LEADING OFF
» Milwaukee has played the sixth most challenging schedule among the 307 Division I baseball programs this season and enter the week with a 1-14 record.
» The Panthers will play four games this week after five contests a week ago at Minnesota on Tuesday, and a four-game series at Kansas over the weekend.
» MKE will travel former Horizon League opponent UIC on Tuesday before getting the league slate underway this weekend in Niles, Ohio for a three-game set against the Youngstown State Penguins.
» UIC enters the week on a six-game skid and are 2-13 to start the season, the Flames played a three-game set against Louisville this past weekend and will head to non-conference Purdue this upcoming weekend for three against the Boilermakers.
» Meanwhile, Youngstown State has dropped its last eight games and are 1-13 to begin the 2025 season under its new first-year skipper. This past weekend the Penguins traveled to Gardner-Webb and dropped the set to the Bulldogs in North Carolina.
» No stranger to one another, Milwaukee has played UIC more than any opponent in its Division I history at 161 games. The Flames hold a 96-65 series edge, which includes a 34-49 record in true home games against the Panthers.
» The third-most common opponent in Milwaukee history is Youngstown State with 123 previous meetings entering play this week. MKE is 74-49 against the Penguins but are only 28-27 in games played on the road vs. YSU.
» Just because you were wondering, Milwaukee's second most common opponent is Wright State with 153 meetings entering this season.

LOOKING AT UIC
The first of two games this season between the Panthers and Flames will take place at Curtis Granderson Stadium in Chicago on Mar. 11 before the return trip to Milwaukee on Apr. 15. Last season UIC won both games in Chicago by 10-7 and 11-1 scores before weather forced the cancellation of the game in Wisconsin.

This year's UIC squad is 2-13 to open the year but are 1-0 at home with that win coming against in-city Division III foe North Park on Feb. 25. The Flames have been outscored by a 143-71 difference through their first 15 games hitting just .247 on the season with 12 home runs including two apiece from Luke Nowak, Jackson Bessette, and Jack Snyder. Nowak also leads the team with a .352 batting average and leads the team with 10 runs scored after transferring to UIC from East Carolina after three years with the Pirates.

UIC pitching has struggled to find any consistency on the mound as the staff has a 9.78 earned run average this season over 115 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .319 against Flames pitching, while UIC has allowed 152 hits and 72 walks, as the team has a 2.00 WHIP. Dillon Schueler is the staff ace having pitched 17 innings this season and has a team-high 12 strikeouts. Colin Hawkins has been the most consistent relieve for UIC this season with nine outings and 9 2/3 innings pitched with 11 strikeouts. Hawkins is tied for fourth in Division I in appearances this season.

This season, UIC is the only team in Division I to have turned a triple play this season, Division II Southern Nazarene and Division III programs Concordia Wisconsin and Rosemont have also turned three defensively at the NCAA level.

LOOKING AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Coming off last season's Cinderella Run as the sixth seed in the Horizon League Championship and reaching the championship round against eventual winner Northern Kentucky, the Penguins are in rebuild mode under the direction of first-year head coach Trevor Charpie.

With a 1-13 record through the first month of the season, Youngstown State will travel to take on Pitt on Wednesday before playing its home opener against the Panthers on Mar. 14. Six of the Penguins' 13 losses have come by four runs of less, including all three this past weekend at Gardner-Webb.

This year's squad is anchored by ace Jacob Gehring, who was on the All-League First Team in 2024, and has a 6.20 ERA over the first 20 1/3 innings this season with 15 strikeouts. Leading the way with 17 strikeouts is JJ Tylicki over 14 1/3 innings but has allowed 21 earned runs for a 13.19 ERA. Brandon Mikos had a solid season as a starter for YSU in 2024 and has made three appearances with one start so far in 2025, Mikos has nine strikeouts and a 7.84 ERA over 10 1/3 innings. The staff has a 9.56 ERA over 107 1/3 innings this season, with 83 strikeouts against 114 earned runs, while the team has a 2.05 WHIP, with 87 walks and 133 hits allowed this year.

After transferring to Youngstown from the University of Washington, Kyle Fossum has blossomed into a start in just a few weeks with the Red & White. He is hitting .412 this season with 21 hits and 14 RBIs, with four doubles and four home runs, while leading the team with 11 runs scored. Nathan Beckley is hitting .325 and is second to Fossum with 11 RBIs. Cole Smith has 10 runs scored and six doubles, which is second-most in the Horizon League.

Tyler Heflin has been hit by the second-most pitches this season with 10, one off the national lead as PJ Rogan of Sacred Heart leads the nation with 11 plunks.

UP NEXT
With the opening of Horizon League play this weekend, Milwaukee heads to Purdue on Mar. 18, before finally making their long-awaited home debut on Mar. 21 to open a three-game series against Wright State.

THAT'S A TOUGH SLATE
Milwaukee enters the week having played the sixth toughest schedule in all of NCAA Division I, with opponents compiling a winning percentage of .729 this season. UIC has had the fourth-toughest slate entering play this week with opponents compiling a .751 winning percentage this year.

In terms of Horizon League programs, Purdue Fort Wayne has had the 26th, Wright State the 29th, Youngstown State the 37th, Oakland the 62nd, while Northern Kentucky has had the 255th toughest schedule of the 307 programs this year.

STREAKING AT THE PLATE
In his first season in Milwaukee, Caden Headlee has hit safely in 12 of Milwaukee's first 14 games including the last 10 games on a hitting streak entering play this week.

Last year Milwaukee had three players have hitting streaks of at least 10 games, including first-year Panthers Zach Lane (12 games) and Teige Lethert (10 games), Carson Hansen had a team-best 17-game hitting streak as a sophomore in 2024.

STREAKING ON BASE
Freshman Tate Schmidt has currently reached base in eight consecutive games heading into the non-conference tilt at UIC on Tuesday. He is looking to become the first freshman at Milwaukee to have an on-base streak of at least 10 games since teammate Justin Hausser had a 10-game on-base streak to close his freshman campaign in 2022.

FASTEST TO THREE HOME RUNS
Charlie Marion had three home runs through the first seven games of the 2025 season, making him the fastest Panther to three home runs in a campaign since 2016 when Daulton Varsho had four round trippers through the first six games of his sophomore season.

FASTEST TO TWO HOME RUNS
With two home runs in the opening series last week, Camden Kuhnke became the first Panther to have multiple home runs in the opening series since the 2022 season when Jake Novak had two in the second game of the season against Alabama A&M.

THREE RBIs IN BACK-TO-BACK DEBUTS
For the second consecutive season a Panther had three RBIs in their Milwaukee debut as Charlie Marion drove in three runs in the team's win over the Mercer Bears on Feb. 14. Three RBIs in the opener matches the debut from teammate Tyler Bickers, who also had three in the Feb. 16, 2024, opener at Fresno State.

SEASON-OPENING WIN
With the team's win on Feb. 14 in the season opener, Milwaukee improved to 3-1 in its last four openers. However, the Panthers are 9-26 all-time in season openers dating back to their inaugural Division I season in 1991.

HOME COOKING
Over the last 20 seasons (2005-24), Milwaukee has taken the term 'home field advantage' to a new level, boasting winning seasons at home in all but two season (8-14 in 2022, 0-0 in 2020). The Panthers went unbeaten at home in 2013 (13-0), while the team has recorded back-to-back 12-7 marks in home games in both 2023 and 2024.

FIVE YEARS SINCE…
Last season Justin Hausser and Tyler Bickers accomplished numbers that have not been reached in five seasons, as Hausser had 227 at bats, 50 runs scored, and 72 hits, while Bickers drew 28 walks. All four numbers have not been reached since the 2019 campaign.

IN EXTRA INNINGS
This season, Milwaukee is 0-1 in extra-inning games, the Panthers hold a record of 16-17-1 in games needing extra frames dating back to the 2015 campaign.

TOP PROSPECT
D1Baseball announced its Top Prospects list for the 2025 season with Milwaukee right-handed pitcher Logan Schulfer named the third prospect on the list representing the Horizon League.

Schulfer is the younger brother of former Panther draftee Austin Schulfer, who is now pitching in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Austin was drafted in the 19th round of the 2018 draft by the Minnesota Twins.

RETURNING HONOREES
Milwaukee returns one player that earned Horizon League recognition in 2024, with Gavin Theis earning Pitcher of the Week honors on May 20. First baseman Justin Hausser was on the All-Freshman Team in 2022.

RETURNING TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Among Milwaukee's transfers into the program is pitcher Logan Schulfer, who began his career with the Panthers in 2022 before transferring to Ball State for two seasons (2023-24).

Schulfer is one of just four active players in Division I to return to a school where they had previously played at the Division I level. Outfielder/Pitcher Malachi Lott returned to Houston, infielder Tristan Moore returned to New Orleans, and infielder Chandler Riley returned to Charlotte.

NEWLY ANNOUNCED ON THE HORIZON
On Feb. 27, the Horizon League announced the addition of Northern Illinois as the 12th full-time member of the Horizon League. The Huskies will bring 14 sports to the league, including baseball beginning in 2026-27.

Milwaukee will play Northern Illinois at home during non-conference play this season on Apr. 29. The Panthers are 35-29 in all-time meetings with the Huskies, including last season's 6-5 win at home on May 1.

PRESEASON POLL
Right before the season began, the Horizon League announced its preseason poll with Milwaukee selected to finish fourth in 2025. Wright State took first among the six teams with 33 points including three first-place votes, Northern Kentucky was second with 29 points, followed by Oakland just ahead of Milwaukee with 19 points. Youngstown State with 14 and Purdue Fort Wayne with 13 rounded out the preseason poll.

WHATS IN A NUMBER?
In 2025 several numbers will be in circulation for the first time in Panther history, Nick Heisl will wear #48, Isaac Wenzel will wear #59, and assistant coach Andy Bergholz will be the first wearer of #81.

Four players changed jersey numbers from what they wore a season ago including DJ Kojis (#21 to #8), Gavin Theis (#35 to #18), Tristan Arnold (#14 to #23), and Isaac Wenzel (#29 to #59).

TRAVEL POINTS
Wisconsin + Baseball + February is never a good mixture based on temperatures and potential snowfall in the Midwest, so the Milwaukee Panthers will once again open the season on an extended road trip. The trip will feature the first 20 games away from Franklin Field, spanning over 10,770 miles.

The Panthers will play in Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, and South Carolina during its season-opening trip.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER
Milwaukee will be facing off against five first-time opponents during the 2025 season including Mercer (Feb. 14-16), South Carolina (Feb. 21-23), UNLV (Feb. 28-Mar. 2), River Falls (Mar. 26), St. Thomas (Mar. 6-7). Milwaukee and St. Thomas were scheduled to play in both 2022 and 2024, but the games were postponed due to weather.

ANOTHER DRAFTEE
For the third consecutive season the Milwaukee baseball program had a player selected in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft in June. Owen Rice was selected in the 20th round of the 2024 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, following the selections of Riley Frey in the 19th round of the 2023 draft by the Atlanta Braves, and the pick of AJ Blubaugh by the Houston Astros in the seventh round in 2023.

Milwaukee has had 26 all-time draftees with five of the last six draftees being pitchers. Five players are actively playing in either the Majors or Minor Leagues, including Milwaukee's first ever Major Leaguer in Daulton Varsho of the Toronto Blue Jays. Austin Schulfer signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies entering the 2025 season, while Blubaugh (Houston), Frey (Atlanta), and Rice (St. Louis) are with minor league teams in their respective organizations.