Iowa Baseball Final Notes: 2025

The Hawkeyes closed the 2025 season with a 33-22-1 overall record. Iowa finished third in the Big Ten regular season standings and made its 10th straight Big Ten Tournament appearance.

 

The Hawkeyes had four players selected in the 2025 Major League Draft and had one agree to terms as an undrafted free agent.

Cade Obermueller was drafted in the second round (63rd pick) by the Philadelphia Phillies

Daniel Wright was chosen in the 10th round (286th pick) by the Chicago White Sox

Aaron Savary was selected in the 13th Round (402nd pick) by the Cleveland Guardians

Anthony Watts was a 14th round (420th)  pick by the St. Louis Cardinals 

Daniel Rogers signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco Giants 

 

The Hawkeyes posted their 30th victory of the 2025 season in their 13-2 victory over Indiana on April 26.  It was the 10th time in the Rick Heller era that the program has won 30 or more games. 

Iowa has had 30 or more wins in each of the “non-COVID” seasons under Heller (2020 and 2021 were altered because of the pandemic).

 

Since head coach Rick Heller's first season in 2014, the Hawkeyes have reached the 30-win plateau in every "non-COVID affected" season.  The program's six consecutive year stretch was the longest since posting seven straight 30-win seasons from 1979-85.

 

2014: 30-23

2015: 41-18 (2nd-most wins all-time)

2016: 30-26

2017: 39-22 (5th-most wins all-time)

2018: 33-20

2019: 31-24

2020: 10-5 (*pandemic shortened)

2021: 28-16 (*Big Ten-only schedule)

2022: 36-19 (8th-most wins all-time)

2023: 44-16 (Tied for most wins all-time)

2024: 31-23

2025: 33-22-1 

 

Iowa made its 10th straight Big Ten Tournament appearance and the 18th in program history.

The Hawkeyes are 27-33 all-time in tournament history, including winning its first ever Big Ten Tournament title in 2017. Iowa has made championship game appearances five times (1983, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2023).

Iowa has won at least one game in nine of the last 10 Big Ten Tournaments and is 18-12 over the past eight tournaments

Head coach Rick Heller is 20-17 in the conference tournament.

 

Since Heller took over the program in 2014, only three schools -- Iowa, Indiana and Michigan -- have qualified for the Big Ten Tournament each season it has been contested. (There was no tournament in 2020 or 2021 because of COVID.)

 

Iowa had eight student-athletes earn Big Ten recognition. Juniors Cade Obermueller and Aaron Savary and redshirt sophomore Reese Moore earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. Redshirt senior Reece Beuter and graduate student Daniel Rogers were second-team selections. Senior Ben Wilmes earned third-team honors. Jaixen Frost was named to the All-Freshman team, and redshirt freshman Max Burt was Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship recipient. 

Iowa’s seven All-Big Ten selections give head coach Rick Heller 47 selections in his 12 seasons in Iowa City. 

Heller has coached at least one first-team All-Big Ten selection in 10 of his 11 seasons when awards were handed out (there were no honors in 2020). 

Iowa is the only school with all three of its weekend starters earning honors.

 

Over the last 10 games of the season, including nine starts, junior transfer Caleb Wulf slashed .389/.421/.528 with 14 hits and eight RBIs. He hit his first home run as a Hawkeye against No. 5 Oregon on May 16. In 49 games played this season, Wulf finished  with a team-best  .364 batting average

 

The Hawkeyes have posted 12 consecutive winning seasons under head coach Rick Heller.  For perspective, the program had just two winning seasons from 1997-2013 and five from 1990-2013.

 

The Hawkeyes started out Big Ten play with eight straight series wins, including four sweeps, which is the longest streak in program history. 

 

A look back at some of the best individual performances of the season:

Reese Moore went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two home runs and three RBIs versus Minnesota on March 28.

Cade Obermueller had a career-high 12 strikeouts in seven innings of work against Northwestern on April 4.

Ben Wilmes went 3-for-4, including a grand slam, and knocked in a career-high six runs against Indiana on April 26.

Reece Beuter threw seven innings of shutout baseball and matched his career-high with eight punchouts in Iowa's win over Washington on May 4.

 

Caleb Wulf slashed .545/.556/.667 with a 1.222 OPS while playing in 13 of Iowa's 16 night games this season. He totaled 17 hits with seven RBIs and eight runs. He went 2-for-2 in stolen bases and had a 1.000 fielding percentage in those contests. 

 

Iowa's Friday night ace Cade Obermueller leads the Big Ten in multiple advanced metrics including strikeout rate (32.9%), K-BB% (23.9%), xFIP (4.18) and SIERA (2.45). 

 

Reece Beuter ranked second in the nation and leads the Big Ten in left on base percentage (88.1%). He also leads the conference and ranked fourth in the nation with a .227 batting average on balls in play. 

 

A record-breaking 3,339 fans attended Iowa's game against No. 5 Oregon at Duane Banks Field on May 16. The previous attendance record at Banks was 2,999 fans for a doubleheader against Penn State in 1998.

 

The Iowa pitching staff ranked second in the nation with nine shutouts. 

Iowa ranked fifth in hits allowed per nine innings (7.26), 11th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.8) and had the 16th best ERA in the NCAA (4.16).

 

Iowa ranked first in the Big Ten in strikeouts (578, second in ERA (4.16) and fifth in batting average (.292). 

 

Under first-year pitching coach Sean Kenny, Iowa's national rankings improved in multiple categories:

123rd to 16th in ERA

134th to 27th in WHIP

147th to 51st in K-to-BB Ratio

 

Iowa's weekend rotation of Cade Obermueller, Aaron Savary and Reece Beuter combined to go 18-5 with a 3.51 ERA. They struck out 265 batters and walked 87 over 43 starts and 226.2 innings pitched. 

 

Iowa pitchers logged 16 quality starts this season, the most by a Hawkeye squad since 2019 (19). Aaron Savary led the pitching staff with six, while Reece Beuter and Cade Obermueller tallied five each. Four of Obermueller's five quality starts were double-digit strikeout performances. In those 16 quality starts, Iowa pitchers recorded 129 strikeouts to 26 walks and allowed just 12 runs over 105 innings.

 

Junior Gable Mitchell had an on base streak of 52 games dating back to 2024. He didn't strike out in 15 straight games from March 22-April 18. He ranks as the 24th toughest batter to strikeout in the nation. Teammate Caleb Wulf ranks 18th.

 

LHP Cade Obermueller  produced five quality starts on the mound, including a seven-inning complete game against Northwestern on April 4. In the 12-1 win over the Wildcats, Obermueller struck out a career-high 12 batters while allowing one hit – a single – one walk and one unearned run. 

 

LHP Justin Hackett shut down left-handed hitters all season, retiring 21 of the 22 lefties he faced. He didn't give up a hit to a lefty until Trevor Cohen of Rutgers singled in the Big Ten Tournament on May 21. Hackett held lefties to a .045 batting average.

 

RHP Reece Beuter threw seven innings of shutout baseball in Iowa's win over UMBC on Feb. 23 and again against Washington on May 2.

Beuter was the first Hawkeye to throw 7+ shutout innings since Adam Mazur against Nebraska in 2022. 

 

Junior and right-handed pitcher Aaron Savary earned B1G Pitcher of the Week honors; the conference announced on March 10. This came after a solid performance against Rutgers on March 8 when Savary allowed three hits and struck out six batters over five innings of work. He leads the Iowa pitching staff with a 7-1 record.

 

Redshirt sophomore Reese Moore had an impressive month of March at the plate. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on March 24. 

He hit .453 in the month of March with 27 RBIs and eight bombs, including two dingers each against Ohio State on March 21 and Minnesota on March 28.

Over Iowa's 18 games in March, Moore set or tied his single-game career-highs in at-bats (6), hits (4), RBIs (4), runs scored (3), home runs (2), triples (1), walks (2) and stolen bases (1).

He led the team with nine home runs.

 

The Hawkeyes added five Division I transfers to their 2025 roster: Jackson Beaman (Missouri), Daniel Wright (Houston), Bryson Walker (Houston), Mitch Wood (Northern Kentucky) and William Pearson (Georgia).  These transfers appeared in a combined 93 games. Beaman led the offensive side with 22 hits, 21 RBIs and seven home runs. Wright led the transfers on the mound with a 3.41 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 29 innings of work.

 

Iowa outscored opponents

• 415-248 in 56 games this season.

• 59-15 in the fifth inning, and 125-77 in the final three innings (plus extras). 

Iowa was

• 31-4 when leading after six innings.

• 27-7-1 when scoring first. 

• 19-0 when scoring 10+ runs.

 

The Hawkeye roster features 29 Iowa guys, three Illinois boys, two confident Canadians, two magic Minnesotans, one wonderful Wisconsinite, one cool Californian, one charming Coloradoan, two Georgia peaches, one hardworking Hoosier, one Kansas kid, one Missouri man, one nice New Yorker, and one tenacious Texan.

 

Iowa's roster features 7 sets of previous 

teammates:

Archer/Risley: Kirkwood CC (23)

Archer/Moore: Van Meter (21-22)

Obermueller/Mitchell: City HS (19-22)

Wilmes/Risley: Johnston HS (19-22)

Wright/Hogue: Iowa Central CC (22)

Wright/Walker: Houston (23-24)

Guerin/Guerin: Mounds View HS (21-22)

 

Brant Hogue, Gable Mitchell, Andy Nelson and Jack Whitlock were voted team captains for the 2025 season.

 

Cade Obermueller was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 19th Round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft but elected to return to the Hawkeyes for his junior year. 

Obermueller was the 585th pick overall.

Obermueller is the 34th player drafted under head coach Rick Heller.

The Iowa City, Iowa, native is the second Hawkeye to return after being drafted under Rick Heller (Tyler Peyton, 2016)

 

Iowa had five sets of family ties on this year's roster. 

Gable Mitchell's father Brian Mitchell played baseball for the Hawkeyes. 

Cade Obermueller is the son of Wes Obermueller, a former pitcher for the Hawkeyes and the current director of player development.

Caleb Wulf is the son of Troy Wulf, a former pitcher for the Hawkeyes.

Brian Mitchell, Wes Obermueller, and Troy Wulf all played for the Hawkeyes from 1997-99. 

Kooper Schulte is the son of former Iowa pitcher Justin Schulte. 

Blake and Tyler Guerin are brothers.   

 

Dating back to 1969 (roster availability) Daniel Wright is the tallest baseball Hawkeye at 6-9.

 

The Iowa Baseball program has a team of 27 student managers. One of the largest and most progressive student manager programs in the country.

They are led by head manager Gabe Hester along with lead on-field manager Zack Anderson and lead data analysts Connor Curtiss and Keithan Sharp. 

The program is broken into four departments: Operations Assistants (three students), Data Analysts (eight students), On-Field (12 students) and Video & Technology (four students). 

The data team uses HawkDashboard: Iowa's own internal information system that centralizes interactive player profiles, post-action reports, and statistics leaderboards. This application increases the program’s capability to process advanced analytical information into actionable feedback for coaches and players.

The program has had graduates move on to 18 MLB organizations, five Minor League Organizations, six college baseball teams, four summer ball/independent league teams, three training facilities, and numerous other careers outside of baseball. 

 

The Hawkeyes are 158-52 at home since the start of the 2015 season.  

Iowa won 19 games in 2019, the third-most in a single-season in school history, trailing only the 22 wins in 1977 and 20 wins in 2018. Iowa has 18 walk-off victories at Duane Banks Field since the start of 2015.

 

The Hawkeyes have overcame deficits to win 117 games since the start of the 2017 season and posted 19 walk-offs. 38 of those victories have come with Iowa trailing or being tied entering or through seven innings. 23 have come in the final at-bat.

 

The Hawkeyes welcomed back former Hawkeye (class of 2018) Tyler Cropley to the baseball staff as director of programs and player strategies.

 Cropley played for Heller and the Hawkeyes from 2017-18. He hit a team-best .342 with 20 doubles, nine home runs, 50 RBIs and 43 runs scored as a senior. 

 He was a named a second-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and was a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award

Cropley was selected in the eighth round of the 2018 Major League Draft by the Washington Nationals with the 251st pick. 

He was the first Hawkeye catcher drafted in top eight rounds since 1972. The Sioux City, Iowa, native made his MLB debut on August 19, 2023, for the Kansas City Royals. He appeared in two games for the Royals.

 

The Hawkeyes welcomed back former Hawkeye (class of 1999) Wes Obermueller to the baseball staff as director of player development. 

Obermueller played for Iowa from 1997-1999 before being selected by Kansas City in the second round of the MLB Draft. In 1999 he had a 6.83 ERA while recording 91 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings. He also had a .352 batting average with 24 RBIs. • Obermueller started his career at Iowa as a shortstop and then a right fielder before making his debut on the mound as a junior. He locked down a spot in the starting rotation in 1999.

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native made his major league debut on September 20, 2002, and played parts of five seasons in the big leagues (Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Florida Marlins) starting 48 games and appearing in 80. He had a 5.82 ERA over 315 1/3 innings tallying 166 strikeouts. He also pitched for the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball League and the Samsung Lions of the KBO League. 

Obermueller is the father of junior LHP Cade Obermueller.

 

Head coach Rick Heller recorded his 1000th career win against Ohio State (5/6/23) winning 15-3

The Hawkeyes have won 30 or more games in each of Heller's full seasons at the helm of the program. 

Heller has led the Hawkeyes to three NCAA Regional appearances; the program had three regional appearances in its history prior to his arrival.

Heller is third in school history in career wins with 384 at Iowa, including being tied for the most (44), second (41), fifth (39) and eighth-most (36) wins in a single-season in school history.

Heller led Iowa to its first Big Ten Tournament title in 2017 -- the first conference title since 1990 -- and he guided the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten Tournament title game in consecutive seasons. Iowa advanced to the league tournament in six straight years for the first time in program history.

Heller has coached at least one first-team All-Big Ten selection in nine of his 10 (full seasons), and has 34 Major League Baseball Draft picks in 10 seasons (36 players have gone on to play professional baseball).

Heller had four players drafted in the top 10 rounds of the 2024 MLB Draft -- a first in program history.  That included Brody Brecht, who was the 38th pick overall (Colorado) -- the highest pick by a Hawkeye since 1990.

Iowa had a school-record seven All-Big Ten selections in 2025, the most since having six in 2015. The Hawkeyes have had 47 All-Big Ten honorees in 12 seasons under Heller.

Heller has coached one Big Ten Player of the Year (Jake Adams), two Big Ten Pitcher of the Years (Trenton Wallace, Adam Mazur) and one Big Ten Freshman of the Year (Keaton Anthony) during his time as a Hawkeye.

Iowa has posted winning streaks of nine games (in 2015) and eight games (in 2017) -- the longest streaks for the program since 2012.

 

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