University of Iowa Athletics
Zach Daniels - Baseball - University of Iowa Athletics

#2 Zach Daniels

Position RHP/IF
Height 5-11
Weight 166 lbs.
Class So.
Hometown Robins, Iowa
High School Cedar Rapids Kennedy
B/T L/R

Hawk Item — Selected in the 19th Round of the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Atlanta Braves with the 562nd pick… finished his career with a 14-6 record with a 2.68 ERA over 114 innings… ranks fifth in school history with 65 career appearances and eighth in career saves (11).

2018 — Went 6-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 25 appearances with five saves… had 49 strikeouts over 45 2/3 innings… allowed one or fewer hits in 14 appearances and zero runs in 15 appearances… five saves tied for seventh in the Big Ten… also was 10th in wins (6) and tied for 12th in appearances (25)… in Big Ten games, tied for third in appearances (13), tied for sixth in ERA (2.59), and ninth in batting average against (.227) and saves (2)… made multiple weekend appearances six times… recorded his sixth win, tossing two innings against Penn State (5/17)… allowed one run on three hits and punched out four… notched his fifth save, getting the final out in the series finale at Northwestern (5/13)… went 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two games against No. 7 Michigan… had a two-inning save in the series opener (4/27) before pitching a season-high four shutout innings, scattering two hits, and fanning a season-high six to win the series finale (4/29)… notched his third save, getting the final three outs to complete Iowa’s 2-0 shutout victory over Northern Illinois (4/17)… earned his fourth victory, allowing one hit over three shutout innings against Ohio State (4/8), fanning three… got the final out just before a winter snow storm hit Iowa City… tossed 2 2/3 shutout innings in games one and three in the road series win at No. 22 Illinois (3/30-4/1)… recorded his third win, tossing two shutout inning against Bradley (3/28)…notched his second win, pitching a season-high 3 1/3 innings against Evansville (3/18)… allowed one run on two hits and fanned a season-high five batters… got the final five outs to record his second save at UAB (3/2)… notched his first save of the season in the 4-1 win over Old Dominion (2/18)… recorded his first win against Virginia Tech (2/23), logging three innings, surrendering one hit and fanning four.

at World University Games (2017) — Went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three appearances… allowed one unearned run on four hits over six innings, finishing with four strikeouts without issuing a walk… earned first win against Mexico (8/20), allowing one unearned run on one hit… scattered three hits over three innings in semifinal victory over Czech Republic (8/28).

2017 Honors — Named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on March 27. 2017 — Went 7-3 with a 3.22 ERA in 24 appearances… had 55 strikeouts over 50 1/3 innings… tied for seventh in the Big Ten with seven victories… pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings against Texas A&M (6/3) in the NCAA Regional, allowing one hit and fanning three… logged a career-best 4 2/3 innings against Ohio State (5/14)… registered a career-high eight strikeouts… notched his first save of the season, allowing one run on four hits over three innings against Rutgers (4/21)… won his seventh game, going 2 1/3 innings against Penn State (4/29)… tallied his sixth win, going 2 1/3 innings against UNLV (4/1)… recorded his fifth win, tossing 2 2/3 perfect innings, fanning three, against Grand View (3/28)… picked up his fourth win, going a 3 2/3 shutout innings against Purdue (3/25)… allowed just two hits and fanned four… tallied his third win of the season against Bradley (3/22), tossing two shutout innings, allowing one hit and fanning five… earned the win against Lehigh (3/12), pitching three shutout innings, allowing one hit and fanning four… tallied his first win, scattering two hits over three shutout innings against Morehead State (2/26).

2016 Honors– Named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on March 14… 2016 — Hit .167 with 16 RBIs and 14 runs scored… had a team-leading 10 sacrifice hits to tie for second in Big Ten… started 29 games at second base… went 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA and a team-high five saves in 16 appearances… five saves were tied for ninth in Big Ten… had 15 strikeouts to four walks… allowed zero runs in 14 of his 16 appearances… didn’t allow a run over his last 11 1/3 innings, spanning 10 appearances… drew three walks and scored two runs in Iowa’s Big Ten Tournament win over Maryland (5/28)… notched his fifth save in the series opening win at Penn State (5/19), getting four outs… went 2-for-4 with an RBI in game two at Penn State (5/20) — his sixth multi-hit game… recorded his fourth save, getting the final four outs in a series-clinching win over Michigan State (5/15)… went a career-long two innings, striking out a pair, to notch his third save in a 3-0 win over Grand View (4/26)… tallied his second save, getting the final out with the bases loaded in series finale against Michigan (4/24)… got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam to record his first career save in a 4-3 series-clinching victory over Illinois (4/10)… hit .364 in three-game series at Minnesota (4/1-3), collecting hits in all three games… went 2-for-4 with an RBI in game one and scored two runs and had a double in game two victory… scored the game-tying run in the eighth inning in a 4-1 come-from-behind victory over Maryland (3/26)… drove in the game-tying run and scored the winning run in Iowa’s 7-6 walk-off victory over Bradley (3/22)… also earned his first win, throwing one perfect inning against Bradley… hit .429 at the Spring Swing with two RBIs and three runs… named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on March 14 after hitting .571 with five RBIs and three runs in two wins… finished 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI against Savannah State (3/13)… made his first career start at second base against Northwestern College (3/8), finishing 1-for-3 with a run and four RBIs… drove in his first career run against Indiana State (2/26)… threw 1 2/3 shutout innings in his collegiate debut at Dallas Baptist (2/20), striking out one.

High School — Ranked as a Top-500 prospect nationally by Perfect Game… named the Graphic Edge Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Player of the Year as a senior… named to the All-State Super Team as a junior and senior… Class 4A All-State Captain in 2014 and 2015… Class 4A Player of the Year by Sport Spotlight as a senior… All-State Elite Team by Des Moines Register as a senior… two-time first team all-state selection by Iowa Newspaper Association, Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association and Sports Spotlight… two-time Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Division Player of the Year… three-time all-conference selection… two-time all-district and all-metro honoree… Class 4A Large School East All-Star and All-Star Most Valuable Player… excelled as a two-way player… hit .519 (70-of-135) with 46 runs, 27 RBIs, 19 doubles, five triples, and two home runs as a senior… went 26-of-27 on the base paths and had a .589 on-base and .778 slugging percentage… went 4-2 with a 2.52 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 50 innings… as a junior, went 8-1 with a 1.01 ERA over 62 2/3 innings, strikeing out 42 to 13 walks… hit .467 with 37 runs, 13 doubles, one triple, 32 RBIs, and 22 steals… went 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA over 53 2/3 innings as a sophomore with 31 strikeouts… holds single-season school records for hits (70) and doubles (19), and is second in triples (five), and batting average (.519)… ranks in top-three in six carer categories, including first in toughest to strikeout, third in steals (59), hits (159), doubles (35), triples (eight), and batting average (.438)… helped team to a state quarterfinal appearance in 2014 and to the semifinals as a senior… was a Perfect Game All-American and All-Region honoree in 2014 and 2015, playing for the Perfect Game Select Team… was a 2014 underclass honorable mention selection and a Central All-Region second-team honoree in 2015… also was an all-conference guard on the basketball team on two state qualifier teams… recipient of six Kennedy High School Academic Athlete Awards in baseball and basketball… 2014 IHSAA Distinguished Academic Achievement Baseball Award… high school coach was Bret Hoyer… club coach was Steve James.

Personal — Born April 21, 1997… son of Mark and Colleen Daniels… has a younger sister, Caitlynn… mother played collegiate volleyball at Morningside College… uncle, Bill McGuire, played collegiate tennis at Iowa… uncle, Wayne Daniels, played professional baseball in Chicago White Sox organization… majoring in communication studies.