Notes: MLB Desert Invitational

MATCHUP	Kansas State | Air Force | Northeastern
LOCATION	Goodyear Ballpark | Goodyear, Arizona Salt River Fields | Scottsdale, Arizona
DATE	May 15-17, 2025
WATCH	MLB.com and MLB Network (Game 2)
LISTEN	Hawkeye Radio Network

PROJECTED STARTING ROTATION
Game 1 | Feb. 13 | 2 p.m. (CT) Goodyear Ballpark | Goodyear, Arizona	Iowa: RHP Tyler Guerin (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Kansas State: RHP James Guyette (0-0 , 0.00 ERA)
Game 2 | Feb. 14 | 7 p.m. (CT) Salt River Fields | Scottsdale, Arizona	Iowa: RHP Logan Runde (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Air Force: LHP Josh Holst (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Game 3 | Feb. 15 | 2 p.m. (CT) Salt River Fields | Scottsdale, Arizona	Iowa: TBD (--, -- ERA) Northeastern: RHP Andrew Rogovic (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team heads to Goodyear and Scottsdale, Arizona, for the MLB Desert Classic from Feb. 13-15. The Hawkeyes will take on Kansas State at 2 p.m. (CT) on Friday at Goodyear Ballpark, Air Force at 7:30 p.m. (CT) on Saturday at Salt River Fields and Northeastern at 2 p.m. (CT) on Sunday at Salt River Fields.
 
WATCH/LISTEN LIVE
• All three of Iowa's games will be streamed on MLB.com for free. The Air Force game will also be televised on the MLB Network. 
• All three games will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with John Leo on the call. Fans can access the stream free on YouTube or HawkeyeSports.com.
• Live stats will be available on hawkeyesports.com and live updates will be available on X (@UIBaseball)

SERIES RECORDS
• Iowa is 10-17 all-time against Kansas State. The first meeting took place in 1979, with Hawkeyes sweeping a four game series with the Wildcats. The most recent meeting was in 2023, with Iowa winning 6-5. 
• Iowa is 4-1 all-time against Air Force. The first meeting took place in 1999, with the teams splitting a pair of games.  The most recent meeting was in 2022, when Iowa won, 12-2. Iowa held the Falcons to one hit on the day a two-run home run from Paul Skenes. 
• This will be the first meeting between Iowa and Northeastern.

NEW ARMS
• Iowa baseball brings back 52 1/3 innings from last season and loses 428 1/3 innings.
• Justin Hackett leads the pack with 18 2/3 innings, followed by Tyler Guerin with 16 1/3, Jaron Bleeker with 8 2/3 and Ganon Archer with 8 1/3. 
• This is just the second time that Iowa has lost all three weekend starters from a season ago under Heller (2018) -- Iowa used four starters during the Big Ten only season in 2021 and returned one in 2022. 

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Iowa's 37-man roster features four graduates, six seniors, three redshirt juniors, three juniors, two redshirt sophomores, two sophomores, five redshirt freshmen and 12 freshmen.
• Iowa returns 12 letterwinners and welcomes 20 newcomers (eight of which are transfers) to the squad.

AROUND THE COUNTRY
The Hawkeye roster features 25 players from Iowa, three from Wisconsin, two from Minnesota, and one each from Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, California, and Indiana. 

I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!
Iowa's roster features five sets of previous 
teammates:
• Archer/Moore: Van Meter (2022)
• Archer/Risley/Runde: Kirkwood CC (2023)
• Frese/Schulte/Wulf: Southeastern CC (2024)
• Wulf/Phelps: Southeastern CC (2023) 
• Husak/Ziegler: DMACC (2023)

O CAPTAINS! MY CAPTAINS!
Ganon Archer, Tyler Guerin, Gable Mitchell and Kellen Strohmeyer have been voted team captains for the 2026 season. 

WULF WOWS
Over the final 10 games of last season, including nine starts, 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

HOWLING AT THE MOON
Caleb Wulf slashed .545/.556/.667 with a 1.222 OPS while playing in 13 of Iowa's 16 night games last 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. 

HACKING LEFTIES
RHP 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.

IMPACT TRANSFERS
The Hawkeyes added six Division I transfers to their 2026 roster: Matthew Delgado (North Alabama), Joe Husak (Illinois State), Joey Nerat (DBU), Bryce Phelps (Wagner), Logan Runde (FIU), and Brett White (Baylor).

BACK TO DES MOINES
The Hawkeyes are returning to Des Moines, Iowa for a series for the third straight year facing Purdue. 
• The Hawkeyes faced FIU for a three-game series in 2024 which was the first time since 2018 (and first regular season game since 2004) that the Hawkeyes played at Principal Park and faced Oregon State in 2025.  
• Six Hawkeyes hail from the Des Moines metro area (two from Adel and one each from Grimes, Johnston, Urbandale, and Winterset).

HAWKEYES PROMOTE OBERMUELLER  
Wes Obermueller was promoted to pitching coach on January 6, 2026 after serving as the Director of Player Development in 2025. 
• 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.

IMPROVING UNDER OBE
In Wes Obermueller's first year on staff as the Director of Player Development, 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

PEARSON RETURNS
David Pearson is back for his second stint with the Hawkeyes after being named an assistant coach on Jan. 6, 2026. 
• Pearson previously served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Hawkeyes in 2021.
• Pearson spent the 2025 fall semester on the Illinois State baseball staff after more than two years as a Midwest area scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, covering Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
• During his one season in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes won 36 games, the eighth-most wins in a single season in program history, and finished tied for second in the Big Ten with a 17-7 record. Iowa won 20 of 27, 23 of 32 and 30 of 42 games down the stretch, including six straight series to close out the regular season, putting itself in NCAA Regional conversation at season’s end. The Hawkeyes qualified for the Big Ten Tournament and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2017.

IOWA BASEBALL FAMILY
Iowa has five sets of family ties on this year's roster. 
• Gable Mitchell's father Brian Mitchell played baseball for the Hawkeyes (1996-99). 
• Caleb Wulf is the son of Troy Wulf, a former pitcher for the Hawkeyes (1996-99).
• Kooper Schulte is the son of former Iowa pitcher Justin Schulte (1994-95). 
• Maddux Frese is the son of former Iowa pitcher Nate Frese (1996-99).   
• Pitching coach Wes Obermueller (1997-99) is the father of former Iowa pitcher Cade Obermueller who was drafted by the Phillies in 2025.
• Brian Mitchell, Troy Wulf, Nate Frese and Wes Obermueller were all teammates and roommates together from 1997-1999. 

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Hawkeyes will play four games against preseason top‑25 opponents, including a marquee three‑game series with preseason No. 1 UCLA in Iowa City. In total, Iowa is slated to face 13 teams that reached the 2025 NCAA Tournament. 
• The nonconference slate features single matchups with Alabama, Northeastern, No. 12 Oregon State, and Kansas State, while conference play brings three-game sets against USC, Nebraska, and top‑ranked UCLA.

PLAYING FOR GB
The Hawkeyes are wearing a patch in their uniforms this season in honor of former public address announcer Gregg Bentler who  passed away at the age of 59 on July 23, 2025.
• Bentler was the event voice for many Hawkeye sporting events for over two decades, primarily for baseball and gymnastics. In recent years, Bentler was the lead public address announcer for men’s basketball.
• Born in Burlington, Iowa, Bentler graduated from Marquette High School (West Point, Iowa) in 1984 and from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business in 1988 with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

MOVING THE NEEDLE
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 Ryan Campbell along with lead on-field manager Luke Sheridan and lead data analyst Keithan Sharp. 
• The program is broken into four departments: Operations Assistants (4 students), Data Analysts (8 students), On-Field (11 students) and Video & Technology (4 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, 5 Minor League Organizations, 6 college baseball teams, 4 summer ball/independent league teams, 3 training facilities, and numerous other careers outside of baseball. 

LAST SEASON
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.

FOUR HAWKEYES DRAFTED  TO MLB
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 NORM — 30
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).

30 WINS X 10
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’S B1G TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• 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.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT STREAK
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.)

ALL-BIG TEN
Iowa had eight student-athletes earn Big Ten recognition last season. 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 was the only school with all three of its weekend starters earning honors.

ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN 
12 University of Iowa baseball student-athletes were named to the 2025 Spring Academic All-Big Ten team.
• Ganon Archer, Max Burt, Benjamin DeTaeye, Rowan Donels, Justin Hackett, Sam Hart, Connor Hennings, Gable Mitchell, Reese Moore, Cade Obermueller , Kellen Strohmeyer and  Ben Swails. 
• To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team, as verified by being on the official squad list as of May 1 for spring sports, who have been enrolled fulltime at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
• Max Burt and Sam Hart were both named Distinguished Scholar Award recipients. To earn the honor a student-athlete must have earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled full time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year, excluding any summer grades.

#HELLERBALL
• 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 10 of his 11 (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.

WHAT'S TO COME
Following the three games in Arizona, the Hawkeyes will head to Florida, for a three-game series against FAU on Feb. 20-22.