Where to begin? Well let me say as someone who has closely followed Iowa Baseball for quite a while now, this season was a breath of fresh air. I never would've guess we'd be a 41-18 team and 2-2 in regionals. I am the guy who hopes for 30 wins or a few more and a B1G tournament birth. I am really proud as a fan the way this team battled each and every game, they never gave up or gave in. This was a fun season that I wanted to last just a little bit longer, but all good things must come to an end. It sucks we couldn't seem to get the big hit against Missouri State, but it is what it is. I am hopeful the guys coming back next year can feed off of this momentum and at the same time remember the losing seasons and stay humble. This 2015 team was REALLY close to being a CWS quality team, closer than many of us realize.
We lose Nick Day, Jake Mangler, Eric Toole, Kris Goodman, Dan Potempa, Sean Moore, Nick Hibbing, Andrew Hedrick, Dan Potempa, and Brandon Shulista. Losing these guys is huge, going to have to replace some play makers especially defensively.
We also have juniors that we could lose to the draft in Blake Hickman, Tyler Peyton, and Joel Booker.
However, with as much as we lose I really believe we have a strong nucleus coming back in 2016 if you look at Calvin Mathews, Ryan Erickson, Taylor Kaufman (RS Jr, does he plan to come back), Nick Roscetti, Luke Vandermaten, Jimmy Frankos, Daniel Aaron Moriel, Erick Schenck-Joblinske, and others.
I personally think that Hickman is gone. Tyler Peyton potentially, if he comes back then that would be huge as well as Joel Booker. Offensively Booker struggled, defensively he is a good as it gets IMO.
I am excited to see guys like Grant Klenovich, Austin Guzzo, Nick Gallagher, and others who played sparingly, redshirted, or are newcomers contribute next year. I really believe the future is bright with Heller and our current rosters/incoming kids. It will be interesting to see what Juniors are back next season.
Go Hawks!
We lose Nick Day, Jake Mangler, Eric Toole, Kris Goodman, Dan Potempa, Sean Moore, Nick Hibbing, Andrew Hedrick, Dan Potempa, and Brandon Shulista. Losing these guys is huge, going to have to replace some play makers especially defensively.
We also have juniors that we could lose to the draft in Blake Hickman, Tyler Peyton, and Joel Booker.
However, with as much as we lose I really believe we have a strong nucleus coming back in 2016 if you look at Calvin Mathews, Ryan Erickson, Taylor Kaufman (RS Jr, does he plan to come back), Nick Roscetti, Luke Vandermaten, Jimmy Frankos, Daniel Aaron Moriel, Erick Schenck-Joblinske, and others.
I personally think that Hickman is gone. Tyler Peyton potentially, if he comes back then that would be huge as well as Joel Booker. Offensively Booker struggled, defensively he is a good as it gets IMO.
I am excited to see guys like Grant Klenovich, Austin Guzzo, Nick Gallagher, and others who played sparingly, redshirted, or are newcomers contribute next year. I really believe the future is bright with Heller and our current rosters/incoming kids. It will be interesting to see what Juniors are back next season.
Go Hawks!