With a sweep of the foot across a dusty mound and familiar stitching in hand, Peter Kussow lines his eyes with home plate — ready to pitch.
At age 18, the Waukesha County native is now entering the professional world of baseball.
In July, the right-handed pitcher was selected in the fourth round of the 2025 MLB draft, just shy of starting his college career at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
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The New York Mets called his name.
On WPR’s “Morning Edition,” the 2025 graduate of Arrowhead High School in Hartland called being the 133rd overall pick “surreal.”
“It’s hard going through the journey and all the traveling that it takes and skipping college,” he said.
Known for throwing a 97 mile per hour fastball and a deceptive slider as an Arrowhead student, Kussow is the only Wisconsin high school player to be recruited to the majors this year.
Despite committing to University of Louisville as a high school sophomore, he said he’s extremely happy with his decision to go pro.
“Whether (I) went to Louisville or got drafted, it’s a grind every day with the amount of baseball that you’re playing,” he said.
Kussow added that as his professional career begins, he remains committed to receiving a higher education degree. He plans to take online classes throughout his baseball career so he can achieve his goal once he steps away from the game.
To make it to the professional stage, Kussow credits his parents and the coaching staff with GRB Academy in Windsor. There he worked with former Milwaukee Brewers player, Eric Semmelhack.
Kussow’s high school career leads his way to the majors
As the number one right-handed pitcher in Wisconsin, Kussow made his mark on the 2024-2025 baseball season.
He averaged a 90 mile per hour fastball playing for three teams this year.
In addition to the Arrowhead Warhawks, he pitched for Wisconsin’s GRB StiKs Black and Ohio’s Cincinnati Red Scout Team.
As a Reds player, Kussow participated in the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association World Championship in Florida, a top scouting attraction for amateur baseball players. He also threw in the 2024 Perfect Game National Showcase in Arizona, another high profile event.
Kussow said the key to breaking past mental barriers at this stage of play is repetition.
“If you stay to your routine and just practice and practice over, you get in a flow and a state that really helps you stay out of your head,” he said.
He knows pressure too.
As a Arrowhead Warhawk, he threw a no-hitter against Kettle Moraine High School with 16 strikeouts in just 93 pitches. He was also named the Classic 8 Conference Player of the Year.
Kussow was also a talented freshman quarterback. But chose to step away from football to pursue baseball.
Now in Port St. Lucie, Florida, Kussow is training with the Mets through the Florida Complex League, run by Minor League Baseball. A common step for newly signed MLB players.
Championship games wrap up at the end of this month and Kussow said he will begin team play next spring.
“It’s all dependent on how you’re doing, where they feel they should put you with the affiliates in New York,” Kussow said.
As his dream becomes reality, it seems as if it was fate.
The Mets president of baseball operations is none other than David Stearns, who served as the 2015-2022 general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. Stearns is known for acquiring current players; Christian Yelich, Freddy Peralta, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas and Omar Narváez.
When asked whether he is still a Brewers fan, Kussow joked that he “was” one growing up.
“The Mets are my number one team,” he said. “But the Brewers, I’m definitely still rooting for them.”
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