Panthers shortstop Trevor Schwecke: A student of baseball

Trevor Schwecke’s passion for baseball goes back to his hometown of Marshfield, fielding ground balls from his father who hit them off a tennis racket.

Schwecke gravitated towards the game of baseball because of how much he was around it in his younger years.

“Growing up all my friends played baseball, my dad loved it and all my family would come to the games so it was really a family passion that we developed and I fell in love with it,” Schwceke said.

Schwecke learned a lot from his brother, who is three years older, and attributes the great knowledge he has about the game to him because he wasn’t just playing with kids his age but also kids that were older.

Now, Schwecke’s path may take him on to fields with the best players in the world.

The Panthers infielder is having an incredible year at the plate, leading the team in hitting at .372 and adding three home runs and 41 RBIs, which was his total all of last season. He is already coming off a great year in 2018 when he hit .318 as a sophomore with 3 home runs and 39 RBI’s last season.

He carried that into the Northwoods League in the summer, which is a collegiate summer baseball league where prospects demonstrate they can hit using wooden rather than just metal bats. He played with the Madison Mallards where he was an all-star and got invited to a scouting showcase. This is very significant because of the amount of MLB scouts who came to watch him.

Schwecke’s body of work earned him a spot on Baseball America’s Horizon League preseason draft prospect list. Numerous scouts have attended UWM games this season to watch Schwecke.

Schwecke credits his knowledge for the game and his development from his access to experienced coaches each step of the way.

“My progression hasn’t been just me alone. I’ve been surrounded by great people who know a lot more about the game then I do,” Schwecke said.

Schwecke really was able to put himself in a great position to learn from some coaches who have great track records such as Panthers Head Coach Scott Doffek, and Mallards Coach Donnie Scott. Doffek is the all-time wins’ leader in school history and had some high praise words for his shortstop.

“Trevor really makes it a joy to coach him every day with the work he puts in and the leadership he has had on our team,” Doffek said.

But before June’s draft, there is May’s conference tournament and Schwecke wants to focus on that.

His play during the season has helped the Panthers have a great 2019 season thus far in great position to win the Horizon League. The Panthers are in second place in the conference at 14-9 and are only one-and-a-half games behind Wright St. with six conference games to go.

“We are due for a conference title,” Schwecke said. “We have a great core of returning guys and our chemistry helps us tremendously.”

Schwecke and the Panthers will have a big weekend ahead as they host Oakland for a three-game series, including a game at Miller Park on Saturday.