IOWA CITY, Iowa – Two University of Iowa baseball student-athletes – graduate student Connor Schultz and redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams – have earned Big Ten Conference weekly honors, it was announced Wednesday by the league office.
Schultz is the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, while Williams is the Big Ten Player of the Week. The honors are the program’s seventh and eighth this season, which are the most in a single season in program history. They are the first such honors of Schultz and Williams’ careers.
Schultz earned the Pitcher of the Week honors after tossing eight shutout innings in a 12-2 road win at No. 8 Rutgers on April 23. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native scattered two hits, struck out six and issued only one walk in leading the Hawkeyes to the series-clinching road victory.
The right-hander allowed only a second inning walk and third and sixth inning singles to retire 24 of the 27 batters he faced. The eight innings tied a career long start and he needed just 85 pitches – 59 going for strikes – to navigate through a Rutgers’ offense that is one of the nation’s best.
Williams earned his first career weekly honor after slashing .600/.727/1.067 with a 1.794 OPS to lead the Hawkeyes to a 3-1 week. The first baseman finished with six RBIs and scored seven runs during the week.
The Johnston, Iowa, native opened the week by hitting for the cycle — the first by a Hawkeye since 2018 — in a midweek victory over Bradley on April 19. He finished 5-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, five RBIs and five runs scored in a 15-8 win. The five hits tied a school single game record and his five RBIs and five runs scored were career-bests.
Williams hit safely in all three games and drew six walks in the series win at No. 8 Rutgers. He was 2-for-3 with three walks and three runs scored in the series-clinching win on April 23.
The Hawkeyes’ series win in Piscataway was the first over a top 10 ranked team since 2018 (No. 7 Michigan) and its first road series win over a ranked foe since 2019 (No. 19 Oklahoma State).
Iowa has had four different players earn Big Ten weekly recognition this season. Adam Mazur was the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 23 and March 2, while Keaton Anthony is a four-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week selection (Feb. 23, March 16, April 5, April 19).
Iowa returns to action Friday, traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a three-game Big Ten series at Nebraska. Friday’s series opener is set to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) and it will be televised live on BTN.
