart from the program that pitched for the team during the 2023 season. However, the Panthers strongest crop of returning talent includes 10 pitchers that took the hill for Milwaukee a year ago.

Luke Hansel will continue as another weekend starter for the Panthers in 2024, following his inaugural year with the team that saw the right-hander lead the team in wins with six while throwing 67 innings and a 6.04 ERA with 66 strikeouts. Adrian Montilva made five starts for the Panthers and is expected to get more innings following his 20 2/3 innings a year ago.

Making the move from the bullpen to the rotation will be Gavin Theis, who made 11 relief appearances including a season-best 2 1/3 hitless innings against Wright State during the team's postseason run. Owen Rice also made five starts in 2023 and posted a sub-five ERA over his 11 2/3 innings of work with the team.

The back end of the bullpen will be anchored by Mike Sullivan, who is expected to replaced Nate DeYoung as the team's closer. Sullivan made 19 appearances for the Panthers a year ago and struck out 28 batters over 19 1/3 innings. Johnny Kelliher was the top lefty out of Milwaukee's pen in 2023 and is expected to do the same again in 2024, Kelliher had a 3.99 ERA over 21 innings as he made 28 appearances, the second most on the team last year.

James Severson made two appearances early in the season and did not allow a run before being hampered by an injury that kept him out the remainder of the year. Keagon Kaufmann tossed 16-plus innings over his dozen outings while picking up a pair of wins. DJ Kojis made one start and five appearances, while Tyler Deleskiewicz made eight relief appearance in their freshman seasons.

NEW LOOK LINEUP
Milwaukee's lineup needed to be completely revamped and retooled following the departure of one of the largest graduating groups in program history, including nine players that started in at least 30 games for the Black & Gold in 2023. Included in those that left the program were Horizon League All-First Team selection Aaron Chapman, as well as second teamer Mark Connelly, while Connelly along with Marcus Cline were both named to the All-Tournament team as the trio made up three-fourths of the Panther starting infield.

Staples Luke Seidel, Ty Olejnik locked down left and centerfield respectively, while Tommy Benson and Jake Novak split time in right field through the duration of the season. Milwaukee's five-plus season backstop Jack Thelen was a Horizon League Second Team honoree last year and was just as dangerous defensively as he was at the plate. Nate DeYoung was a two-way threat for the Panthers as Milwaukee's primary designated hitter, as well as the top closer in the conference with his league-leading nine saves.

Starting first baseman Justin Hausser suffered an injury in early May, short-circuiting his bid for a spot on the All-Conference team. The junior will be the lynchpin in the Panther lineup to bridge the gap from last year's team to this year's team as he plans to be back at full strength heading into his 2024 campaign.

TRANSFER HAVEN
Milwaukee's incoming class of 15 included 11 transfers from varying levels of baseball, as the crop of newcomers will look to make an impact on the Panther lineup and pitching staff immediately.

Making their way to Milwaukee from Division I programs are pitcher Logan Dobberstein from Kansas State, third baseman Zach Lane from Ball State, outfielders Dallan Quigley from North Dakota State and Tai Walton from the University of Hawai'I, as well as pitcher Isaac Wenzel from Indiana State.

NAIA transfer Logan Snow from Menlo College will wrap up his career with the Panthers. Junior college transfers in infielders Tyler Bickers of John Wood College, and Gabe Roessler from Madison College, along with catcher Teige Lethert from Iowa Central are all expected to see playing time for MKE in 2024.

Infielder/outfielder Sean Tillmon, formerly of Concordia Wisconsin, and catcher Ben Buehring, formerly of Marian (Wis.) were conference opponents in the Division III Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.

The 11 transfers join Luke Hansel, Caleb Lorbecki, Adrian Montilva, Q Phillips, Owen Rice, and Mike Sullivan who has all transferred to Milwaukee over the last few seasons.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Milwaukee welcomes in four true freshmen to the team in 2024, three of which hail from the state of Wisconsin. Tristan Arnold is a pitcher from Mukwonago, while Riley Peterson hails from Verona and is a left-handed slinger. Two-way player Camden Kuhnke will play infield and pitch for the Panthers, with Cole Spitzer rounding out the four-man class as a lefty pitcher from St. Paul, Minnesota.

DOUBLEHEADER WITH THE CREW
Through a marketing agreement between the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Brewers, the Panthers have been able to host 31 games at American Family Field, formerly Miller Park, since the 2002 season. During the team's 31 games, Milwaukee has gone 20-11, including last season's win over Milwaukee School of Engineering.

This year, the Panthers will meet the Raiders on April 17 with first pitch slated for 5:05 pm, earlier in the day the Brewers will host the San Diego Padres in a clash of National League foes beginning at 12:10 pm at American Family Field.

NO CHANGES ON THE HORIZON
This is the second consecutive season that the Horizon League will be comprised of six teams following the departure of UIC in 2022. The membership has fluctuated going back to 2016 with the additions of Northern Kentucky in 2016, and Purdue Fort Wayne in 2021, while Valparaiso departed in 2018, while UIC left following the 2022 season.

PRESEASON POLL
The Horizon League announced its preseason poll prior to the start of the season with Milwaukee projected to finish in fourth place in the six-team league accumulating 16 points.

Wright State was named league favorite with 34 points, followed by Northern Kentucky with 28 and Oakland with 22. The Panthers finished ahead of Youngstown State (15 points), and Purdue Fort Wayne (11) to round out the league projections.

UP NEXT
After the weekend in Northern California, the Panthers will head to Edinburg, Texas, for a three-game series against Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros. The series begins on Friday, February 23 at 6:30 p.m., with all three of the games scheduled to appear on ESPN+.

CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Thanks to ESPN+, Milwaukee baseball fans will have the opportunity to watch the Panthers all season long. All of Milwaukee's home games will be carried live online at ESPN+, excluding the April 17 game at American Family Field. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN+ platform.

ESPN+ offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content, and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) and can cancel at any time. For road games, visit MKEPanthers.com for live coverage links.