Iowa Baseball Picked 3rd in B1G

Conference Coaches Tab Hawkeyes Near Top in Preseason Poll

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa baseball team was picked to finish third in the Big Ten Conference Preseason Poll in a vote of the league’s 13 head coaches, it was announced Thursday by the league office.

Nebraska was selected as the preseason favorite followed by Michigan, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio State and Indiana. Only the top six teams were released.

Three Hawkeyes - senior Dylan Nedved and redshirt sophomores Peyton Williams and Adam Mazur - were named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List.

Nedved, a reliever from Shawnee, Kansas, went 4-1 with a 4.19 ERA and nine saves during the 2021 season. The nine saves were tied for second in the Big Ten and were the fourth-most in a single season in school history. Nedved will serve as a team captain in 2022.

During an injury plagued 2021 season, Williams posted a .295 average with 15 doubles, six home runs and 27 RBIs. The Johnston, Iowa, native led the Big Ten in walks (34), while ranking third in OBP (.470), tied for third in doubles (15) and seventh in slugging percentage (.582). The first baseman is tabbed as the ninth-best draft prospect in the Big Ten by Perfect Game.

Mazur, who will take the ball for Iowa’s season opener, joins the program following a two-year stay at South Dakota State. The Minnesota native went 3-9 with a 5.50 ERA in 16 starts with the Jackrabbits before shining last summer in the Cape Cod League. He earned all-league honors after going 3-0 with a 1.55 ERA in six starts for the Wareham Gateman. Mazur is ranked as the No. 2 draft prospect in the Big Ten by Perfect Game and a top-100 prospect by MLB.com.

Nedved on Preseason Stopper Watch List

Iowa redshirt senior Dylan Nedved has been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List, it was announced Thursday by the NCBWA. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.

Nedved, who is a team captain in 2022, was also named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List on Thursday.

The right-handed pitcher is one of 66 players in the country named to the Watch List, including one of seven pitchers from the Big Ten. Nedved is the second Hawkeye in three seasons to be named to the list, joining Grant Leonard in 2020.

The Shawnee, Kansas, native was a two-way player as a reliever and utility man during the 2021 season. Nedved emerged as the Hawkeyes’ closer, where he went 4-1 with a 4.19 ERA over 20 appearances. He finished with nine saves, which were second in the Big Ten and tied for the fourth-most in a single season in school history.

Nedved opened the 2021 season with 14 1/3 innings of shutout baseball. He allowed 29 hits and fanned 31 in his 20 appearances, spanning 34 1/3 innings.

Iowa opens the season Friday, facing Air Force at 11 a.m. (CT) at the Swig & Swine Classic in Charleston, South Carolina.