WAUSAU SECURES 40-WIN SEASON FOR FIFTH TIME IN LAST SIX YEARS, MAINTAINING WINNING TRADITION IN CENTRAL WISCONSIN

The 2026 Wausau Woodchucks delivered another summer of excitement, drama, entertainment, and phenomenal action to baseball fans in Central Wisconsin, which included many achievements and accomplishments that kept the standard of success up established at Athletic Park.

In the franchise’s 33rd season in Central Wisconsin, the Woodchucks finished with a 43-23 record, 20 games above .500 for the third successive season. Wausau finished second place in both the first half standings and second half standings in the Great Lakes West, holding the best overall record among teams in the division. Wausau’s overall win percentage was second-best in the entire Northwoods League, and the Woodchucks had the best record of all teams to miss the postseason.

From a broader perspective, Wausau continued to establish itself this season as one of the Northwoods League’s most accomplished teams in the post-Covid era. Since the beginning of the 2021 season, Wausau has the third-most wins (258) and the third-best winning percentage (.604) in the entire Northwoods League, trailing only St. Cloud and Traverse City in each of those statistical categories.

In addition, Wausau continued its dominance at home. The Woodchucks finished with a 27-8 record at Athletic Park, the second-best home record in the entire Northwoods League. Only two opposing teams managed to win multiple games at Athletic Park, and Wausau only lost back-to-back home games twice in the 2026 season. Since the start of the 2024 season, Wausau has held a remarkable record of 81-28 in games at Athletic Park.

Wausau began the season with legendary head coach Corey Thompson, the winningest manager in Woodchucks history, returning for a fifth year at the helm. Thompson became the first Woodchucks manager to ever eclipse 200 career wins in Wausau, and ended his campaign with a 217-128 overall record. On July 29, Thompson departed Wausau after securing an exciting new role as head coach of the baseball team at Palm Beach State Community College, and Harrison Engstrom assumed the role of interim head coach. During his time in the interim position, Engstrom amassed a record of 6-4.

Once again, Wausau fielded one of the Northwoods League’s most statistically dominant teams, highlighted by another remarkably strong offense. The Woodchucks finished in the top five of virtually every offensive team metric, placing third in team batting average (.279), third in on-base percentage (.412), third in OPS (.832) third in runs scored (538), third in RBIs (438), fifth in home runs (59), and fourth in slugging percentage (.420).

Wausau’s pitching staff was equally impressive, putting together phenomenal numbers under first-year pitching coach Reid Santos. The Woodchucks were tied for third place among all Northwoods League teams in team ERA (4.79), and had the league’s fourth-best WHIP (1.52). Among all Northwoods League teams that played a full schedule, the Woodchucks allowed the second least amount of total runs (371) and earned runs (310) over the course of the summer. Opposing batters hit just .249 against Woodchucks pitching, fifth-best in the Northwoods League.

The 2026 season created great moments, memories, and stories that will live on in Woodchucks history. Here’s a look back at some of the most memorable games of the summer.

May 25: Wausau 8, Madison 3- For the third straight season, Wausau found a way to pick up an impressive Opening Day win, with the victory in 2026 coming at its rival’s home ballpark. The Woodchucks used a seven-run fourth inning and strong pitching to spoil Madison’s home opener, with Ryan Chase (Santa Fe College/Kansas) leading the way with three hits in his Northwoods League debut. The Woodchucks defense also had one of its best days of the season, turning three double plays in the win.

May 28: Green Bay 5, Wausau 9- After the defending Northwoods League champions ended Wausau’s season back in the 2025 playoffs, the Woodchucks got revenge by taking down Green Bay to win their home opener and sweep the Rockers in the first two-game set between the two teams during the summer. That two-game sweep would start a stretch where Wausau went unbeaten against Green Bay in all five of its matchups against the Rockers in the first half of the season. Joey McLaughlin (Arkansas State) had his first of many breakout games of the summer, going 3-4 with an RBI and three stolen bases, and Brady Wright (Santa Fe College/Eastern Kentucky) earned his first of six wins on the mound with the Woodchucks.

May 29: Wisconsin Rapids 0, Wausau 10- The very next day, the Woodchucks earned their first of four shutouts in the 2026 season, thanks to excellent pitching from Sam George (Minnesota State-Mankato), Logan Medsker (Montevallo) and Jase Schueller (Sacred Heart), who combined to pitch it. That excellent pitching led George to be drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers organization in July, and Schuller to sign a professional contract with the Mississippi Mud Monsters of the Frontier League.

May 31: Wausau 11, Green Bay 10 (11 Innings)- The May slate for Wausau concluded with one of the wildest games of the summer, as Wausau squeaked out a one-run win at Capital Credit Union Park. The game had offense galore, as the two teams took a combined 17 walks, and threw a combined 395 pitches, with the game taking just under four hours in length. In the end, a two-RBI double in the eleventh inning by Dawson Harman (South Carolina/Miami) was the difference-maker, with Logan Waldschmidt (LSU-New Orleans/UT-Martin) stranding the game-tying runner in the final inning, finishing a clutch outing on the mound.

June 3: Lakeshore 2, Wausau 10- The Woodchucks, facing a team that eventually made the playoffs, put on a comprehensive show on “Toy Box Takeover Night” at Athletic Park. The Woodchucks jumped on the Lakeshore Chinooks by taking a six-run lead in the first inning, and then turned things over to freshman L.J. Drummond (Miami/Grand Canyon) on the mound. The left-hander tossed six no-hit innings in his best start of the summer, with four strikeouts, helping Wausau to one of its six wins in 2026 over Lakeshore.

June 6: Wisconsin Rapids 2, Wausau 29- On one Saturday evening in June, the Woodchucks decided they were going to try and score as many runs as possible. They did just that by breaking the single-game Northwoods League record for total runs scored, one that had stood for nearly six years. While Wausau did not finish the season with that record, as another Northwoods League team jumped them with a 30-run game in July, the Woodchucks 27-run margin of victory is the largest in a Northwoods League contest. Two big innings led Wausau to the record-breaking day, as the Woodchucks scored eight runs in the second, and then a remarkable 13 runs in the eighth inning, with Jace Souza (Texas Tech/USC) providing a grand slam to break the record in that frame. “Bat Kid” Henry, is credited with generating a lot of the success that came for the Woodchucks’ offense that day.

June 15: Wausau 6, Lakeshore 4- In the midst of a four-game road set with a team that would end up with the best home record in the Northwoods League, Wausau came from behind to snatch a gutsy win against the Chinooks at Kapco Park, thanks in large part to a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning that day from Caleb Danzeisen (Arizona). It was Wausau’s second grand slam of the series, with the other coming the day before, marking just the second time in the last six seasons where Wausau picked up grand slams in back-to-back games. Reece Clapp (Illinois State) also earned his third save of the summer in the win, and his tenth of his two-year Northwoods League career.

June 21: Wausau 6, Fond du Lac 0- As the first half playoff race began to reach its final stretch, every game became key for the Woodchucks, and that included a crucial Sunday afternoon win at Herr-Baker Field. With the game tied scoreless in the top of the eighth inning, the Woodchucks took the lead on a massive two-run home run from Holden Groebl (Cowley CC/Kansas), and they didn’t look back. The star catcher caught all four of Wausau’s shutout victories in 2026, including this game, where Broden Jackson (Madison CC/Creighton) excelled on the mound with six scoreless frames in his start, and six strikeouts.

June 23: Fond du Lac 9, Wausau 10- It took Wausau 24 games into the 2026 season to earn its first walk-off win of the summer, but it came at a critical time. With the Woodchucks down three heading into the ninth inning, needing a win to control its own destiny in the playoff race, “Burrow Magic” came alive, with Wausau coming back and tying the game on a two-RBI double from Kyler Northrop (Washington State), and winning the game on a sacrifice fly RBI from Chris Patterson (Missouri/Purdue). It would be the first of three walk-off wins for Wausau against Fond du Lac in the 2026 season.

June 26: Fond du Lac 3, Wausau 15- Four days later, Wausau’s bats came alive in front of the first sellout crowd of the summer at Athletic Park. The Woodchucks smashed five home runs, a single-game high for the 2026 season, to win their fifth straight game in what would become a season-best seven-game win streak at the end of the first half. Two home runs came from Dylan LaPointe (Mercer) on the night, while Dawson Harman, Caleb Danzeisen and Holden Groebl also went deep. It was one of eight times in the 2026 season where the Woodchucks scored 15 or more runs in a game.

June 30: Wisconsin Rapids 2, Wausau 13- Wausau concluded the month of June and started the second half in convincing fashion with a strong win at Witter Field. A new-look lineup sparked the offense, with eight of the nine players in the batting order earning an RBI on the night. The Woodchucks broke the game open with six runs in the ninth inning, including Lane Walton (Arkansas State) blasting his first home run of the summer in the frame. Returning star Noah Malone (Loyola Marymount) also began his second year in Wausau on a high note, with a three-RBI triple in the win.

July 4: Madison 3, Wausau 9- The Woodchucks were subject to deja vu from the 2025 season on Independence Day, as they hosted the Madison Mallards on the Fourth of July for the second straight season, and beat them. The star in Wausau’s win this time around was Tyson Potts (Central Michigan/New Mexico State), who, in his final start of the summer in Wausau, went 7.1 scoreless innings, with six strikeouts on 102 pitches, keeping the Mallards’ offense quiet. Wausau’s offense supported their star pitcher in the back half of the game, scoring all nine of its runs in the final three innings at the plate to secure one of the most important victories of the summer.

July 10: Wausau 7, Fond du Lac 6- The Woodchucks ruined a Friday night firework show in Fond du Lac with a key one-run victory early in the second half. With the win, Brady Wright became the first pitcher in the Northwoods League to record six wins in the summer, and the first pitcher in five seasons to be listed as the winning pitcher in six different games for the Woodchucks. Ben Chuttey (USC-Upstate) also played a big part in securing the win, earning one of his two saves of the summer by recording the final five outs of the game.

July 11: Fond du Lac 8, Wausau 9- The next day, Wausau got a taste of the walk-off flavor again at Athletic Park. After squandering the lead in the game in the top of the ninth inning, Gatlin Pitts (Pearl River CC/Western Kentucky) ended it in the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run to left-center field, the first walk-off home run for the Woodchucks since Tyler Cox hit one to walk off the Madison Mallards on July 28, 2022. It was the first and only home run of the summer for Pitts during his time in Wausau, coming at the perfect time.

July 19: Wausau 1, Duluth 0 (10 Innings)- The best pitching performance in the Northwoods League in 2026 came on a Sunday afternoon in July at Wade Stadium—and it belonged to Brett Foss (Arkansas State). The right-hander delivered nine shutout innings, striking out nine hitters in the process, on 110 total pitches. Foss was one of only two pitchers to throw nine shutout innings while only allowing one hit during the entire Northwoods League season, and the Woodchucks needed every bit of it on the day to win. The game was scoreless after nine innings of regulation, with Wausau scoring the lone run in the tenth on a Gatlin Pitts RBI single. Jack Garvey (LSU-New Orleans/Transfer Portal) secured the win by shutting out the Huskies in the bottom of the tenth inning, earning the save.

July 22: Duluth 3, Wausau 13- A Tuesday night win for Wausau over Duluth was memorable for just one sole reason—a moonshot home run off the bat of Max Soliz Jr. (Kansas). The third-year Woodchuck hit a ball down the left field line that hit the warehouse across the street in the win, with the ball travelling an estimated 400 feet, making it one of the longest Wausau home runs of the season. It was one of a team-leading seven total home runs for Soliz this summer.

July 25: Eau Claire 3, Wausau 4 (10 Innings)- In the midst of Wausau’s longest homestand of the 2026 season, they faced their toughest test of the year from an Eau Claire team that would end up boasting the best overall record in the entire Northwoods League. Wausau passed the test with a two-game sweep over the Express, winning both games by one run, and completing the sweep on a walk-off RBI single from Noah Malone. The Woodchucks were the first team to complete a two-game sweep over the Express in the second half, and it halted a seven-game win streak for the visitors coming into the series.

July 29: Fond du Lac 16, Wausau 17- Late in the second half, Wausau prevailed in a four-hour thriller defined solely by offensive production. After trailing 11-4 at the midway point of the game, Wausau scored 10 runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead, and later won the game in the ninth inning by taking four straight walks, with Peyton Firgens (McClennan CC/Mississippi State) becoming the walk-off hero with a bases-loaded walk that won the game. Despite the walks being the difference maker, the two teams combined for 38 total hits, and Wausau scored all 17 of its runs without a home run in the win.

July 30: Wisconsin Rapids 6, Wausau 7- Woodchucks fans got their last taste of Burrow Magic in the final game in the month of July, with Wausau earning its final walk-off win of the summer on a two-out RBI single by Jackson Petsche (Southeastern CC/LSU-New Orleans). The win meant that out of the 56 wins that Wausau collected at Athletic Park since the start of the 2025 season, 11 of them came in walk-off fashion. Joey McLaughlin also hit his first home run of the season in the victory.

August 1: Lakeshore 2, Wausau 6- Going into the final week of the second-half playoff push, Wausau found itself in a battle with the Chinooks to secure the final postseason spot in the Great Lakes West Division. The Woodchucks did all they could in their head-to-head matchups with the Chinooks, winning the first game to start the month of August on a high note, thanks in large part to a second-inning grand slam from Central Wisconsin native Keagen Jirschele (South Dakota State). The Woodchucks hit four grand slams on the season, with three of them coming against the Chinooks. Brett Foss was phenomenal in yet another start, striking out seven in 6.2 innings of work, allowing no earned runs on 104 pitches. Wausau would complete an important sweep over the Chinooks with a 15-10 win the next day.

August 6: Wausau 5, Kenosha 4- With Wausau’s playoff hopes on thin ice, the Woodchucks delivered one of their grittiest performances of the summer on the road against playoff-bound Kenosha. The hero of the game was Caleb Karll (Montevallo), who, after playing 46 consecutive Northwoods League games without a home run, finally went yard with a game-tying two-run shot in the fifth inning. He also would give the Woodchucks the lead on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the top of the ninth inning. That turned things over to elite reliever Pete Jezerinac (Kennesaw State), who shut out the Kingfish by recording Wausau’s last seven outs on the mound, making the Woodchucks’ final win of the 2026 season a memorable one.

August 8: Minnesota 8, Wausau 6- The Woodchucks’ 2026 season finale ended on a sour note, as Wausau gave away a ninth-inning lead to Minnesota and suffered its first and only home sweep of the season, a day after the Mud Puppies eliminated Wausau from playoff contention. However, the final game of 2026 had some great positives, as Huxley Holcombe (Cornell) delivered an incredible start, striking out ten hitters, the most in any outing by a Woodchuck pitcher this summer, in six innings of work. Holcombe also pitched an immaculate inning for the first time in his baseball career, and threw 13 consecutive strikes between the first and third innings. Bryce Hubbard (Oregon State) also hit his lone home run in his second season as a Woodchuck in the defeat.

The 2026 season also included record moments. Here are the records that were either met, broken or extended during this summer by the team and individuals on the team.

Individual (Career):

Home Runs: Max Soliz Jr. (30)

RBIs: Max Soliz Jr. (132)

Stolen Bases: Jake Berkland (80)

Runs: Jake Berkland (132)

Walks: Jake Berkland (78)

Games Played: Max Soliz Jr. (148)

Team (Season):

Stolen Bases (232)

Here are the team leaders in offense and defensive statistical categories for Wausau this summer.

Offense

Games Played: Ryan Chase (54)

Batting Average: Kyler Northrop (.355)

On-Base Percentage: Jackson Petsche (.478)

Slugging Percentage: Kyler Northrop (.645)

Hits: Ryan Chase (59)

Runs: Joey McLaughlin (50)

XBHs: Ryan Chase (16)

Home Runs: Max Soliz Jr. (7)

RBIs: Ryan Chase (50)

Walks: Ryan Chase (48)

HBP: Bradon Durfee (12)

Stolen Bases: Joey McLaughlin (43)

Pitching/Defense:

ERA (min. 20 innings pitched): Pete Jezerinac (0.79)

WHIP (min. 20 innings pitched): Tyson Potts (1.10)

K/9 (min. 20 innings pitched): Carter White (11.63)

BAA (min. 20 innings pitched): Pete Jezerinac (.179)

Innings Pitched: Brett Foss (49.0)

Strikeouts: Brett Foss (47)

Wins: Brady Wright (6)

Starts: Huxley Holcombe/Brett Foss (9)

Saves: Pete Jezerinac (5)

Shutouts: L.J. Drummond (1)

Fielding Percentage (min. 100 innings played): Bryce Hubbard/Jace Souza/Caleb Danzeisen (1.000)

Outfield Assists: Jake Berkland/Peyton Firgens (63)

The Woodchucks had two players represent the franchise on the Great Lakes Division team in the 2026 Northwoods League All-Star game festivities at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA: Ryan Chase and Brady Wright. Ryan Chase also participated for the Woodchucks in the 2026 Home Run Challenge.

This season, 69 different players suited up for the Wausau Woodchucks, including ten who returned to Wausau after previous stints with the organization: Max Soliz Jr., Bryce Hubbard, Bryce Carter, Brayden Mazzacano, Tyson Potts, Broden Jackson, Reece Clapp, Keagen Jirschele, Noah Malone and Richie LaCien.

Of those players, four earned the title of “Ironmen”—remaining with the team from its first game in May through its final game in August. Here’s a look at those four players.

Caleb Karll

Joey McLaughlin

Ryan Chase

Brayden Mazzacano (Two-Time Woodchuck Ironman)

In addition, Wausau also had two players who participated in the Northwoods League this summer take a big next step in their respective careers. Both shortstop Jake Berkland and left-handed pitcher Sam George were selected in the 19th round of the 2026 MLB Draft, with George being chosen by the Brewers and Berkland taken by the White Sox. The Woodchucks organization congratulates both players on this incredible accomplishment and extends a heartfelt thank you to Berkland, whose contributions helped cement the winning standard of Woodchucks baseball over the last three years. Through his kindness, dedication, and service to the community, Jake has made a lasting impact on countless fans and those around him during his time in Wausau.

As always, every single piece of the franchise’s success could not have been possible without the unmatched support of its fanbase. This season, Athletic Park welcomed 47,246 total fans to 36 Woodchucks games this summer—a 7.65% attendance increase from the 2025 season. On average, 1,312 fans attended each game at the ballpark this summer. For the second consecutive season, the Woodchucks drew two sellout crowds, on June 26 and August 7. Wausau also welcomed at least 1,000 fans for 30 consecutive home games, while surpassing 1.5 million total fans since joining the Northwoods League in 1994.

In addition, the organization is thrilled with the remarkable transformation of the Wausau Ignite softball team in just its second season. Led by head coach Jasmin Estrada, the Ignite clinched a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history, and hosted game one of the Northwoods League Softball Championship Series on August 3, 2026, the first-ever postseason collegiate softball game at Athletic Park. The organization congratulates the Ignite’s players, staff, and fans, led by General Manager Brianne Barta, and eagerly anticipates continued success of Ignite softball in the years ahead.

As the 2026 season comes to a close, the Wausau Woodchucks and Ignite extend their sincere gratitude to all of the phenomenal coaches, players, team staff, front office personnel, organization partners, interns, sponsors, and, of course, the fans who helped deliver another successful summer in Central Wisconsin. The organization looks forward with great anticipation to welcoming the community back to the ballpark for the 2027 season. Season tickets and half-season tickets are already available for next season, and fans can purchase those tickets online exclusively at woodchucks.com.