skip navigation

Boys Basketball: Updated listing of active career scoring leaders and Top 25 All-Time scorers

05/04/2022, 5:30pm CDT
By Mark Miller

John Kinziger of De Pere

Twenty-four high school boys' basketball players from Wisconsin, 23 from the class of 2023 and one in the class of 2024, enter the 2022-23 prep campaign with at least 1,000 career points. 

A year ago, 19 players in the state began the 2021-22 campaign with at least 1,000 career points.

Two players in the class of 2022 managed to move into the Top 25 on the state's all-time scoring list as Sheboygan Lutheran's Casey Verhagen finished his four-year career with 2,265 points to take over 19th place while Lake Country Lutheran's Luke Haertle completed his four-year career with 2,264 points to move into 20th place. 

De Pere's sharpshooting guard, John Kinziger, is the top returning scorer in the state with 1,570 career points. During his stellar three-year prep stay with the Redbirds, the 5-foot-11 Kinziger has averaged 20.1 ppg while playing against mostly WIAA Division 1 competition in the Fox River Classic Conference.


Mac Wrecke of Arrowhead

The state's second-leading returning career scorer, Mac Wrecke of Arrowhead, also plays against extremely strong competition as the Warhawks compete in the Classic Eight Conference. The 6-foot-5 Wrecke has scored 1,494 points in three seasons under coach Craig Haase. 

Kinziger and Wrecke, along with the state's No. 3 returning scorer, Riley Brooks of Ripon, all have a shot at breaking into the Top 25 All-Time Top Scorers in state history with a prolific senior season next winter. 

Brooks, like Kinziger and Wrecke a three-year starter and consistent scoring threat, enters next year with 1,394 career points. 

Kinziger would need to score 586 points to move past former East Troy forward AJ Vukovich into 25th place on the all-time scoring leaderboard. Vukovich, who graduated in 2020, scored 2,155 career points for the Trojans. 

Kinziger scored 586 points as a sophomore and 587 points as a junior so the 586 he would need as a senior to move into the Top 25 is a very realistic goal for the unselfish point guard with a NCAA Division I scholarship offer from Toledo. 


Amari McCottry of Saint Thomas More

Wrecke needs 662 more points to get past Vukovich and 684 points to surpass No. 24 A.J. Hendrickson of Pecatonica, who scored 2,177 career points before graduating in 2017.

While Wrecke's chances of moving into the Top 25 are realistic, it won't be easy. If Kinziger moves past Smith that would potentially push Hendrickson down to No. 25. And Wrecke would need to score a career-best season total of 684 to move past Hendrickson. Wrecke's previous best scoring season came as a sophomore when he netted 672 points.

Brooks faces an even tougher task. 

In order to get into the Top 25, Brooks will need to have a monster senior season. If Kinziger and Wrecke both accomplish their goals of getting into the Top 25, Brooks would need to score 800 points in 2021-22 to move past No. 23 Diamond Stone of Dominican. Stone scored 2,193 career points for the Knights before graduating in 2015. 

Meanwhile, ultra-talented junior-to-be Amari McCottry (6-5) of Saint Thomas More is the lone player not in the 2023 class who enters next season with at least 1,000 career points.

McCottry has scored 1,059 in his two years of varsity competition for the Cavaliers. He has a strong chance of moving into the Top 25 with two more productive seasons for Saint Thomas More.

However, no player currently on the state prep landscape appears even remotely close to challenging the state's all-time scoring record of 3,391 points poured in by Wausaukee's Anthony Pieper in the early 1990s. 

Below are the top returning career scorers along with the Top 25 All-Time scoring list. 

Top Returning Career Scorers

NAME SCHOOL GAMES POINTS Average
John Kinziger De Pere 78 1,570 20.1
Mac Wrecke Arrowhead 78 1,494 19.2
Riley Brooks Ripon 71 1,394 19.6
Jeremy Lorenz Brillion 76 1,350 17.8
Tyran Cook Waukesha South 72 1,280 17.8
Jordan Malmlov Prescott 71 1,262 17.8
Dawson Schmidt Shiocton 73 1,252 17.2
Milan Momcilovic Pewaukee 73 1,236 16.9
Levi Birkholz Lakeside Lutheran 73 1,223 16.8
Mason Prey Newman Catholic 69 1,212 17.6
Logan Baumgartner Medford 75 1,200 16.0
Adison Mittelstadt Mayville 67 1,190 17.8
Cole Uhlenbrauck Saint Mary Catholic 74 1,123 15.2
Kadin Baxter Oconto 73 1,114 15.3
Cal Fisher Deerfield 60 1,105 18.4
Jacob Dunham South Milwaukee 71 1,098 15.5
Brady Ingersoll Ladysmith 69 1,069 15.5
Seth Bunders Wauzeka-Steuben 66 1,068 16.2
Amari McCottry Saint Thomas More 51 1,059 20.8
Isaac Seidel Newman Catholic 74 1,043 14.1
Ashe Ogelsby The Prairie School 78 1,040 13.3
Andrew Brown Neillsville 71 1,021 14.4
Alex Sherwood Xavier 71 1,008 14.2
Nathan Gibbs Port Edwards 67 1,001 14.9

Wisconsin's Top 25 All-Time Leading Scorers

NAME SCHOOL GRADUATION YEAR POINTS
1. Anthony Pieper Wausaukee 1993 3,391
2. Mickey Crowe JFK Prep 1975 2,724
3. Mike Koehler Elkhart Lake 1993 2,689
4. Sam Dekker Sheboygan Lutheran 2012 2,593
5. Sam Okey Cassville 1995 2,539
6. Jacob Ognacevic Sheboygan Lutheran 2020 2,501
7. Jordan McCabe Kaukauna 2018 2,442
8. Cam Ward Marshall 2014 2,384
9. Matt Rohde Weyauwega-Fremont 2001 2,381
10. Trevor Anderson Stevens Point 2016 2,360
11. Ryan Duessler Wausaukee 1997 2,354
12. Preston Ruedinger Lourdes Academy 2021 2,349
13. Travis Tuttle Argyle 1992 2,322
14. Marcus Domask Waupun 2019 2,307
15. Jim Zweifel Monticello 1958 2,303
16. Henry Ellenson Rice Lake 2015 2,295
17. Dan Denniston Pittsville 1994 2,283
18. Brad Clark Markesan 1996 2,269
19. Casey Verhagen Sheboygan Lutheran 2022 2,265
20. Luke Haertle Lake Country Lutheran 2022 2,264
21. John Diener Cedarburg 2018 2,250
22. Steve Wilhelm Fall Creek 1970 2,235
23. Diamond Stone Dominican 2015 2,193
24. A.J. Hendrickson Pecatonica 2017 2,177
25. AJ Vukovich East Troy 2020 2,155

For the latest and most up to date boys' basketball news and recruiting information, follow Mark on Twitter @wisbbyearbook. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Mark by clicking here.

Tag(s): News Archive  BBB News  Mark Miller