Rick Heller's offense is about to get even more lethal after adding an elite hitter

Iowa Baseball sputtered down the stretch, losing its final two games of the Big Ten Tournament and effectively ending its 2025-2026 season.

Even though Iowa's season ended sooner than the squad wanted, the program's impressive Big Ten Tournament streak remained intact for another year. With some help from Ohio State, the program earned its 11th consecutive Big Ten Tournament berth, behind only Michigan, which has 12 consecutive.

Iowa's offense and elite fielding carried them to the postseason, and more power hitting is on the way next season.

Iowa picked up a massive signing with 1B/OF Sawyer Stein headed to Iowa City

The Hawkeyes' offense was extremely strong last season, finishing in the top five of most statistical categories in the Big Ten, and they did it without the benefit of the long ball. That has the potential to change very quickly with the addition of Iowa Central slugger Sawyer Stein.

According to On3 Sports' Iowa baseball reporter Kyle Huesmann, Sawyer Stein has committed to the Hawkeyes after entering the transfer portal. The college baseball transfer portal window opened on June 1 and remains open until June 30, with just under 1,300 players already in the portal.

Stein, an Eau Claire, Wisconsin, native, began his career at Iowa Central Community College, and to say he tore the cover off the baseball might be an understatement. He improved all his numbers from his first to his second season and is an incredible signing for the Hawkeyes.

Stein finished the 2025-2026 season batting a whopping .451 with 30 home runs and 113 runs batted in (RBI). Stein's batting average ranked second overall on the squad, while his RBI ranked first. He also stole 16 bases on 18 attempts and cut down his strikeouts from 48 to 41.

Stein will make an immediate impact with his bat next season

Stein was a career .409 hitter for Iowa Central, and if his hitting translates from community college to the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes have a new staple in the middle of their lineup for the next few seasons. His power numbers really showed up for the Tritons last season, increasing his home run totals from nine in his freshman season to 30, and slugging 0.991.

Iowa's offense did not heavily rely on home runs last season, ranking No. 13 overall in the Big Ten with 62, and Stein immediately addresses that issue. Stein's defensive versatility is also a huge addition, with Heller able to slot him in at first base or in the outfield.

The Iowa infield has already lost three starters to graduation, including first baseman Caleb Wulf, second baseman Gable Mitchell, and shortstop Kooper Schulte, and Stein gives them an immediate starter at first base. Hopefully for the Hawkeyes, Stein's hitting carries over, and he adjusts to much better competition, and even if he doesn't bat over .400, he can still be very valuable.

Iowa still has plenty of holes to fill, especially on the mound, but adding Stein was a big step in adding some firepower on offense while also filling a clear need at first base.

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