Yesterday was a historic day for Iowa baseball. The Hawkeyes learned their 2023 NCAA Tournament landing spot.
Iowa is the No. 2 seed in the Terre Haute Regional where No. 14 overall seed Indiana State is the top seed and host. The Hawkeyes open up play on Friday, June 2, at 6 p.m. CT on the ACC Network versus No. 3 seed North Carolina. Meanwhile, Indiana State plays the first game of the Regional against No. 4 seed Wright State.
The tourney berth represents the sixth in Hawkeye history and the third under Iowa head baseball coach Rick Heller.
“Really happy for this group. I mean, they took it out of the committee’s hands and that’s what we set out to do this fall. What can we do to make sure that we’re still playing in June? You know, there is a part of me that you’re thinking about those last two teams that didn’t get the call and felt like that they should have and we’ll be playing for those guys, too,” Heller said.
Iowa feels like it has a great chance to go win the Regional, too.
“I mean, I would have told you that anywhere we went, but I do think if we play like we can and pound the strike zone like we’ve done here recently, this team can go a long way. We also know that baseball’s a funny game. You’ve got to catch some breaks. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t, but we will be as prepared as we can be.
“I think we’ll go down there and give it a good run, but, I mean, you never know. You could go down and run into a pitcher that just absolutely deals on you and shuts you down. You just never know, but, if everything goes kind of how it’s gone most of the year, I feel really confident,” Heller said.
For the first time since 2017, Iowa is playing college baseball when it matters most. Here’s a look back at Iowa’s NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show watch party through these sensational images. Plus, the best from Iowa’s sprint through the Big Ten Tournament.