Iowa Baseball 2024 Schedule Released
The Iowa Baseball team is just over four months away from the first pitch of one of the most anticipated seasons in program history. The Hawkeyes are coming off a 44-16 season, where they advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship and made an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2017. Head coach Rick Heller is set to return six of eight starting position players, as well as Brody Brecht and Marcus Morgan in the starting rotation. On top of that, ten additions from the transfer portal will help the cause.
Today, the schedule for the Hawkeyes was officially released. HawkeyeReport breaks down the 2024 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 (18 games)
Feb 16-18: Seton Hall, Ball State, Lehigh (Charleston, SC) Feb 23-25: Auburn, Virginia, Wichita State (Jacksonville, FL) March 1-3: at Ole Miss March 8-10: at Jacksonville State March 15-17: vs Western Illinois May 16-18: vs Florida International
The Good: There are some heavy hitters on the early portion of the schedule and two of them come down in Jacksonville for the Jax College Baseball Classic. Virginia (RPI #7) made it to the College World Series last season, while Auburn (RPI #29) hosted a regional. The weekend wraps up with Wichita State (RIP #109). Talk about a huge weekend for the Hawkeyes.
The first week of March sees Iowa traveling to Swayze Field for a three-game series against the Ole Miss Rebels. They had a down year last year with a 25-29 record (RPI #86), but added the #11, #17, #20, #25, #28, #64 transfers per D1Baseball.com. That is a series to circle on your calendar.
That opening weekend down in Charleston does include a game against an NCAA Tournament participant. Ball State finished 36-23 (RPI #101) and won the MAC Tournament. The Hawkeyes defeated the Cardinals 11-1 in the same tournament in 2022.
The Bad: Western Illinois has been an RPI killer as a midweek opponent for the Hawkeyes over the last couple of years. Playing a three-game series against a team that finished 287th in the RPI is not ideal.
The Hawkeyes got the final week of the season as their Big Ten bye week, which is the worst possible outcome. Last season, Illinois faced RPI #246 UT Martin. This year, Iowa will face RPI #197 Florida International. Tough draw that Rick Heller has no control over.
Th Rest: The rest of the slate in Charleston includes Seton Hall and Lehigh. The Pirates finished with a 31-24 record (RPI #143) last season and advanced to the Big East Tournament.
The Hawkeyes will finish up their trips south with a series at Jacksonville State from March 8-10. The Gamecocks went 27-30 (RPI #181) last season, but did advance to the ASUN Tournament semifinals.
Non-Conference Midweek (12 games)
Feb 27: vs Northern Illinois March 5: vs St Thomas March 12: at Georgia March 20: vs Grandview March 26: at Illinois State April 2: at Bradley April 9: vs St Thomas April 17: vs Bradley April 23: vs Milwaukee April 30: vs Illinois State May 1: vs North Dakota State May 14: vs Illinois-Chicago
The Good: Hidden amongst the normal host of midweek games for the Hawkeyes is a trip to Athens, GA for a game against the Georgia Bulldogs. UGA finished with a 29-27 record (RPI #41) last season and added the #30, #91, #101, #111, #114 and #126 transfers per D1Baseball. Don’t forget about this game.
The Bad: It’s well documented that geography does not help Iowa when it comes to midweek games. Just three teams in the RPI top 150 are within “reasonable” driving distance for a midweek meeting. The Hawkeyes will face Northern Illinois (RPI #279), St Thomas (RPI #293) and Milwaukee (RPI #265) for a combined four games. All four will be must wins.
The Rest: Not a whole lot of surprise in this section. They will play home and away against Bradley (RPI #204) and Illinois State (RPI #202), while Illinois-Chicago (RPI #134) will come to Iowa City for one after last year’s contest was cancelled. The new name is North Dakota State (RPI #188). The Hawkeyes will play them for the first time since 2007.
Big Ten Conference Weekends (24 games)
March 22-24: at Purdue March 29-31: vs Minnesota April 5-7: vs Michigan April 12-14: at Ohio State April 19-21: vs Rutgers April 26-28: at Nebraska May 3-5: vs Northwestern May 10-12: at Illinois
The first thing you will notice when looking at the Big Ten schedule is that the Hawkeyes do not face Indiana (RPI #31) and Maryland (RPI #35). Take that whichever way you would like, good or bad. Sure, it means less chances to add resume building wins, however, it will give them an easier path to a Big Ten regular season title.
As for the the Big Ten teams that they will play, their schedule is probably skewed a little bit towards being a tougher road slate compared to home. The Hawkeyes get Michigan (RPI #122) and Rutgers (RPI #68) at Duane Banks Field, but got stuck with Northwestern (RPI #263) and Minnesota (RPI #210) on the home slate. They should be able to take care of business, but a loss to them will hurt more at home than away. Iowa’s home Big Ten opponents combined for an 89-125 record, including a 41-55 mark in conference play.
On the road, the Hawkeyes will face some decent teams. Their Big Ten opening series comes in West Lafayette against Purdue (RPI #206), while they travel to Ohio State (RPI #78) for their first road trip in April. The last two road trips are the toughest ones, as they will go to Lincoln to face Nebraska (RPI #99) and Champaign for three against Illinois (RPI #96). The Hawkeyes have lost four of their last six games against the Fighting Illini. Iowa’s away Big Ten opponents combined for a 113-104 record, including a 47-49 mark in conference play.
