Iowa's revolving door at pitching coach is finally closed...for now.
After one season, it was announced that pitching coach Wes Obermueller was not returning, putting Rick Heller and the baseball program in a bind. For the fifth time in six seasons, the program began a search for a new pitching coach. Last season, the Iowa pitching staff took a major step back, likely leading to Obermueller's quick exit. The pitching staff ranked No. 170 overall in ERA (6.16) and No. 93 in hits allowed per nine innings (9.22) in a down year.
Now with Obermueller out, Heller quickly replaced him with a former Hawkeye.
Heller is hiring former Hawkeye Casey Day as Iowa's new pitching coach
Iowa's pitching staff had an uncharacteristically bad year last season, causing Obermueller's exit after one season. Heller wasted no time filling the vacant position with a former Hawkeye who also has MLB experience.
Sources: @UIBaseball is hiring Casey Day as its new pitching coach, I'm told. Day spent time in the @Orioles system before most recently being a pitching coordinator in the @tigers organization. He replaces Wes Obermueller as the #Hawkeyes PC. #B1G
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) July 14, 2026
UPDATED CAROUSEL:… pic.twitter.com/xBmmMLDuki
According to D1Baseball's Kendall Rogers, Heller is adding Casey Day to his staff as Obermueller's replacement after he recently spent time with the Detroit Tigers organization. Before joining the Tigers staff, Day was the pitching coach for Single-A Delmarva in the Baltimore Orioles organization after starting his coaching career as an assistant coach at Kirkwood Community College in 2023. Day also spent one season with the Hawkeye program under Heller in 2022, posting a 3.18 ERA in 5.2 innings.
Excluding last season, the Hawkeyes' pitching staff has been among the best in the Big Ten and in the nation, ranking in the top 20 in three of the past five seasons. The program has struggled with inconsistent pitching over the past three seasons, ranking No. 16 overall in ERA in 2025 (4.16) after a bad 2024, when the staff ranked No. 123 overall (5.79). Hopefully, for Heller and the program, Day sticks around for more than a season, and even though he is young, he brings a wealth of experience.
Day is only 26 years old, but he has already spent time with two Major League ballclubs, suggesting he is an up-and-coming pitching coach. He also has familiarity with the Iowa program as a player under Heller and experience playing Big Ten baseball. Even though he is relatively inexperienced, it is a good hire for the Hawkeyes, and someone they can build around for the foreseeable future. Heller hasn't had much luck keeping pitching coaches in the building, but Day giving up his professional baseball coaching job suggests he is in it for the long haul.
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