Iowa baseball faces Rutgers, Indiana in Big Ten Tournament pool play
Game with Rutgers Wednesday at approximately 6 p.m. in Omaha
By Hawkeyesports.com
THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa baseball team heads to Omaha, Nebraska, for the Big Ten Tournament on May 20-25. The No. 3 seed Hawkeyes will play No. 10 seed Rutgers on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (CDT) at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Iowa will then face No. 6 seed Indiana on Friday at 2 p.m.
WATCH/LISTEN LIVE
The Big Ten Network will broadcast every game of the tournament. Games will also be available on the FOX Sports App
Iowa’s games will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with John Leo and John Evans on the call. Fans can access the stream free on YouTube or by downloading free The Varsity Network app.
Live stats will be available on hawkeyesports.com and live updates will be available on X (@UIBaseball)
POOL PLAY
This year’s tournament will incorporate pool play with four groups consisting of three teams each. Iowa, Rutgers and Indiana are in a pool together. Should pool play produce identical records, the highest-seeded team in the tie would advance. The four pool winners will meet in the single-elimination semifinals on May 24, followed by the championship game on May 25.
IOWA’S B1G TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Iowa is making its 10th straight Big Ten Tournament appearance and the 18th in program history.
• The Hawkeyes are 26-31 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 eight of the last nine Big Ten Tournaments and is 17-11 over the past eight
tournaments.
• Head coach Rick Heller is 19-15 in the conference tournament.
SERIES RECORDS
This will be the 23rd meeting between Iowa and Rutgers. The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series against the Scarlet Knights, 14-8. Iowa and Indiana have met 171 times, and the Hawkeyes lead the all-time series, 91-80. Iowa opened up conference play this season against Rutgers, with the Hawkeyes winning two out of three games. Iowa swept Indiana later in the season in a three-game series, winning, 2-1 (10), 13-2 (7) and 10-0 (7).
Iowa and Rutgers have never met in the Big Ten Tournament.
Iowa is 2-3 all-time against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament, and 2-2 against the Hoosiers in Omaha.
ABOUT RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights are led by sixth-year head coach Steve Owens, who ranked No. 5 among active Div. I coaches in wins (1,046) and No. 22 in winning percentage (.644) heading into this season.
The offense is led by Trevor Cohen, who is second in the Big Ten with a .385 batting average, and Ty Doucette, who leads the team with 51 RBIs and 12 home runs.
Landon Mack leads the pitching staff with a 4.36 ERA and 5-5 record in 74.1 innings of work.
ABOUT INDIANA
Jeff Mercer is in seventh season as head coach of the Hoosiers. He has led the Hoosiers to 26 MLB Draft Picks, all five contested Big Ten Tournaments, three NCAA Regional appearances and a Big Ten regular season championship (2019).
Devin Taylor leads the Hoosiers and ranks sixth in the Big Ten with a .366 batting average. As a team, Indiana ranks first in the conference with a .299 average and second in runs with 452.
Cole Gilley leads the pitching staff with 62.2 innings under his belt. He is 9-3 this season with a 3.88 ERA, which ranks 10th in the conference.
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.)
PACKED HOUSE
A record-breaking 3,339 fans attended Iowa’s game against No. 5 Oregon at Duane Banks Field on May 16. The previous attendance record at Banks was 2,999 fans for a doubleheader against Penn State in 1998.
WULF WOWS
Over the last 10 games, including seven starts, junior transfer Caleb Wulf is slashing .414/.452/.586 with 12 hits and seven RBIs. He hit his first home run as a Hawkeye against No. 5 Oregon on May 16. In 46 games played this season, Wulf leads the team and ranks seventh in the Big Ten with a .359 batting average
ROGERS VS. HOOSIERS
Daniel Rogers hit .600 (6-for-10) during Iowa’s three-game sweep against Indiana on April 25-27. He doubled twice, hit a home run, scored three runs and collected two RBIs.
PUT UP A ZERO
The Iowa pitching staff is second in the nation with nine shutouts.
Iowa ranks fourth in hits allowed per nine innings (7.09), 11th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.9) and has the 15th best ERA in the NCAA (4.06).
B1G TIME
Iowa ranks first in the Big Ten in strikeouts (550) and second in ERA (4.06). Iowa is second in the Big Ten in batting average (.297).
IMPROVING UNDER KENNY
Under first-year pitching coach Sean Kenny, Iowa’s national rankings have improved in multiple categories:
123rd to 15th in ERA
134th to 19th in WHIP
147th to 43rd in K-to-BB Ratio
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).
THREE-OF-A-KIND
Iowa’s weekend rotation of Cade Obermueller, Aaron Savary and Reece Beuter have combined to go 17-3 with a 3.10 ERA. They’ve struck out 244 batters and walked 79 over 38 starts and 203 innings pitched. All three pitchers are ranked in the top five in the Big Ten in ERA and top six in opponent batting average.
NEW FACES IN THE B1G
Of the newest additions to the Big Ten the Hawkeyes have only ever played Oregon. Iowa held a 2-0 record in those contests, winning both games against the Ducks in a 2015 regional.
TOUGH OUT
Junior Gable Mitchell has extended his on base streak to 54 games dating back to 2024. He didn’t strike out in 15 straight games from March 22-April 18. He ranks as the 24th toughest batter to strikeout in the nation. Teammate Caleb Wulf ranks 18th. Mitchell has the 19th best betting average in the Big Ten at .327.
CAREER-HIGH Ks FOR CADE
LHP Cade Obermueller has produced four quality starts on the mound, including a seven-inning complete game against Northwestern on April 4. In the 12-1 win over the Wildcats, Obermueller struck out a career-high 12 batters while allowing one hit – a single – one walk and one unearned run. He leads the pitching staff and is second in the Big Ten with a 2.52 ERA.
ON THE WATCH
A pair of University of Iowa juniors — Gable Mitchell and Cade Obermueller — were named to midseason watch lists, it was announced April 18 by the College Baseball Foundation. Mitchell was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, while Obermueller was named to the Pitcher of the Year Watch List. The Brooks Wallace Award honors the nation’s top shortstop. The Pitcher of the Year award, college baseball’s version of the Cy Young Award, was created in 2009, and is given annually to the nation’s top collegiate pitcher. Former Hawkeye Nick Roscetti was a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award in 2016, and Michael Seegers was on the watch list in 2023. Obermueller and former Hawkeye Brody Brecht were on the Pitcher of the Year watch list in 2024.
SEVEN INNINGS OF BEUTER BALL
RHP Reece Beuter threw seven innings of shutout baseball in Iowa’s win over UMBC on Feb. 23 and again against Washington on May 2.
Beuter was the first Hawkeye to throw 7+ shutout innings since Adam Mazur against Nebraska in 2022.
TWO-WAY TYLER
Tyler Guerin was named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List, it was announced April 15 by the College Baseball Foundation. Guerin has played in 18 games for the Hawkeyes this season. In 12 appearances on the mound, the Shoreview, Minnesota, native has an 3.60 ERA.
B1G TIME
Juniors Cade Obermueller and Kooper Schulte earned Big Ten weekly recognition on April 7. Obermueller was tabbed the league’s Pitcher of the Week after throwing a seven-inning complete game with a career-high 12 strikeouts against Northwestern. Schulte garnered Player of the Week honors, slashing .600/.692/1.200 and tallying seven RBIs and five runs scored on the week. It is the sixth time in program history that the Hawkeyes brought home the two awards in the same week.
SAVVY SAVARY
Junior and right-handed pitcher Aaron Savary earned B1G Pitcher of the Week honors; the conference announced on March 10. This came after a solid performance against Rutgers on March 8 when Savary allowed three hits and struck out six batters over five innings of work. He leads the Iowa pitching staff with a 7-1 record.
MARCH MADNESS FOR MOORE
Redshirt sophomore Reese Moore had an impressive month of March at the plate. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on March 24.
He hit .453 in the month of March with 27 RBIs and eight bombs, including two dingers each against Ohio State on March 21 and Minnesota on March 28.
Over Iowa’s 18 games in March, Moore set or tied his single-game career-highs in at-bats (6), hits (4), RBIs (4), runs scored (3), home runs (2), triples (1), walks (2) and stolen bases (1).
He currently leads the team with nine home runs.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Iowa’s 40-man roster features three graduates, four redshirt seniors, six seniors, 14 juniors, two redshirt sophomores, one sophomore, two redshirt freshmen and 8 freshmen.
Iowa returns 20 letterwinners and welcomes 16 newcomers (eight of which are transfers) to the squad.
MR. WORLDWIDES
The Hawkeye roster features 29 Iowa guys, three Illinois boys, two confident Canadians, two magic Minnesotans, one wonderful Wisconsinite, one cool Californian, one charming Coloradoan, two Georgia peaches, one hardworking Hoosier, one Kansas kid, one Missouri man, one nice New Yorker, and one tenacious Texan.
