Let’s kick this thing off by summarizing what this whole piece means… Big Ten Plus is gaining a subscription from me solely to watch the Hawkeyes’ weekend rotation. Iowa will have a top 2 rotation in the country and it ain’t 2nd. The Hawkeyes are heading into 2024 with some big expectations, like winning the Big Ten title and bringing a regional back to Iowa City for the first time ever.
2023 Hawkeyes started gaining attention after smacking LSU in the Frisco Classic behind Brody Brecht’s coming out party. He didn't have his best stuff that day, but showed the country what’s to come with his 100+ mph fastball. The Hawks finished the season 3rd in the Big Ten behind Maryland and Indiana and received an at-large bid to the Terre Haute Regional hosted by Indiana State. I had them predicted to win that regional, but ran into a Syc Summer party and lost to Indiana State in the final.
I think 2024 will be Rick Heller’s most successful season in the black and yellow threads. He’s got a pro ready rotation set with Brody Brecht and Marcus Morgan. The Sunday guy will be a great arm, depending on who wins the job. Losing Luke Llewellyn in the back end of the game hurts, but help is on the way. Lots of talented arms are competing for that Sunday spot including returners Cade Obermueller and Zach Voelker along with transfers Reece Beuter (Dallas Baptist), Brant Hogue (Ok State) and Anthony Watts (Creighton). Obermueller is probably the likely favorite to win that job, but I can see a world where he is more valuable out of the pen, used in a high leverage situation when any of the 3 starters runs into early trouble and carry them into the late part of the game. Not to mention, they have Jack Whitlock out of the pen who had a 2.5 era last year with 38 punchies in 35 innings. Oh and not to mention, freshman Elliot Lanue, a lefty up to 94 and was the #1 LHP in Quebec in the 2023 class. This staff is so deep. Whatever they decide to do on Sundays, it is still the best rotation in the country.
Brody Brecht who is no longer a 2-sport athlete, focusing on just baseball (scary scenes for the rest of the league) will sit comfortably 98-102, and rumors say his command is MUCH better so the walks will come down and allow him to get deeper in games. Marcus Morgan will sit around 94 consistently and generate lots of swing n misses. These 2 guys could be day 1 prospects in the draft.
Offensively, they lost some big pieces in Keaton Anthony (.389 w/ 9 HRs) and Brennen Dorighi (.348 w/ 15 HRs). Dorighi transferred to Iowa for his final season from Wofford in 2022. Still not sure how he’s not playing professional baseball after hitting well in the draft league. Hawkeyes return about 30 HRs from last year’s lineup including some strong pieces including Michael Seegers, Sam Petersen and Kyle Huckstorf. They also got an interesting transfer from Utah, Davis Cop. He will probably start behind the plate and police the pitching staff (no pun intended). He hit around .300 with 10 HRs last year for the Utes. I’d say it's a pretty good pickup. This lineup won’t be the scariest or overpowering, but will find ways to score and give the pitching enough run support.
Overall, I think this team will be a 40+ win team and should be in position to win the Big Ten as Maryland will not be as strong to stand in their way. If they hoist that B1G title, they should bring a regional back to Iowa City. It starts with ‘Free Gasoline’ Friday nights with Brody Brecht.
Iowa will kick off their season in the Shipyard Tournament in Charleston with Seton Hall, Ball State and Lehigh. Then they have the Jacksonville Classic with Auburn, Virginia and Wichita State. Followed up with a trip to Oxford to face Ole Miss. Talk about a loaded out of conference schedule. Get that RPI boosted early. They will kick off B1G play with Purdue the 2nd to last weekend of March.
FIGHT FOR IOWA
Let’s kick this thing off by summarizing what this whole piece means… Big Ten Plus is gaining a subscription from me solely to watch the Hawkeyes’ weekend rotation. Iowa will have a top 2 rotation in the country and it ain’t 2nd. The Hawkeyes are heading into 2024 with some big expectations, like winning the Big Ten title and bringing a regional back to Iowa City for the first time ever.
2023 Hawkeyes started gaining attention after smacking LSU in the Frisco Classic behind Brody Brecht’s coming out party. He didn't have his best stuff that day, but showed the country what’s to come with his 100+ mph fastball. The Hawks finished the season 3rd in the Big Ten behind Maryland and Indiana and received an at-large bid to the Terre Haute Regional hosted by Indiana State. I had them predicted to win that regional, but ran into a Syc Summer party and lost to Indiana State in the final.
I think 2024 will be Rick Heller’s most successful season in the black and yellow threads. He’s got a pro ready rotation set with Brody Brecht and Marcus Morgan. The Sunday guy will be a great arm, depending on who wins the job. Losing Luke Llewellyn in the back end of the game hurts, but help is on the way. Lots of talented arms are competing for that Sunday spot including returners Cade Obermueller and Zach Voelker along with transfers Reece Beuter (Dallas Baptist), Brant Hogue (Ok State) and Anthony Watts (Creighton). Obermueller is probably the likely favorite to win that job, but I can see a world where he is more valuable out of the pen, used in a high leverage situation when any of the 3 starters runs into early trouble and carry them into the late part of the game. Not to mention, they have Jack Whitlock out of the pen who had a 2.5 era last year with 38 punchies in 35 innings. Oh and not to mention, freshman Elliot Lanue, a lefty up to 94 and was the #1 LHP in Quebec in the 2023 class. This staff is so deep. Whatever they decide to do on Sundays, it is still the best rotation in the country.
Brody Brecht who is no longer a 2-sport athlete, focusing on just baseball (scary scenes for the rest of the league) will sit comfortably 98-102, and rumors say his command is MUCH better so the walks will come down and allow him to get deeper in games. Marcus Morgan will sit around 94 consistently and generate lots of swing n misses. These 2 guys could be day 1 prospects in the draft.
Offensively, they lost some big pieces in Keaton Anthony (.389 w/ 9 HRs) and Brennen Dorighi (.348 w/ 15 HRs). Dorighi transferred to Iowa for his final season from Wofford in 2022. Still not sure how he’s not playing professional baseball after hitting well in the draft league. Hawkeyes return about 30 HRs from last year’s lineup including some strong pieces including Michael Seegers, Sam Petersen and Kyle Huckstorf. They also got an interesting transfer from Utah, Davis Cop. He will probably start behind the plate and police the pitching staff (no pun intended). He hit around .300 with 10 HRs last year for the Utes. I’d say it's a pretty good pickup. This lineup won’t be the scariest or overpowering, but will find ways to score and give the pitching enough run support.
Overall, I think this team will be a 40+ win team and should be in position to win the Big Ten as Maryland will not be as strong to stand in their way. If they hoist that B1G title, they should bring a regional back to Iowa City. It starts with ‘Free Gasoline’ Friday nights with Brody Brecht.
Iowa will kick off their season in the Shipyard Tournament in Charleston with Seton Hall, Ball State and Lehigh. Then they have the Jacksonville Classic with Auburn, Virginia and Wichita State. Followed up with a trip to Oxford to face Ole Miss. Talk about a loaded out of conference schedule. Get that RPI boosted early. They will kick off B1G play with Purdue the 2nd to last weekend of March.
FIGHT FOR IOWA
