Mueller and Sole Added to Baseball Staff

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa head baseball coach Rick Heller announced two additions to his coaching staff on Tuesday. Casey Sole will join the Hawkeyes as director of programs and player strategies and Travis Mueller joins as director of player development.

Sole replaces Tyler Cropley, while Mueller replaces Wes Obermueller, who was promoted to the Hawkeye’s pitching coach.

Sole was on the Kirkwood Community College coaching staff for the 2024-25 season, helping the Eagles to a 37-22 overall record and a 21-12 mark in ICCAC play. He helped coach NJCAA Division II Player of the Year Cal Sullivan, who hit .438 with 92 hits, 74 RBIs and led the nation in doubles (33). The Eagles had three ICCAC first team selections in Sullivan, Boede Rahe and Jaxon Schumacher.

As a player, Sole spent three seasons as a catcher at Mount Mercy from 2021-24, appearing in 55 games for the Mustangs. Prior to Mount Mercy, he had stints at Southeast Missouri State and Kirkwood Community College, where he hit .273 with five home runs and 22 RBIs in 27 games as a redshirt freshman.

A Cedar Falls, Iowa, native, Sole was a three-time Rawlings Perfect Game Central Region honorable mention All-American at Cedar Falls High School. He was a first-team all-district, all-conference and all-metro selection as a junior and senior.

His brother, J.T. Sole, was on the Iowa baseball roster in 2015.

Before arriving at Iowa, Mueller worked as a private instructor at Dugout Sports and served as a coach in the Perfect Game Iowa Select Organization.

Mueller was inducted into the Upper Iowa University Athletics Hall of Fame as an athlete following a standout four‑year baseball career with the Peacocks from 1994–97, where he played under head coach Rick Heller. A two‑way player, he was named the Iowa Conference MVP as a first baseman in 1996 after hitting .418 with 23 RBIs in 21 league games. He finished the season batting .331 with 43 RBIs over 50 games. On the mound, Mueller earned third‑team All‑America honors as Upper Iowa won the conference title, captured the Central Region championship and made an appearance in the NCAA Division III World Series.

In the World Series, Mueller homered in a 1–0 win over No. 1‑ranked Marietta College in game one. He then pitched all 10 innings in a 2–1 loss to the eventual national champions in game two, striking out 11. His 100 strikeouts that season finished one shy of the program’s single‑season record, and he totaled 180 strikeouts during his Upper Iowa career.

A Davenport West High School graduate, Mueller earned his bachelor's degree in conservation management from Upper Iowa. He went on to play professionally in the Frontier League with the Canton Crocodiles.