Loggers Announce First Player Signings of 2025

LA CROSSE, WIS. – The La Crosse Loggers have ushered in the new year with a plethora a player signings for the upcoming 2025 season as team officials unveiled their initial seven additions to the roster today, including six returnees and a trio of players from the local area.

La Crosse will have experience behind the plate when they welcome back Jack Collins (Cal Poly) for his third stint in Logger pinstripes as well as 2024 backstop Kanon Sundgren (Nebraska). Collins first played with the Lumbermen in 2023 when he hit .264 with 6 RBI’s over the first-half of that season, appearing in 16 games behind the plate. The Ladera Ranch, Calif. native returned last summer and hit .229 with one home run and eight RBI’s over 14 games before an injury cut his summer short. Sundgren came to La Crosse for the second half of the 2024 season and was with the Loggers on their run to the NWL Championship game. The Silsbee, Texas native hit .307 with one long ball and 16 RBI’s over 19 games played and will be entering his first season at Nebraska after two fruitful years at Weatherford Junior College (Texas) where he hit .471 during his sophomore season there.

Left-handed hitting Zach Wadas will also be returning to bolster the Logger lineup. Wadas appeared in 56 games for the Loggers last summer, hitting .202 with seven homers and 38 RBI’s. His 47 walks drawn tied for the team lead and his 34 stolen bases was second best. The 6-4, left-handed hitter spent his freshman season at TCU and was ranked as one of the top 100 freshman in the country coming out of Hamilton High School (Arizona) and is now set to embark on his sophomore season at Central Arizona Junior College.

Right-handed hurler Bobby McDonough will also be returning to the La Crosse pitching staff after spending the majority of the second half and the post-season with the Loggers. The 6-3, 215-pound pitcher appeared in seven games between the regular and post-season last summer, going 1-0 with a 7.71 ERA while striking out seven over 14 innings of work. The Arlington, Virginia native spent previous collegiate springs at William and Mary and is now prepping for his junior year at the University of Massachusetts. No stranger to summer ball, McDonough has also enjoyed stints in the Cal Ripken and Valley summer collegiate leagues before becoming a Northwoods Leaguer.

The Loggers are also excited to have three players with local affiliation signed on for 2025, with two of three being returning pitchers. Big right-hander Casey Kowalcyzk, a Viroqua (WI) native, is set to embark on his sophomore season at junior college powerhouse Iowa Western. The hard-throwing righty was dominant on the backend of the Iowa Western bullpen as a freshman in 2024, striking out 25 batters over 25.1 innings pitched while recording a pair of saves and a pair of wins. He followed that up by collecting a pair of saves and a win, while posting a 1.69 ERA for the Loggers over the first-half of the 2024 season. Kowalczyk recently committed to go pitch for the University of Minnesota after his two-year stint at Iowa Western is complete.

Southpaw Dylan Lapic will be back for his fourth stint on the Northwoods League circuit this summer, set to provide veteran leadership. A three-time “Iron Man” award winner, meaning he has been in a Loggers uniform for every game that La Crosse has played over the past three seasons, Lapic is now in his red-shirt junior season at Kentucky Wesleyan after spending his previous years at the University of Tennessee-Martin.

The newest addition to the Loggers roster is La Crosse Aquinas grad and current freshman at Xavier University, Eddie Peters. Peters, the top ranked shortstop in the state of Minnesota coming out of high school (according to Perfect Game), led Aquinas High School to a 2024 state championship and was a former Prep Baseball Report Future Games participant. The 2024 Wisconsin first-time all-state selection will begin his freshman campaign with Xavier next month.

Season tickets and flex plans are on sale now for the Loggers 2025 season with information on both found at LaCrosseLoggers.com. Fans can also visit the Loggers office at 1225 Caledonia Street, La Crosse between 8:30-5, Monday thru Friday.

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The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 31^st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, 360 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Loggers as your favorite team.