EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday or Friday throughout the calendar year.
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal / Fennimore Times / Boscobel Dial

Casey Dresen, P, Fennimore / Wisconsin Rapids Rafters baseball
MADISON — The past month has been a whirlwind of baseball adventure for Fennimore’s Casey Dresen.

Last Tuesday he played at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa with the Fennimore 19U American Legion team.

Two Saturdays ago, Dresen wrapped up his prep baseball career as one of 72 All-Stars from across the state at the 42nd annual Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Classic in Oshkosh.

A week before that, the right-handed flame thrower ended his Fennimore career in a WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal loss to eventual D3 state runner-up Dodgeville (25–3) June 9.

Six days prior to that, Dresen made a diving, game-saving catch in the bottom of the seventh inning, then hit the game-winning RBI single in the top of the ninth to lift the Golden Eagles to a 4–3 regional final win over No. 2 seed and SWAL champion Mineral Point (22–5, 13–1) on June 3.

Last Friday, Dresen was back on the mound taking the next step on his baseball journey in his biggest adventure yet.

Following the WBCA All-Star Classic, Dresen signed with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters of the Northwoods League on June 28.

“I was in contact with them last winter so I was already on their radar,” explained Dresen of how the signing came about. “Once I was done with the All-Star Game they contacted me and asked him I wanted to come pitch and I jumped at the opportunity.”

Dresen, who doesn’t turn 18 until July 14, made is NWL debut Friday night against the host Madison Mallards at Warner Park in front of a sold out July 3 holiday crowd of 6,750.

He became the youngest player in the 26-team Northwoods League and joined Rafters’ teammate Gage Honeyyager of Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School as the only high schools seniors in the league this summer. Honeyyager is a fellow pitcher who is also headed to Madison College in the fall.

Dresen pitched well in his NWL debut considering the circumstances of facing a first-place lineup made up of entirely Division 1 players in their home ball park in front of nearly 7,000 people.

“It was an awesome experience to say the least,” said Dresen. “It was nothing like I have every pitched in before, so I was beyond grateful for that opportunity.

“Playing in that atmosphere definitely helped me compete at a high level. I reached 91 miles per hour for the first time and the crowd had a lot to do with that. I was really amped to compete in that atmosphere.”

Dresen (0–1) allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits and three walks in four innings of work and took the loss in a 6–4 Mallards’ win. He recorded his first NWL strikeout in the bottom of the second inning against Illinois freshman Cole Crafton. But the final pitching line can’t tell the story alone.

“I blended in and that is all I hoped to do,” said Dresen. “I played with the best against a full Division 1 lineup and I fit in. I didn’t have super high expectations going in, but I achieved what I wanted to do by seeing if I could hang with the best, and I think I did that for the most part.”

Roughly two dozen friends and family members — including parents Walt Dresen and Maradith McQuillan, twin brother Corey Dresen and Fennimore head coach Brent Sheckler — were in the capacity crowd Friday night.

“I was really happy to have all those people there supporting me because it was quite the moment for me,” added Dresen. “I am grateful for all the support Fennimore has shown me.”

The Rafters are currently 12–28 on the season and finished sixth in the first half standings of the Great Lakes West Division. The Mallards are now 26–14 this season, and went 24–10 to win the first half title in the Great Lakes West.

The Northwoods League is the development summer league for elite college baseball players.

It is the largest organized baseball league of its kind in the world with 26 teams in seven states (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and North Dakota), as well as Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The Rafters will play 68 games in 76 days this summer with the regular season finale slated for Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders.

The NWL is currently on a four-day All-Star Break from Monday through Thursday. The Rafters return to action Friday at the Lakeshore Chinooks in Mequon.

All meals and housing accommodations are provided, but the players in the NWL are unpaid. Dresen’s only real expenses the rest of the summer is gas to get to and from practice and home games.

Dresen is staying in an apartment-style dorm on the campus of UW–Stevens Point, 19 miles northeast of Wisconsin Rapids, while at home and in hotels on road trips. Some of his teammates live with host families in the Wisconsin Rapids area.

Dresen is unsure of when his is scheduled to pitch next and what his future role with the team will be, but he is ready for any opportunity.

“I may settle into a long relief roll or I my start again, I am not sure yet,” said Dresen. “I just want to keep competing and improving every day to get ready for the college season. I have already seen improvements in my stuff and my velocity. My goal is to be in the best shape of my life going into the fall and make an impact at Madison College.”

Dresen chose Madison College because of its history of team success, as the WolfPack qualified for their eighth-straight NJCAA Division 2 World Series this past spring, as well as the school’s connections with past Fennimore athletes.

Recent FHS graduates Maguire Fitzgerald (Clarke College and University of Dubuque) and Jordan Williams (UW–La Crosse), as well as past Golden Eagles standouts Todd Carl (went on to be drafted by the Florida Marlins), Ryan Kussmaul (who went on to play in the Chicago White Sox minor league system) and Kelly Reynolds (UW–Platteville) all went on to find success after playing at Madison College.

Coach Mike Davenport’s WolfPack finished this past season with a 46–12 record after going 1–2 at the NJCAA D2 World Series.

“Madison is College is school I have wanted to go to for a long time,” said Dresen. “Obviously there have been a lot of Fennimore athletes who have had success at Madison College. And I know coach Davenport and his staff will push me to the next level after my two years there.”

Dresen posted a 5–2 record with a 2.47 ERA, 74 strikeouts and 31 walks in a team-high 51 innings pitched as the Golden Eagles’ ace this year. He also batted a team-high .463 (37–for-80) with 15 doubles, three homers, a team-high 39 RBI, 24 runs, 18 walks and 10 stolen bases while helping Fennimore (18–9, 11–3) finish second in the SWAL.

Dresen also went 9–0 with a 1.75 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 48 innings, and hit .390 with 24 RBI two years ago as a junior to help the Eagles (25–4) post a school record 25 wins, win a SWAL title and reach the WIAA State Tournament for the first time in school history in 2025.