Wilken attended Bloomingdale High School located in Valrico, Florida.[1] As a junior in 2019, he batted .468 with 12 home runs and 26 RBIs over 25 games.[2][3] His senior season in 2020 was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he still hit four home runs over eight games.[4]
After not being selected in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft, Wilken enrolled at Wake Forest University and instantly became their starting third baseman as a freshman in 2021.[5] Over 47 starts, he slashed .279/.365/.617 with 17 home runs, a team-high 44 RBIs, and 41 runs scored.[6] His 17 home runs were most by a Wake Forest freshman ever.[7] After the season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League,[8][9] and was named the league's Most Valuable Player after batting .302 with six home runs and 26 RBIs over 38 games.[10] As a sophomore in 2022, Wilken appeared in sixty games and batted .272 with 23 home runs and 77 RBIs.[11] He returned to play for Harwich that summer, and was named a league all-star.[12][13][14] He was chosen to try out for the USA Baseball National Collegiate Team, but was not selected.[15] He entered the 2023 season as a top prospect for the upcoming MLB draft.
Wilken began the 2024 season back with Biloxi. On April 11, 2024, Wilken suffered multiple facial fractures after he was hit in the face by a pitch from Mississippi Braves reliever Domingo Gonzalez.[18]
