Iowa baseball has added another new Hawk. The Hawkeyes welcomed in Utah transfer catcher and infielder Davis Cop.
A 6-foot, 200 pound product of Valencia, Calif., Cop caught 44 games last season with the Utes and also spent eight games at first base. Cop hit .300 with 11 doubles, 10 home runs, and 51 RBIs. He scored 35 runs last season.
One thing Hawkeye fans will like seeing is Cop’s numbers in Pac-12 play. He actually had a better batting average in league play, hitting .333 during Pac-12 play. Cop tallied 11 multi-RBI games in 2023.
Several of Cop’s other highlights this past season included a career-high five hits in a win over Utah Tech. He also had back-to-back three-hit nights in a series against Arizona State and registered his first career grand slam versus the Sun Devils. Lastly, Cop drove in seven runs against BYU on April 18.
🚨 Another New Hawk 🚨
Welcome @dcop38! #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/G8KtmLLdHi
— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) June 29, 2023
As a sophomore with the Utes, Cop earned Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention. He hit a team-best .367Â with seven doubles, three homers and 26 RBIs. Cop also put together 14 multi-hit games and an eight-game hitting streak in 2022. He played in 40 games and started 35 that season with the Utes.
Cop gives Iowa some flexibility behind the plate and at first base. The Hawkeyes return catcher Cade Moss who made 46 starts and hit .261 with 22 RBIs and eight doubles.
At first base, Iowa is replacing graduate transfer Brennen Dorighi. Blake Guerin will be an option at first base after appearing in 21 games and registering a .290 batting average, seven RBIs, five doubles, five runs scored and one home run.
It’s the fourth transfer portal addition for the Hawkeyes since the 2023 season ended. Iowa has also brought in Oklahoma State transfer Brant Hogue, Dallas Baptist transfer Reece Beuter and Creighton transfer Anthony Watts.
Hogue and Dallas Baptist right-handed transfer pitcher Reece Beuter. Hogue made just three appearances last season with Oklahoma State before a partial UCL tear ended his season with the Cowboys.
Before that, Hogue tossed 59 1/3 innings with the Iowa Western Reivers, surrendering just 11 earned runs to post a 1.67 ERA across 13 starts and 14 overall appearances. Hogue ended the 2022 season with a perfect 6-0 record and he racked up 93 strikeouts against just 16 walks. His strikeouts per nine innings while at Iowa Western was 14.11. Hogue had one complete game performance as well.
Beuter made 15 appearances with the Patriots, compiling a 4.86 ERA across 16 2/3 innings of work. The 6-foot-1, 196 pound redshirt junior struck out 15 and walked six.
Watts made eight starts across 14 overall appearances in his lone season at Creighton. He compiled a 2-3 record with a 5.15 ERA with 26 strikeouts against 25 walks.
Iowa just tied its single-season wins record with a 44-16 campaign in 2023 that included the program’s sixth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance.
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