The Iowa Hawkeyes enter the 2024 college baseball season after a terrific 2023 campaign.
Iowa compiled a 44-16 overall record and a 15-8 mark in Big Ten play, which was good for a third-place finish in the final regular season standings. The Hawkeyes advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship before falling to Maryland, 4-0, in the title tilt.
That helped earn Iowa its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and the third under head coach Rick Heller. The Hawkeyes were the No. 2 seed in the Terre Haute Regional.
Iowa won a pair of games against third-seeded North Carolina to advance to the regional championship before host Indiana State ended the Hawkeyes’ season.
Still, Iowa carries that momentum into what it hopes is another memorable 2024 season.
The national pundits have taken notice of the Hawkeyes, too.
Iowa is ranked No. 20 in the preseason D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings. The Hawkeyes are the lone Big Ten team that found its way inside D1Baseball’s preseason top 25.
The Hawkeyes return a pair of key starting right-handers in junior Marcus Morgan and junior Brody Brecht.
Morgan, a 6-foot-3, 205 pound righty, posted a 5-2 record with a 3.72 ERA last season. The Iowa City native tallied 72 strikeouts against 51 walks in 65 1/3 innings pitched.
Meanwhile, Brecht, a 6-foot-4, 225 pound righty, posted a 5-2 record with a 3.74 ERA in 2023. He struck out 109 batters, while surrendering 61 walks in 77 innings of work.
The Hawkeyes return five of eight position players. That group features senior catcher Cade Moss, senior shortstop Michael Seegers, redshirt junior third baseman Raider Tello, junior outfielder Sam Petersen and redshirt senior outfielder Kyle Huckstorf.
Of that group, Seegers led the way with a .322 batting average with 31 RBIs and 36 walks drawn.
Here’s a look at the full preseason D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings:
| Rank | Team | 2023 Record | Final 2023 Rank |
| 1 | Wake Forest | 54-12 | 3 |
| 2 | Florida | 54-17 | 2 |
| 3 | Arkansas | 43-18 | 16 |
| 4 | LSU | 54-17 | 1 |
| 5 | TCU | 44-24 | 5 |
| 6 | Vanderbilt | 42-20 | 19 |
| 7 | Oregon State | 41-20 | 23 |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 38-27 | NR |
| 9 | Tennessee | 44-22 | 7 |
| 10 | Clemson | 44-19 | 18 |
| 11 | East Carolina | 47-19 | 24 |
| 12 | Duke | 39-24 | 15 |
| 13 | NC State | 36-21 | NR |
| 14 | Virginia | 50-15 | 6 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 36-24 | NR |
| 16 | Texas | 42-22 | 14 |
| 17 | UC Santa Barbara | 35-20 | NR |
| 18 | Coastal Carolina | 42-21 | 21 |
| 19 | Alabama | 43-21 | 10 |
| 20 | Iowa | 44-16 | NR |
| 21 | Texas Tech | 41-23 | NR |
| 22 | UCLA | 28-24-1 | NR |
| 23 | Northeastern | 44-16 | NR |
| 24 | Kansas State | 35-24 | NR |
| 25 | South Carolina | 42-21 | 13 |
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