It’s a new chapter for Waterloo baseball, as head coach Mark Vogel called an end to his 34-year coaching career at the conclusion of the 2025 season. Throughout his Hall of Fame career, Vogel won 619 games, captured five regional titles, and finished third in the state playoffs twice (2001, 2019). 

Now at the helm of the program is Garrett Schlect, an alumni of the school that was drafted out of Waterloo by the Chicago Cubs in the ninth round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Schlect served as the head assistant last spring for the Bulldogs, proving integral to the success they had last spring. 

With that, there’s plenty of optimism on our end with this Waterloo club. They’re coming off a 25-11 season, spent a large majority of last year inside our team rankings, and made it to their regional championship game. Six position players and eight arms return from that group as Waterloo enters the 2026 season as one of, in our eyes, the top teams in the Metro East. 

We’ll start with their senior group and RHP Conrad Lindhorst (2026; Lincoln Land CC), who got it done on both sides of the ball last year for the Bulldogs. His main efforts are on the mound, as Lindhorst returns 47 innings with a 2.68 ERA, punching out 42 and walking just 14. He’s a bulldog, worker-type that made nine starts and tossed three complete games in his 11 total appearances. His fastball plays in the mid-80s, with the ability to climb into the upper-80s, and he consistently spins a sharp breaking ball for strikes. Positionally, Lindhorst hit .329 in 76 at-bats for Waterloo, driving in 26 runs. 

Conrad Lindhorst

Still uncommitted, OF Caleb Papenberg (2026) was one of the more intriguing left-handed hitters we saw on our circuit last winter. He really looks the part with long, projectable levers that are plenty capable of continuing to add strength. Offensively, Papenberg’s barrel works uphill through the zone and looks to elevate the baseball, flashing advanced bat strength in our looks, including a double at Murphysboro last spring. Papenberg doesn’t whiff much, walking (14) as much as he struck out (14) and he chipped in 12 stolen bases as well. Papenberg’s best days are still ahead of him and him putting together a strong senior season at the plate for Waterloo would really elevate this club. 

Caleb Papenberg

INF Drake Luedeman (2026), INF Brady Schmidt (2026), and INF Rowan Schilling (2026) are a trio of senior middle infielders that saw time on varsity last spring and could move around as potential regulars this upcoming season. LHP Alex Harper (2026) is a highly physical left-handed arm committed to St. Charles CC to keep an eye on as well. 

Waterloo’s junior class has some real juice behind it, with C/RHP Trey Conrod (2027) at the forefront. Our staff has become increasingly familiar with Conrod over the past year, as he’s shown well in front of us multiple times, whether at one of our events or in game. He’s an above-average athlete that plays up from that because of a double-plus motor that always runs high, regardless of the situation. It’s a short, strong right-handed swing that’s comfortable using the whole field and hasn’t shown much swing-and-miss in our looks. Defensively, Conrod’s arm really works behind the plate, and his ability to work in general from a receiving/blocking standpoint are evident. If he’s not back there, he can comfortably slide through the middle to center field, where his run tool and motor play nicely, too. We’ve also seen him jump on the hill and pitch in the mid-80s with strike feel for a low-70s breaking ball. Conrod was an All-Conference selection as a sophomore last spring after hitting .356 in 59 at-bats with a .472 OBP. 

Trey Conrod

1B/3B Tanner Chamberlain (2027) and 3B Austin Martin (2027) are two juniors that you could see man the corner infield spots for Waterloo this spring. Plenty physical in a strong, compact frame with a football background, Chamberlain has the raw bat strength to be a potential middle-of-the-order bat should it click. Martin was a name that showed well in one of our tournaments this summer, working on the barrel a few times with a short, controlled right-handed swing, and showing flashes of former Waterloo 3B Max Oswald (2025; SWIC). Martin saw time on varsity last spring as a sophomore, posting a .863 OPS with eight extra-base hits in 62 at-bats.

Austin Martin

One name we’ve heard positive things about that threw 24 innings last spring for the Bulldogs is RHP Cannon Richard (2027). The 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior struggled at times throughout his sophomore season, but has reportedly taken a jump up in stuff, ticking up into the mid-to-upper-80s with his fastball. Another junior to keep an eye on that showed well for us this summer was OF Caden Castello (2027). 

How much success Waterloo’s current sophomore class has, or continues to have in some cases, could be one of the bigger driving factors behind the Bulldogs’ success in 2026. They had several youngsters contribute as freshmen last year that are back, with two notable ones being LHP Carter Jones (2028) and LHP/1B Chase Zimmerman (2028):

+ Jones made eight appearances for Waterloo last spring, including four starts, two complete games, and a 4-0 record. He threw 32 ⅔ innings with a 2.36 ERA walking only nine and punching out 27. A strike-throwing southpaw that owns a three-pitch mix, Jones’ ability to stay off barrels and induce weak contact has him poised for a strong sophomore year. 

+ Zimmerman is a name our staff is particularly high on. He really looks the part with a strong, square-shouldered frame that holds lean muscle mass throughout and has plenty of room to continue adding over the next few years. His contributions to the Bulldogs last spring were mostly on the mound, where he was nothing short of exceptional, pitching to a 0.69 ERA in 20 ⅓ innings, walking only three. We saw Zimmerman at one of our events this fall, where he pitched in the low-80s and showed feel for both of his secondaries (CB/CH). On that day, Zimmerman also provided a highly intriguing look at the plate, backspinning on repeat to the right-center gap from a short, uphill left-handed swing that certainly looked like it was going to hit for middle-of-the-order power one day. Zimmerman’s two-way impact potential is obvious and he could certainly be a positive contributor on both sides of the ball this spring. 

Chase Zimmerman

Two other sophomore arms to highlight are RHP Avner Christian (2028) and RHP Grant Nobbe (2028). Christian has continued to tick up over the past year or so, pitching into the mid-80s with his fastball, while Nobbe is a physical right-handed arm that caught brief action on varsity last spring.