Former Iowa High School Baseball Standout Joins In-State College Program In New Role

Blaine Harpenau has been named the Director of Pitching Development for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Remsen St. Mary's sophomore Blaine Harpenau pitches against Martensdale-St. Marys. Harpenau took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Remsen St. Mary's beat Martensdale-St. Marys 4-2 in the Class 1A state quarterfinals on July 27 at Principal Park in Des Moines. Sp Mstm Baseball 03 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

A former Iowa high school baseball standout has been hired to lead the next generation of college pitchers for an in-state program.

The University of Iowa announced that Blaine Harpenau has been named the new Director of Pitching Development for the Hawkeye baseball team.

Harpenau, a graduate of Remsen St. Mary’s High School, was a multi-sport star for the Hawks. He was twice named captain of the Class 1A all-state baseball team, recording over 500 career strikeouts and 50 wins.

Along with his performance on the baseball diamond, Harpenau led Remsen St. Mary’s to success on the football field and the basketball court.

Blaine Harpenau Was An Excellent Athlete At Remsen St. Mary’s

During his senior season on the diamond, Harpenau went 13-0, striking out 129 batters in just under 68 innings pitched with a 0.62 earned run average. Opponents recorded just 24 hits off him with 18 walks.

At the plate, Harpenau hit .479, recording 11 doubles, two triples and a home run while driving in 33 runs and scoring 28 times. He threw 18 touchdown passes and had 16 rushing scores as a senior for the Remsen St. Mary’s football team, racking up over 2,000 yards of offense.

Former Iowa High School Standout Played NCAA Division I Baseball

Following graduation, Harpenau attended Kirkwood Community College, pitching two seasons for the Eagles, where he won 10 games and had 96 strikeouts. From there, he pitched for Arkansas State, appearing in 19 games with four saves and 23 strikeouts.

Harpenau concluded his college playing career with Southern Illinois, appearing in 15 games with two wins and a save on the mound.

Most recently, Harpenau was on the coaching staff for Concordia University as a graduate assistant. He helped the Bulldogs qualify for the NAIA National Tournament.

Iowa Baseball Roster Features Several Former In-State Standouts

Iowa head baseball coach Rick Heller made the announcement of the hiring of Harpenau, along with that of the addition of Matt Gabriel as an assistant athletic performance coach for the staff.

The Hawkeyes finished the 2025-26 season with an overall record of 33-23, going 15-15 in the Big Ten Conference while advancing to the league tournament for an 11th consecutive year. They will play Kansas at the Field of Dreams ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa in a special fall contest on October 10.

Iowa’s 2026-27 roster includes several former Iowa high school standouts such as Myles Davis, Max Burt, Wrigley Matthys, Jaylen Ziegler, Tate Slagle, Garrett Luett, Gavin de Jesus, Carter Geffre, Brooks McCarty, Jaixen Frost, Ty Mikkelsen, Jaron Bleeker, Maddux Frese, Ryan Stedman, Brett Harris, Reid Burkle, Will Pierro, Rowan Donels, Beau Leisure, Brett White and Kellen Strohmeyer.