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OSHKOSH – The 26th annual Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Classic will kick off Friday June 26 at EJ Schneider Field at Oshkosh North High School.
The two day round robin features 72 of the top high school senior baseball players from across the state. “This includes both spring and summer teams,” said Joe Waite from the WBCA. “This is a very high honor for the athletes; it’s equivalent to being All State.”
Athletes are selected on more than just their baseball skills as coaches give a nod to commendable character.
Players have to raise $225 in sponsorships and to help pay for the Classic and support the WBCA. This year six scholarships will be distributed through the money collected by the WBCA.
Players are selected via coach's nomination and then a committee made up of Mark Fuller, Bobby Wilcox, Lynn Held, and Ron Koenig select pitchers, catchers, and the rest of the field for a team of 18. Coaches have to be WBCA members.
Players are divided into four teams North, South, East, and West.
Three coaches have been named for each team and coaches are listed below.
North Coaching Staff-(Green Bay/Fox Valley area)
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Mike Berken (Pulaski) Coach Berken has been coaching baseball for 33 years, 30 of which have been at Pulaski High School. In 14 years as the head coach, he has compiled 131 career wins, three Regional Championships, and one Sectional Final appearance. |
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Troy Schaefer (Oshkosh North) Coach Schaefer has been the head coach at Oshkosh North High School four four years. His 2008 team was a Regional Champion and a Sectional Runner Up. Schaefer was a member of the 1994 UW-Oshkosh National Championship team. |
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Don Williams (Hortonville) Coach Williams has been the Polar Bear’s head coach for 30 years, and was an assistant for five years previous to that. One of the winningest coaches in the State, he has a career record of 486-127. During those 30 years, his teams have won 20 Conference titles and 3 State Titles out of 8 State appearances. |
South Coaching Staff
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Dan Burreson (Mineral Point) Coach Burreson has been the head coach at Mineral Point for the past 14 years. During that time the Pointers have won two Conference Championships, five regional titles and have made three Sectional Final appearances. |
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Mark Hanson (Montello) Coach Hanson began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Westfield High School from 1990-1994. He helped coach three Conference Champions during that span. He was assistant after moving to Montello in 1995 for two years. He took the head coaching job in 2001, a job that he still currently holds. During that time, his teams won Trailways North Conference Championships in 2005 and 2006, which was their first Conference title since 1976. |
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Mike Hemming (Portage) Coach Hemming has spent his entire 19 year coaching career in Portage... nine years as the junior varsity coach and 10 years as the head varsity coach. During that time, he has won five Conference Championships, five Regional Championships, and one State Title in 2006. His career coaching record stands at 128-82. |
East Coaching Staff
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Kevin DeBoer (Waupun) Information not submitted. |
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Jeff Hogan (Milwaukee Hamilton) Coach Hogan has been coaching baseball for 22 years, 19 of which have been as the head coach at Milwaukee Hamilton. During that time, his teams have won eight Milwaukee City Conference Championships and have gone to the State Tournament twice. He is coaching in his 2nd All-Star Classic, first appearing in it in 1998. |
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Scott Holler (Oak Creek) Coach Holler has been at Oak Creek for 11 years, and five as head coach. His record is an outstanding 105-43 entering this season. His teams have won three Greater Metro Conference Championships, a State Championship in 2005, four Regional Championships, and two Sectional Championships. He was the WBCA District 8 Assistant Coach of the Year in 2004 while working as an assistant at Franklin. |
West Coaching Staff
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Dan Larson (Boyceville) Coach Larson has been the head coach of the Bulldogs since 2003. He coached the Menomonie Legion Baseball Team, compiling a record of 88-79 in six years, which included three State appearances. During that time, he was the head coach at Wabasha-Kelogg (MN) High School where he was 69-67. His record stands 43-82 at Boyceville, but the program is resurgent and the positive numbers will rise in the next few years. |
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Rob Wachholtz (Wausau West) Coach Wachholtz has been the head coach at Wausau West for the past seven years, and was assistant coach for seven years previous to that. During that time, his team won a Sectional Championship in 2008 and a Wisconsin Valley Conference Championship in 2009. |
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Eric Wedemeyer (Chippewa Falls McDonnel) Coach Wedemeyer has been the varsity coach at McDonell Central for the past 11 years. During that time, his teams have won Conference Titles in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The Macks were DIII State Runners Up in 2005. He was named the CWCC Coach of the Year in 2000 and the WBCA District III Coach of the Year in 2004. |
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