The Warhawks have been off to a blazing start to begin the 2025 baseball season, and they don’t seem to have any plans of slowing down. UW-Whitewater holds an impressive 25-2 record on the season, and currently ranks No. 1 in Division III. One of the players for Whitewater, Aaron Holland, a greyshirt sophomore from Wheaton, Ill., has been one of the key reasons for their success thus far. Batting a high .412 and leading the team in home runs with 12, it’s safe to say that Holland is taking advantage of any opportunity thrown his way.
Q: After starting as a greyshirt freshman and now playing incredible ball as a sophomore, what can you attribute to your early success as a Warhawk?
A: As a grey shirt, you’re not really part of the team, so early on here, my first experience, I didn’t really have that experience with baseball. In that first year, I was lifting and working out on my own, so it’s funny when people call me a sophomore. In the World Series [last year] they called me a freshman. So I would say that first year was kind of a maturity process, which kind of set me up for being able to have success as a “freshman” in my first year, able to work on things that I needed.
Q: How do you think you’ve improved from last year to this year?
A: I think the biggest thing was the maturity of it, just becoming more confident and having that experience with the College World Series; it’s kind of eye-opening. It was intense. It feels like I’m able to play without the pressure or anything like that. So the biggest things would be my confidence and maturity, getting older and having experience in intense situations, where now, like in the La Crosse series, it just feels like baseball. It doesn’t feel like this huge moment anymore.
Q: During the season, it seems like you guys play doubleheaders almost every other day. How do you balance that with schoolwork?
A: The professors have been great here. That’s been a huge thing, that they’re very flexible. They’ve been great about allowing us to make up work and things like that. It can get tough, but coach [Vodenlich] always says, because administration always says how many days we missed, look at the GPA of the guys. Everyone’s committed to taking care of stuff when we can, so getting ahead of school, getting things done, sometimes a week in advance and looking ahead in your schedule. It’s challenging at times, but the help from the professors has been nice.
Q: What did the choice look like to attend Whitewater coming out of Wheaton North High School?
A: The big thing was I wanted to go somewhere and win. It’s not fun to play baseball and lose all the time, so a big thing for me was to go into a program that’s had success and looking to have success in the future. Anothing thing was that the administration cared a lot about athletics; as soon as I got here I could tell. Through all the sports, football, basketball, baseball, every sport it feels like teams are winning, and there’s an importance to that. Another big reason was the business program here. I wanted a business degree and I know that they have a really good business program. I don’t know if many people know much about the Illinois schools, but they’re very expensive, so it helped with a piece, it being more affordable than some of the Illinois schools. So yeah, the academic excellence and the business part of it.
Q: Playing like one of the best teams in DIII, currently ranked number one in the nation, what does the mindset look like for you and the rest of the team day in and day out?
A: There can come pressure with [being ranked number one], but our thing is having a similar team to last year, having a lot of the same guys. Last year we were ranked No. 20 the whole year, so for us it doesn’t matter what other people think, we’re still the same team. We’re still talented. Yeah, we might have the label as No. 1, but for us, it’s just been the status quo, just keeping it going. I think it helps to have a mature group, a lot of seniors on the team, so it helps to have that solid base of guys that understand the process of it, and a lot of guys are buying into it. [No. 1] is just a label people put on us, to our group of guys it’s the same mindset, winning the national championship regardless of where they rank us.
Q: You guys have had an amazing season. Is this almost a “revenge tour” after the loss in the championship last year?
A: I wouldn’t call it a “revenge tour,” I wouldn’t say we’re mad at anyone. We proved a good amount last year of what we could do and what we’re capable of, and our goal is to get back there to that same game, the title game, with a chance to win. I know a lot of guys that are pissed off, myself included, about the way [last year] ended, but for us, it’s just trying to get back there.
Q: Who do you think has helped you the most in your career, both this year and last?
A: My teammates. A couple of guys, Matt Scolan, who I work out with in the offseason, and just training with my teammates, being there and supporting me during that time in the grey shirt year, not being on the team, but still developing relationships with the guys around me. They still made me feel included and a part of things, so I have to say my teammates for keeping confidence in me when I didn’t have much at that time.
Holland and UW-W will play a doubleheader at UW-Oshkosh April 23 as they continue their tear through the WIAC and set their sights on the postseason. The Warhawks have split the season series with the Titans so far this year, winning the first matchup 9-2 before the Titans handed them their first loss of the season 6-3.
