The best stories in sports are often the ones that nobody saw coming.
That, in a nutshell, includes the 2025 Iowa baseball team, which arrives in Des Moines for a May 9-11 series against No. 10 Oregon State, having one of its best seasons in school history.
The Hawkeyes bus two hours west to Principal Park, home of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, riding an unthinkable wave of momentum and on the doorstep of the program’s first Big Ten Conference regular-season championship since 1990.
And they’re doing this in the expanded, 17-team Big Ten with Pacific coast powers now in the fold … and in a year after the Hawkeyes, in coach Rick Heller’s words, “were decimated” by the Major League Baseball draft and other massive departures.
Somehow, some way, little ole Iowa – with a patched-together lineup of program grinders and small-college transfers – is in first place, at 21-6 in Big Ten play (and 32-15 overall).
“Twelve years of culture-building at its finest, really,” Heller said.
Heller has done some remarkable things since taking over a sagging program in 2014. He has averaged 32 wins a year, reached three NCAA regionals (2015, 2017, 2023) and won the Big Ten Tournament in 2017. But this might be his best coaching job yet.
Not that he’s approached his job any differently.
But this particular team, as Heller said, is a reflection of the things he preaches and believes in: Great pitching, clean defense and scrappy hitting.
“If we do those three things,” Heller said, “there’s a pretty good chance we’re going to like the result at the end of the game.”
One through nine in the order, Iowa grinds out at-bats. Hitting coach Marty Sutherland encourages his guys to do their “one-ninth” – and not try to do too much by themselves. The on-base percentages of its seven most frequent starters are a remarkably consistent .395, .417, .424, .425, .427, .436 and .471.
Thus, Iowa ranks first in the Big Ten in batting average (.307), second in on-base percentage (.417) and third in slugging percentage (.497). Shortstop Gable Mitchell leads the way in average (.347), doubles (18), runs (48) and stolen bases (11).
And on the mound, with first-year pitching coach Sean Kenny making a big difference, the Hawkeyes are staying healthy and dealing. Iowa’s weekend rotation has been the same Week 1 through Week 13.
Cade Obermueller, Aaron Savary and Reece Beuter are a combined 17-2 with a 2.99 ERA and an average of 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings (vs. 6.3 hits and 3.4 walks). Iowa leads the nation with 6.74 hits allowed per nine innings and has the best ERA in the Big Ten at 3.59 (Oregon is a distant No. 2, at 4.25).
Beuter is the epitome of the pitching progression. A year ago, the Cedar Falls native had a 12.54 ERA with opponents hitting .398 against him. This year, the fifth-year senior has a 3.36 ERA and .203 opponent average. Nationally, Iowa has improved from 123rd in ERA a year ago to eighth.
Under @skenny40 Iowa’s national rankings in pitching have improved from:
123rd to 8th in ERA
134th to 11th in WHIP
93rd to 25th in Hits
91st to 35th in Walks
147th to 38th in K-to-BB Ratio#Hawkeyes https://t.co/eN2eTCH0YH
Ben Swails, on offense, is another example of the step forward this team has taken. He had four at-bats in his first two years in the program. In his third, the Tiffin product is batting .315 and has a .991 fielding percentage as the team’s starting second baseman.
“In the world of the transfer portal and NIL, a lot of the guys who have stepped up are guys that have been in the program … and have been working hard to get their chance,” Heller said. “It speaks to our program and where we’re at.”
One of the most remarkable things about this season’s success is that it began so poorly.
The Hawkeyes lost six of their first nine games. After three straight losses to a previously winless Washington State team, Heller stayed positive and encouraged his team to keep grinding. They’re 29-9 since.
“We ran into teams that played lights-out against us – as well as they could play. Teams were fielding like .999 against us,” Heller said. “… Pitchers that generally give up some free bases walked none. We were having bad luck with runners in scoring position.”
The Big Ten opener at Rutgers followed the same script, losing 5-4 on a fluke defensive gaffe.
Then, in the second game of that series in Piscataway, everything started clicking. The Hawkeyes won, 16-0. They won the next day, 12-6, and the next game, 16-1.
“And then it just got rolling from there,” Heller said. “One of the most fun groups to coach I’ve ever had. Because every day they show up and play hard. They play for the right reasons. They play unselfishly.”
And now, the stakes are as high as they get.
This series against Oregon State (which has an RPI of 7) is a huge opportunity for Iowa (RPI 66) to improve its NCAA regional case. As of a May 6 projection from D1 Baseball, Iowa was listed as one of the “last four in” for the 64-team field.
The bigger games, though, are May 15-17 at home against Oregon (RPI 24). Because the Oregon State series is non-conference for Iowa as the other Big Ten contenders play this weekend (UCLA 17-7, Oregon 16-8, USC 16-8, Washington 15-9), the Hawkeyes won’t know their magic number to win the Big Ten until at least Sunday. At worst, winning two of three vs. Oregon would clinch a title share.
So, while Heller will use his three aces against Oregon State, they’ll all be on a pitch count to preserve their best for the Oregon series … and then the Big Ten Tournament May 20-25 in Omaha.
Heller wants his guys to treat this Oregon State opportunity – Iowa’s first games on grass and dirt since Week 2 – as a test run for the bigger games against Oregon.
Every win matters from here on out, with hopes of a big celebration next week at Duane Banks Field.
“And we come into it with the biggest turnover we’ve faced in my 12 years at Iowa,” Heller said. “To have a chance to win the conference championship next weekend against Oregon at home, you can’t ask for more than that.”
Iowa baseball vs. Oregon State preview
Records, RPI: Iowa 32-15 (No. 66), Oregon State 35-12 (No. 7)
When, where: May 9-11, Principal Park
Game times (CT): 6:35 p.m. Friday, 3:35 p.m. Saturday, 12:05 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: Available at MILB.com or in person; $12 lower level, $10 upper level
How to watch: All three games will be streamed on Big Ten Plus (subscription required)
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 30 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Leistikow: Rick Heller’s 12th Iowa baseball team has become his best story yet
Reporting by Chad Leistikow, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
