Baseball: Prairie Ridge pitcher Riley Golden commits to Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Prairie Ridge coach Glen Pecoraro identified the potential game-changing ability and high ceiling Riley Golden possessed early on, so much so that he added the left-hander to the Wolves’ varsity team as a freshman in 2022.

Golden’s talent and work ethic in the years since has been evident. The 5-foot-10, 160-pounder has continued to build his game, and last week was rewarded.

On Thursday, Golden announced his commitment to NCAA Division I Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Golden said he was getting looks from a few other D-I schools and junior colleges, but Wisconsin-Milwaukee was where he always wanted to be since his first camp at the Horizon League school last winter.

“I’m super excited. It’s been a lot of work, but I think it all paid off,” Golden said. “The support from coaches and parents and friends, it’s good to get the weight off my shoulders a bit. Not saying there’s not more work to do, but I’m just excited to play at the next level.”

Golden received Northwest Herald All-Area honorable mention for the Wolves in the spring, recording a 2-3 record with a 2.79 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 60:19 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 37⅔ innings.

He allowed only a .189 batting average against and performed some of his best work in big games late in the season.

Pecoraro said Golden is one of the hardest workers on the team and that he often is at the school working on his craft with pitching coach Mark Skonieczny when nobody else is around.

Golden started a few games as a freshman, was a regular as a sophomore and became one of the Wolves’ top pitchers as a junior.

“Riley has a tremendous work ethic,” Pecoraro said. “He works hard on his craft as far as pitching goes. He works hard in the weight room, and I really do think he’s been on a mission since his freshman year.

“He saw, ‘I can be pretty good if put in the time and invest in my game,’ so I’m really excited for him. Riley had a great finish to the spring. I think it’s a great opportunity for him to pitch at the D-I level, and I definitely think that he’s up for the challenge.”

Golden said he appreciated the way Milwaukee made him feel included right away and like “one of the guys.”

“Compared to a lot of camps, especially at the Division I level, I felt like some of them were more of a showcase, whereas Milwaukee was more personalized,” he said. “They sectioned off where all the players could go up and talk to the current players on the team. That really stood out and showed me how much they care about their incoming class and how much they want to build that community there.”

Golden, who plays for the travel team Phenom Illinois, said playing as a freshman on varsity lit a competitive fire in him. He throws his fastball in the upper 80s.

“Freshman year I got pulled up to varsity, and that’s when I realized this was possible,” Golden said. “Something I remember is when Coach [Pecoraro] talked about [2019 Prairie Ridge grad] Dom Listi, and how he went from North Central College to Indiana State and now to Clemson. Dom Listi bet on himself, and that kind of played throughout my head when making this decision, just to bet on myself.”

Golden said his improvement from sophomore to junior year opened a lot of eyes.

He’ll be one of the Wolves’ top pitchers once again in his final season. Prairie Ridge also will bring back impact players in first baseman/pitcher Karson Stiefer and second baseman Brennan Coyle (Elgin Community College commit).

“I think I took the biggest leap from last year to this year,” Golden said, “Lots of work in the offseason with Dalton Lundeen at Phenom. Velocity jumped, had a bunch of strikeouts this year. I think the offseason played a really big role in getting to the Division I level.

“I can’t wait.”