WHITEWATER, Wis. — The UW-Whitewater Warhawks baseball team hopes to win their second Division III national title in three years. They say the Brewers' success shows that Wisconsin is a baseball state.
Watch this story in the video player below:
"My love for baseball, what I attribute to playing in college and being where I am today, come from going to Brewers games with my dad," said senior pitcher Brady Malkow, who came to UW-Whitewater from the town of Brodhead. "All of my birthday parties would be at Miller Park."
The Warhawks, who coincidentally play at Miller Stadium, have won three national championships in their history. Head coach John Vodenlich led the team to all three titles, which happened in 2005, 2014, and 2025.
"Just like the Brewers are overlooked in MLB, I think the state of Wisconsin is overlooked in baseball," Vodenlich said.
UW-Whitewater's most famous baseball player is also well-known by certain Brewers fans. Reliever Bob Wickman made an All-Star Game with the Brewers in 2000, 10 years after he was drafted out of UW-W.
"I had the fortune of catching him," said Vodenlich, who also played at UW-Whitewater. "Now, we have his son Ethan on the mound with us."
Malkow hopes the Brewers' success leads to Wisconsinites paying attention to the Warhawks and amateur baseball across the state.
"Watching those guys play inspires you a little bit, and I hope we can take a few things from what they're doing," Malkow said. "We like to take pride in our work out on the field, and it's really good baseball across the board."
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
