Hartland, Wisconsin native Peter Kussow attended Arrowhead High School, a school that has produced a collegiate wrestling champion, a professional MMA fighter, a professional golfer, and multiple professional football players, but never a baseball player who made it to the big leagues- infielder Scott Doffek, who was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the late-80s and made it as high as Double-A is the closest the school has to offer. The Warhawks went 20-6 in 2025 and Kussow did his part by posting
a 1.47 ERA in 33.1 innings over 7 appearances, allowing 16 hits, walking 9, and striking out a team-leading 64 batters, almost 30% of the team’s total. This came as no surprise to the players and coaches in Wisconsin, as the right-hander emerged as one of the best high school players in the state this year, and considered by some the best pitcher.
Kussow, who stands 6’5” and weighs roughly 200-pounds, throws from a high-three-quarters arm slot with a long arm action through the back. His whippy arm is capable of reaching 97 MPH, though the pitch generally lives in the low-90s. Even the low-90s is an improvement as compared to where the pitch was sitting in 2024, as it generally lived in the high-90s, topping out at 90 MPH or so. The pitch generally sits around 2400 RPM, generating as much as 18 inches of induced vertical break. In addition to the ride, thanks to his arm slot and his crossfire delivery, the pitch has plenty of arm-side run, and when thrown down in the zone, has steep angle thanks to his height and extension.
His slider is his go-to strikeout pitch, though he also likes to throw it for strikes early in the count. The pitch sits in the high-80s and features gyroscopic movement, averaging roughly 2500 RPM of spin, topping out almost 2700 RPM. The pitch possesses late vertical slice without much horizontal movement and the right-hander has consistently been able to command the pitch all throughout his high school career. Kussow rounds out his pitching repertoire with a changeup, which sits in the high-80s and at present is still developing as a pitch but shows promise thanks to the tumble and fade it gets.
The right-hander has displayed inconsistent command of his pitches on account of his pitching mechanics and the fact that, as a pitcher from Wisconsin, he simply does not have as much time on the mound as many of his peers from warmer weather states. Additionally, while he has not displayed them over the course of his high school career, he may eventually develop platoon splits against better competition because of his mechanics. Because of the extremely long arm circle through the back that he utilizes, left-handed hitters have plenty of time to pick up the ball in his hand.
Kussow has a commitment to the University of Louisville.
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