Analyzing the 2025 Iowa Baseball Schedule
The Iowa Baseball team is just under four months away from the first pitch of the 2025 season and the start of a new era of Big Ten Baseball. The Big Ten welcomes former Pac 12 schools, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington, which will give the conference a much-needed boost. The additions also led to the move to a 30-game conference schedule, rather than the previously used 24-game slate.
The Hawkeyes are coming off a 31-23 season, that saw them finish fourth in the Big Ten, but they came up short of the NCAA Tournament, despite starting the season ranked in the Top 25. Entering his 12th season, head coach Rick Heller is set to return just three of nine starters from last season, while Cade Obermueller is the lone returning starter in the starting pitching rotation. The coaching staff welcomed 22 newcomers to the roster over the offseason, including 11 transfers and 11 freshmen.
Yesterday, the schedule for the Hawkeyes was officially released. HawkeyeReport breaks down the 2025 schedule for Rick Heller’s Hawkeyes, with a look at the good and bad parts. Also note that all RPI’s referenced in the article are from last season and are just used as a guide.
Non-Conference Weekends (13 games)
Feb 14-16: at South Florida Feb 21-23: at Stetson Tournament Feb 27-March 2: vs Washington State (Cleburne, TX) May 9-11: vs Oregon State (Des Moines, IA)
The Good: With the expansion of Big Ten play, there are less non-conference weekends available, but Rick Heller knocked it out of the park with their Big Ten bye week in May. The Hawkeyes will host Oregon State at Principal Park for a three-game neutral site series. The Beavers are coming off of a 45-16 (13 RPI) season that included an NCAA Super Regional appearance. Could be Iowa’s biggest ‘home’ series since they hosted #12 Oklahoma State in 2018.
The Rest: Iowa will open the season with a trip to South Florida (26-29 LY, 146 RPI) for a three-game series, while they will travel down to Texas for a four-game neutral site series against Washington State (21-32 LY, 194 RPI) late in February. With fewer non-conference opportunities, you would have liked to see something a little bit better, but the Hawkeyes will be breaking a number of new starters early in the season.
The Uncertain: The Hawkeyes will head south to DeLand, Florida for the second weekend of the season to compete at the Stetson Tournament, however, details for that weekend are not yet worked out. A source tells HawkeyeReport that the Hatters were initially supposed to host a four-team tournament, but that has since fallen through. At the moment, Iowa, Stetson and UMBC are the three teams expected to be in DeLand, but nothing has been marked as official.
Non-Conference Midweek Games (11 games)
Feb 18: vs Loras College March 4: vs St Thomas March 18: vs Illinois-Chicago March 25: at Illinois State April 1: at Bradley April 8: at UW-Milwaukee April 16: vs Bradley April 22: vs Western Illinois April 23: vs St Thomas April 29: vs Illinois State May 6: at Illinois-Chicago
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Brady Cook injury
Mizzou QB doubtful to play vs. Alabama
- 2Hot
AJ McCarron slams Bama
'Everyone's worried about f-----g TikTok'
- 3
Coach Prime
Deion Sanders, Colorado are for real
- 4
Not alright, alright
McConaughey admonishes Texas fans
- 5
Travis Hunter
Deion Sanders shares Buffs star will play Saturday vs. Cincinnati
The Bad: Rick Heller is put in a very tough situation every single year because Iowa’s geographical location gives them zero help when it comes to building a midweek schedule. That being said, the Hawkeyes are set to play a combined six games against St Thomas (205 RPI), Bradley (259 RPI), Western Illinois (273 RPI) and Milwaukee (275 RPI). They are 24-3 against non-conference RPI 200+ teams over the past three years, but either way, they are lose-lose situations.
The Rest: The Hawkeyes will face Illinois State and Illinois-Chicago in a pair of midweek home-and-home series’. The Redbirds have been a respectable ball club over the past couple of years, while Illinois-Chicago was a top 100 RPI team last season.
Big Ten Conference Weekends (30 games)
March 7-9: at Rutgers March 14-16: vs Michigan State March 21-23: vs Ohio State March 28-30: at Minnesota April 4-6: at Northwestern April 11-13: vs Nebraska April 18-20: at Michigan April 25-27: vs Indiana May 2-4: at Washington May 15-17: vs Oregon
Iowa will not face Illinois, Maryland, Penn State, Purdue, USC, and UCLA.
Starting with the away portion of the Big Ten schedule, it appears that the Hawkeyes got a pretty manageable draw. They face just one team that made the Big Ten Tournament (Michigan) and got Washington (19-31 LY). Although win-loss records can fluctuate a lot from season to season, especially in the Big Ten, their five road opponents combined for a 121-141 (.462) record. The trip to Michigan will likely be the best chance to add some quality wins, but facing the easiest part of your schedule on the road is a big help when it comes to the RPI.
As for the home schedule, Rick Heller and Co. will host three teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, including an Oregon team that made a Super Regional last season. Their five home opponents combined for a 166-121 (.578) record. If the Hawkeyes end up making it into the NCAA Tournament conversation, it will be because they were able to pick up some big wins at Duane Banks Field.
