2026 Milwaukee Panthers baseball team

2026 Milwaukee Panthers baseball
2026 Milwaukee Panthers baseball
Horizon League tournament champions
Auburn Regional, 2–2
Conference	Horizon League
Record	27–31 (14–10 Horizon)
Head coach	Shaun Wegner (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Mike Porcaro (4th season); Jack Sievers (3rd season);
Hitting coach	Andy Bergholz (2nd season)
Pitching coach	Cory Bigler (23rd season)
Home stadium	Franklin Field

2026 Horizon League baseball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Wright State ‍†‍‍	17	–	7	.708	25	–	26	.490
Milwaukee ‍‍‡‍^y	14	–	10	.583	22	–	31	.415
Northern Kentucky ‍‍‍	12	–	12	.500	24	–	28	.462
Youngstown State ‍‍‍	12	–	12	.500	15	–	38	.283
Oakland ‍‍‍	5	–	19	.208	10	–	40	.200

† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of May 17, 2026^[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2026 Milwaukee Panthers baseball team represented University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee during the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Panthers played their home games at Franklin Field as a member of the Horizon League. They were led by third-year head coach Shaun Wegner.

The 2026 season was the most successful postseason in Milwaukee program history. The program won a school record two NCAA tournament games and advanced to the regional final for the first time in program history. It was Milwaukee's first NCAA tournament victory since 1999, and their first season in the NCAA tournament since 2010.

Background

Milwaukee is coming off a 2025 season that saw the program finish with a 24–35 overall record and a 16–13 record in the Horizon League. The Panthers were the three seed in the 2025 Horizon League baseball tournament, where they went 3–2 in the tournament, before losing to Wright State in the Horizon League championship.

Preseason

Coaches poll

The coaches poll was released on February 12, 2026. Milwaukee was selected to finish second in the conference.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Horizon League coaches poll
1	Wright State	24 (4)
2	Milwaukee	18
3	Northern Kentucky	12
4	Youngstown State	11
5	Oakland	10 (1)

Awards and honors

Preseason Horizon League awards and honors

Player	No.	Position	Class
Preseason All-Horizon Team^[2]
Gavin Theis	18	RHP	Graduate
Tate Schmidt	3	INF	Sophomore

Game log

2026 Milwaukee Panthers baseball game log (27–33)

Regular Season (22–31)

February (2–7)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record	HZN
February 13	SECN+	at No. 2 LSU*		Alex Box Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 5–15⁽⁸⁾	Guidry (1–0)	Andrews (0–1)	—	11,582	0–1	—
February 14	SECN+	at No. 2 LSU*		Alex Box Stadium	L 3–5	Moore (1–0)	Ehmke (0–1)	Fontenot (1)	11,078	0–2	—
February 15	SECN+	at No. 2 LSU*		Alex Box Stadium	L 7–21⁽⁷⁾	Schmidt (1–0)	Arnold (0–1)	—	10,753	0–3	—
February 20	ACCNX	at Duke*		Jack Coombs Field Durham, NC	L 3–20⁽⁷⁾	Weaver (2–0)	Weckler (0–1)	—	437	0–4	—
February 21	ACCNX	at Duke*		Jack Coombs Field	L 8–10	Mastroiann (2–0)	Ehmke (0–2)	DiGiacomo (1)	526	0–5	—
February 21	ACCNX	at Duke*		Jack Coombs Field	W 9–6	Ishida (1–0)	Lemke (0–2)	—	526	1–5	—
February 22	ACCNX	at Duke*		Jack Coombs Field	L 1–6	Leon (1–0)	Peterson (0–1)	—	359	1–6	—
February 27		at Evansville*		Braun Stadium Evansville, IN	W 12–9	Kuhnke (1–0)	Young (0–1)	—	381	2–6	—
February 28		at Evansville*		Braun Stadium	L 1–2	Hansmann (1–0)	Ehmke (0–3)	Graham (2)	376	2–7	—

March (3–14)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record	HZN
March 1		at Evansville*		Braun Stadium	L 2–4	Reed (2–1)	Peterson (0–2)	Byberg (1)	304	2–8	—
March 3	B1G+	at Minnesota*		U.S. Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 4–14⁽⁸⁾	Sperry (2–0)	Mueller (0–1)	Ryerse (1)	1,255	2–9	—
March 4	B1G+	at Minnesota*		U.S. Bank Stadium	L 2–6	Capomaccio (1–0)	Ishida (1–1)	—	1,472	2–10	—
March 6		at Southeast Missouri*		Capaha Field Cape Girardeau, MO	L 2–8	Pennington (3–0)	Theis (0–1)	Kranawetter (2)	197	2–11	—
March 7		at Southeast Missouri*		Capaha Field	L 2–9	Mertens (2–2)	Ehmke (0–4)	—	200	2–12	—
March 8		at Southeast Missouri*		Capaha Field	L 2–12⁽⁷⁾	Carroll (2–1)	Peterson (0–3)	—	228	2–13	—
March 10	B1G+	at Purdue*		Alexander Field West Lafayette, IN	L 1–17	Klug (3–1)	Arnold (0–2)	—	1,224	2–14	—
March 13		at Northern Kentucky		Bill Aker Ballpark Highland Heights, KY	W 16–9	Theis (1–1)	Wilson (1–1)	—	108	3–14	1–0
March 14		at Northern Kentucky		Bill Aker Ballpark	L 1–14⁽⁷⁾	Miramontes (1–2)	Ehmke (0–5)	—	134	3–15	1–1
March 15		at Northern Kentucky		Bill Aker Ballpark	W 16–10⁽¹⁴⁾	Ishida (2–1)	Lange (0–2)	—	86	4–15	2–1
March 17		at Western Illinois*		Alfred D. Boyer Stadium Macomb, IL	Canceled (inclement weather)
March 20		at Wright State		Nischwitz Stadium Dayton, OH	L 4–8	Thompson (2–1)	Andrews (0–2)	—	274	4–16	2–2
March 21		at Wright State		Nischwitz Stadium	L 3–8	Paige (1–4)	Hrin (0–1)	Bilo (1)	317	4–17	2–3
March 22		at Wright State		Nischwitz Stadium	L 5–6	Zielinski (1–0)	Kuhnke (1–1)	—	280	4–18	2–4
March 27		Butler*		Franklin Field Milwaukee, WI	L 2–6	Buckley (1–5)	Theis (1–2)	—	249	4–19	—
March 28		Butler*		Franklin Field	W 10–3	Peterson (1–3)	Thomas (0–4)	—	279	5–19	—
March 29		Butler*		Franklin Field	L 7–8	Hagen (2–0)	Weckler (0–2)	Sherrard (1)	281	5–20	—
March 31		at UIC*		Curtis Granderson Stadium Chicago, IL	L 5–12	Lessman (1–1)	Arnold (0–3)	—	43	5–21	—

April (10–6)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record	HZN
April 3	ESPN+	Youngstown State		Franklin Field	L 3–5	Gebhardt (2–1)	Watson (0–1)	—	207	5–22	2–5
April 4	ESPN+	Youngstown State		Franklin Field	L 4–7	Messmore (1–5)	Weckler (0–3)	Smith (1)	213	5–23	2–6
April 5	ESPN+	Youngstown State		Franklin Field	W 5–1	Peterson (2–3)	Mikos (0–5)	—	178	6–23	3–6
April 7		Iowa*		Franklin Field	Canceled (RPI concerns)
April 10	ESPN+	at Oakland		Oakland Baseball Field Auburn Hills, MI	W 12–4	Theis (2–2)	Donley (1–1)	—	76	7–23	4–6
April 11	ESPN+	at Oakland		Oakland Baseball Field	L 5–6	Donley (2–1)	Weckler (0–4)	Sehlke (1)	107	7–24	4–7
April 12	ESPN+	at Oakland		Oakland Baseball Field	W 12–0⁽⁷⁾	Peterson (3–3)	Green (1–2)	—	102	8–24	5–7
April 13		at Central Michigan*		Theunissen Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	W 9–6	Riel (1–0)	Tarnowski (0–1)	Kuhnke (1)	155	9–24	—
April 16	ESPN+	Northern Kentucky		Franklin Field	W 6–5⁽¹¹⁾	Ishida (3–1)	Take (2–1)	—	197	10–24	6–7
April 17	ESPN+	Northern Kentucky		Franklin Field	W 14–4⁽⁸⁾	Ehmke (1–5)	Miramontes (2–4)	—	229	11–24	7–7
April 18	ESPN+	Northern Kentucky		Franklin Field	W 15–9	Ishida (4–1)	Gill (1–2)	—	243	12–24	8–7
April 21		St. Thomas (MN)*		Franklin Field	W 9–8	Riel (2–0)	Nelson (0–1)	Kuhnke (2)	179	13–24	—
April 24	ESPN+	Wright State		Franklin Field	W 10–7	Kuhnke (2–1)	Paplanus (1–3)	—	253	14–24	9–7
April 25	ESPN+	Wright State		Franklin Field	W 4–0	Ehmke (2–5)	Paige (2–6)	—	279	15–24	10–7
April 26	ESPN+	Wright State		Franklin Field	L 2–13⁽⁸⁾	Lax (7–0)	Peterson (3–4)	—	263	15–25	10–8
April 28	B1G+	at Northwestern*		Rocky & Berenice Miller Park Evanston, IL	L 8–10	Bridges (2–0)	Ishida (4–2)	Shearer (1)	231	15–26	—
April 29	ACCNX	at Notre Dame*		Frank Eck Stadium South Bend, IN	L 2–16⁽⁷⁾	Clark (1–0)	Vander Loop (0–1)	—	113	15–27	—

May (7–4)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record	HZN
May 1	YouTube	at UNLV*		Earl Wilson Stadium Las Vegas, NV	L 4–14⁽⁸⁾	Marton (2–3)	Weckler (0–5)	—	800	15–28	—
May 2	YouTube	at UNLV*		Earl Wilson Stadium	W 4–1	Ehmke (3–5)	Lane (1–4)	Kuhnke (3)	624	16–28	—
May 3	YouTube	at UNLV*		Earl Wilson Stadium	L 7–8	Gomberg (1–4)	Weckler (0–6)	—	571	16–29	—
May 5	ESPN+	Valparaiso*		Franklin Field	W 6–4	Arnold (1–3)	Boynton (0–8)	Kuhnke (4)	2,414	17–29	—
May 6	ESPN+	at UIC*		Curtis Granderson Stadium	W 12–6	Vander Loop (1–1)	Buss (0–5)	Weckler (1)	138	18–29	—
May 8		at Youngstown State		717 Credit Unoim Field Youngstown, OH	L 11–13	Gebhardt (4–3)	Theis (2–3)	Wemer (1)	3,886	18–30	10–9
May 9		at Youngstown State		717 Credit Union Field	L 3–4	Messmore (2–6)	Ehmke (3–6)	Heflin (1)	222	18–31	10–10
May 10		at Youngstown State		717 Credit Union Field	W 12–8	Peterson (4–4)	Mikos (0–9)	Kuhnke (5)	308	19–31	11–10
May 12		at Northern Illinois*		Ralph McKinzie Field DeKalb, IL	Canceled (inclement weather)
May 14	ESPN+	Oakland		Franklin Field	W 12–11⁽¹¹⁾	Kuhnke (3–1)	Cooper (0–2)	—	259	20–31	12–10
May 15	ESPN+	Oakland		Franklin Field	W 8–4	Ehmke (4–6)	Rosenblitt (1–4)	Arnold (1)	234	21–31	13–10
May 16	ESPN+	Oakland		Franklin Field	W 14–8	Vander Loop (2–1)	Glassman (0–5)	—	317	22–31	14–10

Postseason (5–2)

Horizon tournament (3–0)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record	HZNT
May 21	ESPN+	vs. (3) Northern Kentucky	(2)	Nischwitz Stadium	W 14–2	Ehmke (5–6)	Miramontes (4–3)	—	467	23–31	1–0
May 22	ESPN+	at (1) Wright State	(2)	Nischwitz Stadium	W 12–8	Peterson (5–4)	Paige (3–7)	Kuhnke (6)	443	24–31	2–0
May 23	ESPN+	vs. (5) Oakland	(2)	Nischwitz Stadium	W 5–4	Kuhnke (4–1)	Paplanus (1–5)	—	580	25–31	3–0

NCAA Auburn Regional (2–2)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record	NCAAT
May 29	ESPN+	at No. 5 (1) Auburn*	(4)	Plainsman Park Auburn, AL	W 13–8	Peterson (6–4)	Marciano (5–6)	—	6,408	26–31	1–0
May 30	ESPN+	vs. (2) UCF*	(4)	Plainsman Park	W 13–6	Ehmke (6–6)	Gray (5–2)	—	6,104	27–31	2–0
May 31	ESPN+	at No. 5 (1) Auburn*	(4)	Plainsman Park	L 1–8	Cormier (2–0)	Kunhke (4–2)	—	6,090	27–32	2–1
June 1	ESPN+	at No. 5 (1) Auburn*	(4)	Plainsman Park	L 3–8	Sanders (5–1)	Weckler (0–7)	—	8,228	27–33	2–2

Legend: = Win = Loss = Canceled
Bold = Milwaukee team member * Non-conference game
Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.^[3]

Postseason

Horizon League tournament

Horizon League baseball tournament
(1) Wright State Raiders	(2) Milwaukee Panthers	(3) Northern Kentucky Norse	(4) Youngstown State Penguins	(5) Oakland Golden Grizzlies


Play-In Game			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals



			1	Wright State	7

4	Youngstown State	3	5	Oakland	5

5	Oakland	10				1	Wright State	1

						2	Milwaukee	4

			2	Milwaukee	14

			3	Northern Kentucky	2
									2	Milwaukee	5	-

									5	Oakland	4	-
			Lower round 2			Lower final



						1	Wright State	5

			3	Northern Kentucky	3	5	Oakland	11

			5	Oakland	5

NCAA Auburn Regional

NCAA Auburn Regional
(1) Auburn Tigers	(2) UCF Knights	(3) NC State Wolfpack	(4) Milwaukee Panthers

Regional			Regional			Finals

1	Auburn	8

4	Milwaukee	13
			4	Milwaukee	13
Winner's bracket
			2	UCF	6
3	NC State	3

2	UCF	9
						4	Milwaukee	1	3

						1	Auburn	8	8
1	Auburn	17

3	NC State	13
			1	Auburn
Loser's bracket
			2	UCF	3

References

↑ "2026 Baseball Standings". horizonleague.org. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
1 2 Winters, Sa'Mone (February 12, 2026). "Wright State Selected First in 2026 Under Armour #HLBASE Preseason Poll". horizonleague.com. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
↑ "2026 Baseball Schedule". mkepanthers.com. Retrieved July 12, 2026.

External links

MKE Panthers baseball

[1] "2026 Baseball Standings". horizonleague.org. Retrieved May 10, 2026.

[preseason_poll_and_awards-2] 1 2 Winters, Sa'Mone (February 12, 2026). "Wright State Selected First in 2026 Under Armour #HLBASE Preseason Poll". horizonleague.com. Retrieved July 12, 2026.

[3] "2026 Baseball Schedule". mkepanthers.com. Retrieved July 12, 2026.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Milwaukee Panthers baseball
Venue	Lake Park (1957–1973) Enderis Playfield (1987–1988) Baird Field (1989–1991) Simmons Field (1992–1993) Henry Aaron Field (1994–2019) Franklin Field (2020–present)
People	Head Coaches List of MLB players
Seasons	1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974–1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
College World Series appearances in italics