Rick Heller not expecting missing players back in NCAA Baseball Tournament
The Iowa Hawkeyes begin their run in the program’s sixth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance tonight at 6 p.m. versus North Carolina on the ACC Network and ESPN+.
Unfortunately, the reality is sinking in that Iowa will be without Collegiate Baseball third-team All-American Keaton Anthony during its postseason run. He has missed the Hawkeyes’ past 13 games.
The Hoschton, Georgia, native leads the Hawkeyes with a .389 batting average and 22 doubles. Anthony’s .701 slugging percentage and his .505 on base percentage both lead Iowa among hitters with more than 30 at bats.
The 6-foot-4, 211 pound redshirt sophomore registered 61 hits, 38 RBIs, and hit nine home runs. Anthony scored 51 runs. His 110 total bases this season rank second, while Anthony’s hits, runs scored and home runs rank fourth on the Hawkeyes.
Anthony was one of several prominent Hawkeye baseball players withheld from play as Iowa’s athletics department explored “a potential NCAA violation.” Other notable names connected to the investigation included Jacob Henderson, Ben Tallman and Gehrig Christensen.
On the Monday following the Ohio State series, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission told Action Network that it had launched an investigation into the Hawkeyes’ baseball program.
It wasn’t long after that when the University of Iowa’s Office of Strategic Communication announced that it had received information on 26 student-athletes from baseball, football, men’s basketball, men’s track and field, men’s wrestling and one full-time employee of the UI Department of Athletics involved in the gambling probe.
Ahead of the 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament, Iowa head baseball coach Rick Heller joined Sirius XM’s “Big Ten This Morning” program with hosts Matt Schick and Anthony Herron where he updated the status of the missing Hawkeyes.
#Hawkeyes Baseball is coming into the Terre Haute regional with some strong momentum, but due to a gambling investigation, they'll be missing some key pieces.
HC Rick Heller explained why he doesn’t expect it to be resolved soon when he joined @ESPN_Schick and @BigAntHerron. pic.twitter.com/mOjUaqXTPs
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) May 31, 2023
“We’re still in a wait-and-see situation. I really don’t know a whole lot at this point. We’re all probably coming to grips with the fact that they’re not gonna be coming back.
“It’s a situation where, you know, it’s just disappointing, but it’s something I think that is bigger than just the University of Iowa and Iowa State that came to light. I think it’s a nationwide issue that we’re unfortunately under the microscope because it happened here, and I think that’s probably a big reason why the decision hasn’t come quickly because I think everyone knows that this is way bigger than just Iowa,” Heller said.
As Heller said, it’s certainly disappointing, especially given that Iowa is in the midst of a historic season. Despite the adversity dealt its way, the Hawkeyes managed to finish the season strong and lock up the program’s third NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Heller.
Behind a dynamic pitching staff, Iowa just might have the goods to emerge from a challenging Terre Haute Regional. The Hawkeyes’ pitching staff led the Big Ten with a 4.04 ERA and ranked 11th nationally.
Brody Brecht might be the best individual talent taking part in the Terre Haute Regional in a regional that’s full of great players. The 6-foot-4, 205 pound sophomore ranks third in the Big Ten and 32nd nationally with 101 strikeouts on the season.
A native of Ankeny, Iowa, Brecht can fill it up with velocity that’s comfortably in triple figures. He’s joined by fellow starters Marcus Morgan and Ty Langenberg and a number of relievers that Iowa feels good about.
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