Council Bluffs on Wednesday supplied one of college baseball’s most surprising programs last season with three players.
Iowa Western sophomores Tyler Cropley and Matt Hoeg and Abraham Lincoln senior Kyle Crowl signed national letters of intent with the University of Iowa.
Cropley, a catcher from McCook Lake, S.D., who attended Sioux City Heelan, and Hoeg, a Waukee native and utility infielder, in May helped the Reivers qualify for their eighth NJCAA national tournament in the last nine years.
They’re excited to join an Iowa program that qualified for the NCAA tournament for just the fourth time in program history earlier this year. The Hawkeyes finished 41-18 before being eliminated by Missouri State in the Springfield (Mo.) regional.
Cropley had contact with the Hawkeyes in high school, but they didn’t offer a scholarship. He hit .271 with 21 runs scored and 19 RBIs as a freshman at IWCC, throwing out 30 percent of runners attempting to steal.
“It’s a big-time dream come true, especially to be playing in my home state where I’ve been playing for a long time,” Cropley said.
Hoeg hit .311 as a freshman with 21 RBIs and 17 runs, and he’s eager to join a school that is trending upward.
“They’re definitely on the rise as a program, and growing up in Iowa, I always wanted to be a Hawkeye,” Hoeg said. “It just felt right for me.”
Crowl committed to Iowa over a year ago before a junior season in which he led the Lynx in average (.379), on-base percentage (.522) and walks (26).
Now, as a senior, he was happy to make it official Wednesday.
“After the big season they had, it’s really exciting to join a winning program,” Crowl said. “The fans are reinvigorated since the program is turning (around).”
http://www.nonpareilonline.com/spor...cle_ac482018-88ea-11e5-9abd-b399ca7a4c18.html
Iowa Western sophomores Tyler Cropley and Matt Hoeg and Abraham Lincoln senior Kyle Crowl signed national letters of intent with the University of Iowa.
Cropley, a catcher from McCook Lake, S.D., who attended Sioux City Heelan, and Hoeg, a Waukee native and utility infielder, in May helped the Reivers qualify for their eighth NJCAA national tournament in the last nine years.
They’re excited to join an Iowa program that qualified for the NCAA tournament for just the fourth time in program history earlier this year. The Hawkeyes finished 41-18 before being eliminated by Missouri State in the Springfield (Mo.) regional.
Cropley had contact with the Hawkeyes in high school, but they didn’t offer a scholarship. He hit .271 with 21 runs scored and 19 RBIs as a freshman at IWCC, throwing out 30 percent of runners attempting to steal.
“It’s a big-time dream come true, especially to be playing in my home state where I’ve been playing for a long time,” Cropley said.
Hoeg hit .311 as a freshman with 21 RBIs and 17 runs, and he’s eager to join a school that is trending upward.
“They’re definitely on the rise as a program, and growing up in Iowa, I always wanted to be a Hawkeye,” Hoeg said. “It just felt right for me.”
Crowl committed to Iowa over a year ago before a junior season in which he led the Lynx in average (.379), on-base percentage (.522) and walks (26).
Now, as a senior, he was happy to make it official Wednesday.
“After the big season they had, it’s really exciting to join a winning program,” Crowl said. “The fans are reinvigorated since the program is turning (around).”
http://www.nonpareilonline.com/spor...cle_ac482018-88ea-11e5-9abd-b399ca7a4c18.html
