Hawk Item — Selected in the fifth round of the 2018 Major League First-Year Player Draft by the Baltimore Orioles… selected with the 145th pick, making him the highest Iowa positional player drafted since 1992… was a Cape Cod League All-Star in 2017, playing for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks… hit .302 (29-of-96) with five doubles and four home runs… had 18 RBIs and 16 runs… ranked in top 10 in the league at the midway point in both RBIs and home runs.
2018 Honors — First-team All-Big Ten selection… Academic All-Big Ten honoree. 2018 — Started all 53 games… hit .311 (66-of-212) with 11 home runs, 15 doubles, 43 runs, and 36 RBIs… hit safely in 42-of-53 games and reached safely in 47-of-53 contests… had 19 multi-hit games (14 2-hit, five 3-hit contests)… started 116 straight games to close out his Iowa career… started 152 of 165 possible games in his Iowa career… had a season-best 10-game hitting streak from March 17-31… also had a career-best 14-game reached base streak… ranked in the top 13 in the Big Ten in four categories — fifth in home runs (11), tied for ninth in doubles (15), 11th in total bases (114), and 13th in slugging (.538)… connected on his 11th home run in series finale at Northwestern (5/13), finishing 2-for-3… hit .467 (7-of-15) with six extra base hits in series win over No. 12 Oklahoma State (5/4-6)… went 2-for-5 with two doubles in game one, 3-for-5 with two home runs, five RBIs, and three runs in game two, and 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs in the series finale… finished 3-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, and four RBIs against Missouri (5/1)… connected on his seventh home run in game two against Michigan (4/28)… hit his sixth home run — a solo, first-inning shot — in game two at Nebraska (4/13)… finished 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and a career-high four runs scored in the series opener at No. 22 Illinois… went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in come-from-behind win against Bradley (3/28)… went 2-for-5 with two doubles in game two against No. 11 Indiana (3/23)… hit .545 (6-of-11) with six runs scored in sweep of Evansville (3/17-18)… went 5-for-8 with five runs and three RBIs in the doubleheader, hitting home runs in both games… hit is fourth home run of the season against Loras College (3/21), finishing 1-for-3 with two runs and an RBI… had a pair of hits, including a solo home run in the 4-3 victory over Toledo (2/16)… Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year by Baseball America and Perfect Game… preseason All-Big Ten selection by Perfect Game and named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List… named the 26th-best outfielder in college baseball by D1Baseball.com… one of Iowa’s four team captains… rated as the second-best MLB Draft prospect in the Big Ten and 74th-best nationally… ranked as the 26th-best outfielder in the nation by D1Baseball.com.
at World University Games (2017) — Hit a team-best .387 (12-of-31) with six runs, six RBIs, and seven extra base hits (three doubles, three triples, one home run… hit safely in six of seven games, posting three multi-hit contests… went 3-for-5 with two triples and two RBIs in win over Russia (8/22)… finished two for 5 with a double and home run against Korea (8/26), 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs in semifinal victory over Czech Republic (8/28), and 1-for-4 with a triple in gold medal game against Japan (8/29).
2017 Honors — Second-team All-Big Ten as an outfielder… Academic All-Big Ten honoree. 2017 –– Started all 61 games — 60 in right field, one in centerfield… hit .310 with 79 hits, 41 runs, and 55 RBIs… had 16 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs… third in the Big Ten in hits (79), third in total bases (124), fourth in RBIs (55), tied for eighth in doubles (16), tied for 10th in home runs (9), and 14th in slugging percentage (.486)… tied for 10th in the single-season record books with 79 hits and tied for 15th in doubles (16)… hit safely in 49 games and reached safely in 54 contests… had a career-long 14-game hitting streak dating back to April 4-28… also had an 11-game hitting streak from Feb. 17-March 5… had 25 multi-hit games (21 two-hit, three three-hit, one four-hit contests) and 12 multi-RBI contests… hit his ninth home run of the season in the Big Ten Tournament opener against Maryland (5/25)… scored two runs against the Terps and was 1-for-4 with two runs in the title game against Northwestern (5/28)… had three straight two-hit games at Illinois… hit three home runs and had four RBIs… had his first career two home run game in series opener (5/18) and was part of Iowa’s back-to-back-to-back jacks… hit a solo home run in game two, his fourth home run in four games… hit a walk-off two-run 446-foot home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Iowa an 11-10 victory over Ohio State (5/14)… it was Iowa’s first walk-off home run at Banks Field since 2007… went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in series finale against Penn State (4/29)… hit his fourth home run, connecting on a two-run shot in game one against Rutgers (4/21)…posted three-straight two-hit games at Nebraska… went 2-for-5 with two doubles in game two and 2-for-5 with two RBIs in series finale… had the game-winning RBI double during a 2-for-4 day against South Dakota State (4/4)… went 1-for-5 with a grand slam in Iowa’s 12-1 win over Bradley (3/22)… had three hits, going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs in game one against Lehigh (3/12) before going 4-for-5 with five RBIs in game two… the four hits and five RBIs were career highs… named to DQ Classic All-Tournament team after hitting .385 (5-of-13) with three runs and four RBIs… had multi-hit games against Hawai’i (3/3) (2-for-4) and Oral Roberts (3/4) (2-for-5) before hitting a three-run home run against Minnesota (3/5)… preseason All-Big Ten selection by Perfect Game… named to the Big Ten preseason honors list… rated as the ninth-best draft prospect in the Big Ten for 2018 MLB Draft by Baseball America, 10th-best by D1Baseball.com, and 10th-best by Perfect Game.
2016 Honors — Big Ten Freshman of the Week on March 28. 2016 — Hit .307 with 24 runs and 21 RBIs… had three triples, tied for the sixth-most in the Big Ten… started 38 games in the outfield… had 12 multi-hit games (five two-hit, seven three-hit)… finished with a .462 average at the Big Ten Tournament… went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, two walks, and a run scored in semifinal win over Maryland (5/28)… went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI in championship game against Ohio State (5/29)… hit .308 (4-of-13) with three runs and two RBIs at Penn State (5/19-20)… went 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored in game two… finished 2-for-5 with a double, run, and RBI at Western Illinois (5/17)… went 3-for-4 with an RBI in series opener against Michigan State (5/13)… tallied his fifth three-hit game against Western Illinois (5/3), finishing 3-for-5 with two RBIs… went 3-for-5 — his fourth three-hit game — with two RBIs in series finale at Indiana (4/17)… went 2-for-3 with two runs and a career-high four RBIs against Northern Illinois (3/29)… connected on his first career home run — a two-run shot — in the second inning… hit a team-best .667 (6-of-9) against Maryland, tallying hits in all three games… went 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs, and run scored in game one (3/25) and 3-for-3 in game two (3/26)… posted a .500 average (4-for-8) at Missouri State (3/18-20)… went 3-for-4 with a double in game two of the series… hit .400 (4-for-10) at the Spring Swing… posted his first career multi-hit game against Savannah State (3/13), finishing 3-for-6 with a double, two runs, and RBI… named the No. 2 impact freshman in the Big Ten Conference by D1Baseball.com.
High School — Ranked as the 482nd-best prospect nationally by Perfect Game… Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior… ABCA/Rawlings All-Region team honoree as a senior… Perfect Game All-American honorable mention and Perfect Game second-team all-region… Sioux Land Sports Authority All-American as a junior… two-time MRAC Player of the Year… two-time Super Team All-State and first-team all-state honoree… three-time first-team all-conference, first-team all-district, and first-team all-western Iowa… team MVP as a junior and senior and Offensive MVP as a sophomore… second-team all-district as a freshman… hit .472 with 14 doubles, six home runs, five triples and 49 RBIs as a senior… batted .540 with 19 doubles, two home runs, and 48 RBIs as a junior… hit .415 with 18 doubles, four home runs, and 38 RBIs as a sophomore and .375 with eight doubles, two home runs, and 19 RBIs as a freshman… helped team to a 2015 conference title… also was a third-team all-state, first-team all-district, two-time all-district honorable mention, and first-team all-western Iowa in football and a first-team all-conference, all-district, and all-conference honorable mention selection in basketball… holds the single-season school record for most receiving yards and receptions in football… recipient of the Bernie Saggau Award… academic all-conference and academic all-state in football and baseball… vice president of the National Honor Society… high school coach was Rory Jackson.
Personal — Born Nov. 12, 1996… son of Tim and Laura Neustrom… has two siblings, Traci Neustrom and Timoni West… uncle, Kelly, was a collegiate quarterback and uncle, Kirk, was a defensive back at Wayne State… majoring in political science and social studies education.