Skip to main content
iowa logo

Iowa Baseball Season Preview: Outfield

On3 imageby:Kyle Huesmann•about 12 hours•

HuesmannKyle

HawkeyeReport breaks down the Iowa Baseball outfielders.
HawkeyeReport breaks down the Iowa Baseball outfielders.

The HawkeyeReport Iowa Baseball season preview series continues on with a look at the outfield. Last season, there was an abundance of excitement for the outfielders, but injuries to Sam Petersen and Kyle Huckstorf left everyone wondering what could have been. Now, the Hawkeyes return 72 of 162 (44.4%) starts, including two of their top three in games started in the outfield. We take a look who’s expected to takeover in centerfield, and returning starters set to begin the year at the corner outfield positions.

“If we have the defensive guys out there, it’s as good as last year’s defense,” said head coach Rick Heller. “The experience is a bit of a worry because you have a new face at a key position in centerfield…I like the outfield. It’s a solid outfield. It isn’t Joel Booker and those guys, but it’s a solid outfield with good speed.”

Centerfield: Jr Miles Risley

There’s a changing of the guard happening in centerfield for the Hawkeyes, as three-year starter Kyle Huckstorf moves on after racking up a number of special moments, both offensively and defensively, during his Iowa career. He walks away from Iowa City after starting 154 games, totaling 156 hits, 56 extra base hits and 130 RBI’s. Big shoes to fill for Kirkwood CC transfer Miles Risley, but he has come in and won the job.

“Miles is a very good centerfielder defensively. A solid offensive player, good speed, good teammate, works hard, he’s won the job in center,” said Heller. “We knew in high school that he had a chance to be an elite outfielder, and he took it to Kirkwood, and he played great, and he’s been really solid here.”

Over two seasons for the Eagles, Risley slashed .338/.474/.624, totaling 124 hits, 31 doubles, 7 triples, 20 home runs, 102 RBI’s and 42 stolen bases. As a sophomore last season, Miles was an honorable mention All-region selection helping Kirkwood to a 43-15 record. As an outfielder, Risley was impressive, making just two errors in 180 chances for a .989 fielding percentage. Matching Kyle Huckstorf’s run-saving stats will be challenging, but Miles is a strong defensive outfielder in his own right.

The other name to know in centerfield is Des Moines Area CC transfer Jaylen Ziegler. He started the fall in competition with Risley for the starting spot, but recently injured his hamstring and will be out for a period of time.

“Ziegler got hurt, he pulled a hamstring, so he’s going to be on the shelf for a while…If he gets healthy, Jaylen is another guy who can really run and track down balls in the outfield.”

As a freshman in 2023 for DMACC, Ziegler slashed .337/.403/.515, with ten doubles, five triples, three home runs and 39 RBI’s. He dealt with some injuries last season, but still played in 61 games, posting a .246/.364/.366 slash line, with nine doubles, five home runs and 45 RBI’s. Over his final 17 games of the season, Ziegler batted .320, totaling 24 hits, including nine extra base hits and drove in 22 runs. He put up eight multi-hit games over that stretch and helped the Bears win 14 of their final 16 regular season games.

Right Field: rSr Andy Nelson

Coming into last season, many did not know what to expect from Andy Nelson. He had shown flashes of potential in 14 games as a sophomore but missed the final two months with a hamstring injury and then missed all of the 2023 season after getting Tommy John surgery. Finally, Andy had his most healthy year of his career last season, appearing in 46 games with 43 starts. He slashed .325/.442/.527, with 55 hits, 7 doubles, a team-high 9 home runs and 44 RBI’s. It took some time, but the flashes of potential early in his career translated to a full season, and now, Andy is looking to build on those numbers and be one of the top hitters this season.

“He’s in good shape, he’s healthy and I look for him to hopefully have a breakout year, even better than last year,” said Heller. “It’d be awesome if Andy could lead off (in the batting order). Improve on his strikeout to walk, his pitch selection stuff, which he’s worked hard on, and we feel good about, but I’d love having a guy like Andy in the leadoff spot because you can potentially start the game off 1-0 with his power.”

Nelson was the leadoff hitter in 30 games last season, but floated around the batting order for his other 13 starts. Although his .442 on-base percentage is good enough for the leadoff spot, Andy has to lower his strikeout rate, which was at 23.3% over 206 plate appearances last season. If he is able to do that, the mix of power, speed and short game ability that he has will be very valuable at the top of the lineup.

“He can also lay down a bunt and beat it out. He’s got elite speed and give you a base stealer at the top of the lineup, so if Andy can take that role and run with it and get on base at an over .400 clip, that makes the lineup a lot better.”

The other names to know are Connor Hennings and freshman Colin Coonradt. Hennings, the former College of San Mateo transfer, appeared in 28 games with 14 starts last season, slashing .240/.361/.360, with 12 hits and three extra base hits. As for Coonradt, the two-time all-state selection for Cedar Falls has made a position change, moving to the outfield, but is looking to make an immediate impact with his bat.

“Colin, he’s dealing with some things. He’s coming off of high school surgery on his arm, and he’s learning a new position in the outfield, but as a hitter, I think all of us have a lot of confidence that Colin can hit right now,” said Heller. “I think you’ll see him in a lot of pinch-hit roles.”

Left Field: Sr Ben Wilmes or Jr Jackson Beaman

There are several key positions for the Hawkeyes that could be considered ‘swing positions’—spots that, depending on the level of production, will significantly impact how close the team gets to reaching their ceiling. Whether it’s veteran Ben Wilmes, Missouri transfer Jackson Beaman, or a mix of two, left field might be near the top of the list of ‘swing positions’.

A starter in both right (33), and left field (3), Ben Wilmes appeared in 48 games, with 37 starts, slashing .273/.422/.441, with 39 hits, 5 doubles, 5 home runs and 25 RBI’s. A consistent contributor, the next step for Ben Wilmes is to continue to strike a balance between elite plate discipline and taking too many pitches, while adding to his power numbers.

“Ben’s attributes, the things he does well, he gets on base. Also, it’s a lot of strikeouts and walks,” said Heller. “The challenge for Ben in the offseason, starting in the summer, was get as strong as you can, and we need you to provide a little more pop (in the lineup).”

Although Wilmes had a team-best 20.5% walk/hit by pitch rate, reaching base 37 times that way, his 19.4% strikeout rate is something he’s still trying to improve on. As for his power numbers, his .441 slugging percentage was a significant increase from the .360 he put up in 2023. The coaching staff is hoping for him to become a hitter than can finish with double digit doubles and a few more home runs, while still maintaining his mid-.400’s on-base percentage.

“He hit a home run (in the scrimmage) the other day and if he can do that, that’s a difference maker for this team. If he can do more damage, that’s what’s going to help the team and keep him in the lineup.”

“We challenged him to continue to improve his defense and his throwing consistency. He’s taken all those challenges, and he’s worked really hard at it.”

The other guy battling and pushing for consideration in left field is Missouri transfer Jackson Beaman. As a sophomore for the Tigers last season, Beaman appeared in 34 games, with 25 starts, slashing .247/.414/.494, with 22 hits, 4 doubles and 6 home runs. Two things stand out when looking at his limited at-bats for Mizzou. He was on track to hit 13.5 home runs over a 200 at-bat season, but also 60.7 strikeouts. The power potential in his bat is unmistakable, but Rick Heller says there was a lot to work on to get his swing to a place where he can consistently do damage.

“Some of the stuff Jackson was working on, it’s not easy to make quick changes,” said Heller. “He’s really trying to overhaul his approach and his mentality. Marty (Sutherland) and Mitch (Boe) have done a good job with him…the big thing with Jackson is being on time with his load, so he can swing at the pitches he needs to swing rate. That’s a big issue why he had such a low swing rate. The big focus is on getting him into a position that he can hit the brakes on every pitch if he needs to, but also so he doesn’t miss pitches that we would like to see him get his best swing off on…The last two weeks it’s started to click and the more live at-bats he’s gotten, the better his timing has been.”

While his adjustments at the plate are ongoing, Rick Heller says that Beaman’s defense is better than they thought when they recruited him from the transfer portal.

“I don’t think any of us realized how good an outfielder he is. When he came in, we were thinking, solid, but he runs way better than we thought…He made a crazy diving catch the other day, spun out of it and came up and throw and almost threw they guy out at second.”

Final Outlook

At this time last year, we were discussing Sam Petersen for Big Ten Player of the Year and his dynamic duo with Kyle Huckstorf being one of, if not, the best in the Big Ten. That didn’t pan out due to injuries and now both have graduated and moved on, but the cupboard is not left bare. There’s reason to be excited about this group, with Andy Nelson looking to build on his 2024 campaign and be one of the top offensive producers on the team. The key could be what happens with Ben Wilmes. He was a consistently good, but not great contributor last season and if he can raise his play another level, it will pay dividends for the entire team.

Up Next, we take a look at the starting rotation, led by junior lefthander Cade Obermueller who is looking to have a breakout season as the ace of the staff.

You may also like