Iowa Baseball to open the season at South Florida, host Oregon State in Des Moines
Coming off of a 2024 season that did not live up to expectations, Rick Heller and the Iowa Baseball team will be looking to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2025. HawkeyeReport has learned the first couple of pieces to the 2025 schedule puzzle through a public records request. The Hawkeyes have signed contracts to play three-game series’ against both South Florida and Oregon State. Iowa will also face Loras College at Duane Banks Field on February 18th in Iowa City.
Rick Heller and Co. will begin the 2025 season in the Sunshine State, facing South Florida for a three-game series from February 14-16 in Tampa. The Bulls have appeared in the NCAA Tournament four times over the last decade, including a Super Regional appearance in 2021. Last season, USF finished with a 26-29 overall record, including an 11-16, eighth place finish in AAC play.
First-year head coach Mitch Hannahs comes over to USF, after spending 11 seasons as the head man at Indiana State. He took over the Sycamores program in 2014 after Rick Heller took the Iowa job and guided them to five NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Super Regional appearance in 2023.
USF has not released their 2025 roster, but Mitch Hannahs brought in seven players from the transfer portal, headlined by Florida A&M 1B Sebastian Greico (.333 AVG, 12 2B, 11 HR, 51 RBI). They are also set to return infielder Rafael Betancourt after he batted .302 last season in 42 starts.
The Hawkeyes and Bulls have met five times, with USF leading the series 4-1. The two teams last met for a three-game series in 2017 and a two-game series in 1991. Rick Heller and Mitch Hannahs have faced off four times during their coaching careers.
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Iowa Baseball will return to Des Moines in 2025 for a three-game series against Oregon State from May 9-11 at Principal Park. The Beavers are one of the top programs in the country, appearing in the NCAA Tournament in 16 of the last 18 seasons, including three national championships (’06, ’07, ’18). Last season, OSU finished with a 45-16 record and advanced to the Lexington Super Regional, where they fell to Kentucky in two games.
Mitchell Canham, a catcher at OSU from 2004-07, is entering his sixth year as head coach of the Beavers program. He has posted a 176-87 record during his time in Corvallis, including a pair of NCAA Super Regional appearances.
The Beavers are set to return five of 11 players that started 20+ games last season, led by outfielders Gavin Turley (.277 AVG, 13 2B, 19 HR, 74 RBI) and Dallas Macias (.315 AVG, 14 2B, 8 HR, 41 RBI). They also made a big addition in the transfer portal bringing in Washington transfer infielder Aiva Arquette (.325 AVG, 14 2B, 12 HR, 36 RBI). On the mound, OSU is set to return reliever Joey Mundt (24 app, 2.67 ERA), while they brought in Portland transfer Tanner Douglas (25 app, 3.32 ERA).
