Bartt Pierce

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK It’s a little wild how quickly sports seasons change. Within a few days, the Hawks must immediately look ahead to next year. Building a roster feels like it would be a 24/7/365 day thing. There isn’t much time to take a breath (at least for the coaching staff). There are many variables, including which players (if any) will turn professional, which players leave, and which players enter via the portal.

It’s a little wild how quickly sports seasons change. Within a few days, the Hawks must immediately look ahead to next year. Building a roster feels like it would be a 24/7/365 day thing. There isn’t much time to take a breath (at least for the coaching staff). There are many variables, including which players (if any) will turn professional, which players leave, and which players enter via the portal. There has already been portal movement, and the transfer portal window remains open until July 1st.

I was able to connect with Iowa Baseball starting pitcher Reece Beuter after the 2024-’25 season wrapped up. Reece finished his stellar senior campaign with a 6-0 record and an ERA of 3.14. R-Beut’s stats for the year: 63 IP, 45 H, 22 BB, and 66 K’s. That is some fantastic ball. I met Reece’s dad at Luther College in the fall of 1988. We played golf for the Norse. Well, Tony did. He was pretty tough. I wasn’t very good. Sadly, my golf game reached its peak in 10th grade. We had some good times.