IOWA CITY, Iowa – Seniors Trace Hoffman, Grant Leonard, Austin Martin, and Ben Norman and junior Trenton Wallace have been voted team captains for the 2021 University of Iowa baseball season, it was announced Wednesday by head coach Rick Heller.
It is the second straight year Leonard and Martin have been team captains.
Hoffman, a right-handed pitcher from Cascade, Iowa, made five appearances during the shortened 2020 season. He was 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA over four innings. He scattered two hits over 2 2/3 shutout innings against No. 8 NC State on Feb. 28.
Leonard, a right-handed pitcher from Mokena, Illinois, tallied four saves during the 2020 season, which were the second most in the Big Ten and 17th-most nationally. Leonard enters his final campaign with 20 career saves, which are tied for second most in Hawkeye history.
Martin, a catcher from Altoona, Iowa, hit .277 with three RBIs and nine runs scored in 2020. The backstop hit safely in 10 games with three multi-hit contests. Martin, who was named to the Buster Posey Watch List for a second straight season in 2020, hit a walk-off, 10th-inning home run in a 5-4 victory over No. 20 North Carolina last season.
Norman, an outfielder from Des Moines, Iowa, has started 75 consecutive games dating back to the 2018 season. Last season, Norman hit .295 with 18 runs and six RBIS and he hit safely in 12 of Iowa’s 15 games with three multi-hit contests. Norman tied for third in the Big Ten in runs (18), tied for eighth in steals (5) and tied for 10th in walks (11).
Wallace, an outfielder/left-handed pitcher from Rock Island, Illinois, was on the verge of a breakout season as a two-way player in 2020. Wallace went 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in five appearances on the mound with 18 strikeouts to two walks over 11 1/3 innings. Offensively, Wallace hit .529 with one home run, three doubles, five RBIs and one run scored. Wallace is expected to pitch in the weekend rotation in 2021 and be a starting outfielder.
The Hawkeyes’ schedule has not been released. It will be made available once released by the Big Ten Office.
