Madison Werner, a junior catcher and third baseman from Germantown, Wisc.—a village of close to 21,000 in the Badger State—has been ahead of the curve for, well, pretty much her entire life.

For one thing, she started walking at the early age of just seven and a half months when the typical baby doesn’t begin until 10 to 18 months.

Her mother, Stacy, recalls:

“Madison was always athletic and advanced, from a young age on. Things came easy for her, and she was able to learn skills quickly. She has always had very good hand/eye coordination also and is passionate and competitive.”

It didn’t take long for those accelerated skills to become apparent on the softball fields, either.

Playing second year 10U, Madison competed for a local travel team, the Richfield Rebels, and was a key member on this squad that won the NSA Fastpitch World Series in Crown Point, Ind. after having one loss in the double elimination tournament before pulling off the two straight wins to capture the trophy.

At the first year 12U level, Madison showed her early power at the plate with 12 home runs and in second year 12U, the budding star had a walk-off single with two outs and two strikes against her to win a crucial win against Tennessee Mojo at the PGF Music City World Series in Tennessee.

Stacy Werner remembers the moment like it was yesterday.

“We were down by two with two on and Madison was told to take the first pitch to move the runner over to second base. She fouled off several pitches until she found her pitch to help her team win the championship.”

That title-winning event showed that the young athlete had another great skill in her bag of talents: she could come through when the pressure was on and the tension thick as can be.

“This game sticks in my head because it was so hot that sweat was just dripping off the girls. It was a night game under the lights and was probably the dirtiest the girls ever were during a game! I was so nervous for Madison; I was just shaking. I knew she was nervous, too, but she didn’t show it. Leading up to this, she was struggling a bit offensively, so it was really special and cool to see her believe in herself and come through for her team. With that win, they saw another day and ended up third overall.”

Moments like those convinced the athlete’s parents that Madison had the tools to go far in fastpitch.

“Honestly, we always felt she had something special,” her mother continues.

“I know, it’s the typical parent response but actually we were always very humble about her abilities and never really knew for sure but had a strong sense. However, season after season, we couldn’t deny she had potential to play at a very high level.”

“When Madison played 12U, we started having more serious conversations about if she was interested in playing at the next level.”

Flash forward to the right-hander’s high school career and the accomplishments keep coming.

For her Germantown (Wisc.) High squad last year, the then-junior led her team with three triples, 45 RBIs (which tied the school record) and she also tied for the team lead with seven home runs.

On defense, Madison led the Warhawks with 129 putouts and was a key cog for Warhawks team that finished with a 17-9 record, a regional championships and top finish in the Greater Metro Conference.

The 2024 grad also impressed at the club level and playing for the Velocity 16U National team coached by former Wisconsin Badger great Kayla Konwent—a two-time All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year in 2019—Madison kept getting better and better and impressed more than a few scouts when she batted .545 with a slugging percentage of 1.045 at the Easton Rawlings Elite Showcase held in October 2023.

So proud of my @Velocity16uNat team going 6-1 at the Easton Rawlings Elite Showcase over the weekend. Here are a few of my hits ⬇️
💥 AVG .545, OBP .583, SLG 1.045, 1B 5, 2B 4, 3B 2, HR 1, RBI 7@KKForHisGlory @Velo_Softball @ondecksoftball pic.twitter.com/aaYr73113f

— Madison Werner (@madtown2025) October 23, 2023

Heading into the winter and the key recruiting period, Madison had narrowed her list of colleges to two before announcing in February that that she would be staying in-state to play at the University of Wisconsin.

One reason was the proximity to home as the Badgers’ campus is just 90 minutes away and will allow her family to watch her play frequently.

“Selfishly, I am happy she is staying close by!” Madison’s mother laughs. “We plan on going to watch as many games as we can and it will be nice for family and friends to watch her play, too, since she’ll be close by. We have 12-year-old twin boys so the away games will be more challenging due to them being in school but if we can make it work, we’ll try to get to some of those too. Especially some of the warmer weather destinations in the beginning of the season!”

And, no, it hasn’t escaped the attention of the Werner family that Madison will be going to college in Madison (Wisconsin).

“She has heard a lot of jokes about ‘Madison’s going to Madison,” Stacy Werner explains. “Some ask if we went to school there, but, no, that is not the case. We just liked the name
‘Madison.’”

“When Madison was a toddler, my Dad—Madison’s Grandpa—nicknamed her ‘Madtown’ because she was always moving and always wanted to be doing something… she was a very active social kid.”

Happily taking to the nickname, even the athlete’s X (formerly Twitter) handle is: @madtown2025.

“Years later,” Madison’s mother concludes, “when she was trying out for a local travel 8U team, the coach ended up calling her ‘Madtown’ at the tryout and this was without him even knowing that was her nickname.”

“We at the time felt, ‘Oh, it’s meant to be… a perfect fit!’”

— Brentt Eads, Line Drive Softball

*****

Line Drive Softball caught up with Madison recently to get her insights into her early softball career, what stat she is most proud of, what Wisconsin coaches saw in her and why she decided to be a Badger… scroll down to read her responses.