Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller. Photo courtesy of Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com
On the strength of its six straight series wins, including taking two of three games from No. 18 UC Irvine last weekend at Duane Banks Field, the University of Iowa baseball team has made its debut in the top 25 rankings.
The Hawkeyes come in at No. 24 by D1Baseball.com — the program’s first ranking by D1Baseball.com since the 2015 season when Iowa climbed as high as 14th.
Iowa is 29-17 overall and 11-7 in Big Ten play, sitting in a tie for third in the league standings, with two weekends remaining in the regular season. The Hawkeyes close out their home schedule May 10-12, hosting Michigan State at Duane Banks Field.
“There is not shot at a regional if we don’t play well”, said Iowa coach Rick Heller. “I am just being realistic about it and we have to play well against anybody to have a chance to win.”
The Hawkeyes are one of two Big Ten teams in the rankings. Illinois is ranked 25th after taking two of three games from Indiana to knock the Hoosiers out of the top 25.