OMAHA, Neb. – University of Iowa redshirt sophomore Adam Mazur was selected as the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and Keaton Anthony was tabbed as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, it was announced Tuesday by the league office. The Hawkeyes had four student-athletes earn All-Big Ten recognition and two players were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Mazur and redshirt sophomore Peyton Williams were first-team All-Big Ten selections and Anthony and redshirt senior Ben Beutel earned second-team honors. Anthony and Brody Brecht were named to the All-Freshman team, while redshirt junior Brendan Sher was Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship recipient.
Mazur is the second consecutive Hawkeye (and second player in school history) to earn Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors, following Trenton Wallace in 2021. (Starting pitcher Brett Backlund was a Big Ten Player of the Year in 1992.) It is the fifth time in Big Ten history that a school has had two straight honorees and the first since Illinois in 2015 and 2016.
Anthony is the second player in program history to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, joining second baseman C.J. Thieleke in 1994.
Iowa’s four All-Big Ten selections give head coach Rick Heller 30 selections in his nine seasons in Iowa City. Heller has coached at least one first-team All-Big Ten selection in seven of his eight seasons when awards were handed out (there were no honors in 2020). Anthony and Brecht are the program’s first All-Freshman team honorees since 2011 (Taylor Zuetenhorst).
Mazur earned the top pitcher and first-team All-Big Ten honors after going 7-2 with a 3.05 ERA in 14 regular season starts. The right-hander posted nine quality starts and fanned 90 batters (to 26 walks) over 88 2/3 innings. The Woodbury, Minnesota, native went 5-1 with a 2.59 ERA in eight Big Ten starts where he led the league in ERA (2.59), wins (5) and innings (55 2/3).
Mazur is the fourth starting pitcher to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors under Heller.
Anthony earned Freshman of the Year, second-team All-Big Ten and All-Freshman team honors after hitting .360 (67-of-186) with 20 doubles, 14 home runs, 53 RBIs and 43 runs scored during the regular season. Ten of Anthony’s home runs came in Big Ten play and his 20 doubles are second-most in program history.
The Hoschton, Georgia, native hit safely in 40 games, reached safely in 45 contests and posted 21 multi-hit games. He earned a Big Ten record six Freshman of the Week honors during the regular season.
The outfielder ranked third in the Big Ten in doubles (20), fourth in slugging percentage (.694) and OPS (1.135), seventh in batting average (.360) and 10th in home runs (14) during the regular season. In league games, Anthony tied for fourth with 10 home runs, ranked fifth in slugging (.768), tied for sixth in RBIs (30) and seventh in OPS (1.193).
Williams earned first-team honors after hitting .356 wit 38 RBIs, 51 runs scored and having 31 extra base hits (17 doubles, 12 home runs and two triples) during the regular season. The Johnston, Iowa, native hit safely in 37 games and reached safely in 45 contests. Williams ranks in the top eight in the Big Ten in four categories, including being fifth in on-base percentage (.477) and OPS (1.131), sixth in slugging (.654) and eighth in batting average (.356).
Williams is the second Hawkeye first baseman (Jake Adams) to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors under Heller.
Beutel enjoyed a breakout regular season as a key Hawkeye reliever, going 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA and four saves in a team-high 26 appearance. The Davenport, Iowa native has allowed just 17 hits, struck out 36 and walked just four batters over 27 innings and he hasn’t allowed a run in 22 of his 26 appearances. The southpaw has made multiple weekend appearances nine times this season.
Brecht earned All-Freshman team honors after going 1-3 with a 2.42 ERA in 16 relief appearances. The Ankeny, Iowa, native has 44 strikeouts over 22 1/3 innings and has only allowed one extra base hits all season. The flame-throwing right-hander has hit 100 or above (at least) 37 times this season (when Trackman data was available).
Sher was selected as Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient. The distinction is presented to student-athletes who display sportsmanship and ethical behavior, are in good academic standing, and demonstrate good citizenship outside of athletics.
The Hawkeyes open Big Ten Tournament play Wednesday, facing sixth-seeded Penn State at 9 a.m. (CT) at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. The game will be televised on BTN.
