Iowa
Brody Brecht Strikes Out 13 in Iowa Win
It’s not really a cliché when Brody Brecht says he takes everything one pitch at a time.
It’s an approach that is now making him, as his coach described it, a “really polished pitcher.”
Brecht matched a career high with 13 strikeouts, allowing just two hits and one run over eight innings in Iowa’s 9-2 win over Northwestern on Saturday at Duane Banks Field.
The Hawkeyes (27-18 overall, 12-8 Big Ten) clinched the series against the Wildcats (13-29, 2-15) behind Brecht, who is putting together an impressive run to close the regular season.
Brecht (3-2), over his last three starts, has struck out 36 in 22 ⅔ innings, allowing just five hits, three runs (two earned) and eight walks in that stretch.
“I continue to preach the mental side of the game — just control what I can control,” Brecht said. “Take it one pitch at a time — it’s been a big focus for me.”
Iowa coach Rick Heller appreciates that approach.
“I just think from a confidence standpoint, from a focus standpoint, he’s in a great place right now,” Heller said. “He isn’t putting the weight of the world on every pitch. He’s just going out and playing and having fun and helping the team, not worrying about anything but the next pitch. That’s great to see, because that hasn’t always been the case.”
Brecht’s confidence could be seen early. Northwestern’s Preston Knott doubled into the right-field corner on Brecht’s second pitch of the game. Knott ended up scoring — he moved to third base on Bennett Markinson’s fly ball to right field and scored on Jackson Freeman’s sacrifice fly. But those two outs started a streak of 12 consecutive hitters retired by Brecht.
Brecht was consistently working ahead of the hitters during that run.
“That’s the name of the game — getting ahead,” he said. “When you get ahead, the chase rates go up.”
Brecht finally got a lead in the fifth inning, when Iowa scored three runs off a bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice fly, and a double steal.
Brecht had six of his strikeouts in the three innings after the Hawkeyes had taken the lead.
“He was in control the entire time, I felt like,” Heller said. “He’s in a really good zone right now. When he would hit a little spell when he wasn’t getting ahead, he stepped back, found a way to get back in the zone. When we did score, he had shutdown innings.
“He was just really, really in control. That was the third one in a row where he looked like a really polished pitcher.”
Iowa got a run in the sixth on Raider Tello’s run-scoring single, then broke open the game in the eighth with five runs. Andy Nelson had a two-run double, Tello drove in a run with a double, then Reese Moore hit a two-run home run.
“I was really happy,” Heller said. “There were so many quality at bats today where there was no reward. To finally have it break through shows you that the mentality was right.”
Brecht’s long outing — he threw 115 pitches — allowed Heller to conserve his bullpen for Sunday’s series finale. Heller had planned on using Ben DeTaeye in the eighth if Brecht needed help, and then Jack Young in the ninth, but the big lead allowed him to save both.
“That was exactly what we needed to be in good shape for tomorrow’s game,” Heller said.
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers on offense, defense development
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers on how the Cyclones offense and defense is developing.
After securing multiple commitments on the offensive side of the ball, Iowa State football has landed its first defensive commitment in the 2027 recruiting class.
Keaton Wollan, a three-star linebacker out of Amery, Wisconsin, committed to the Cyclones on April 21. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound linebacker announced his decision on social media.
He chose Iowa State over other offers from Texas Tech and North Dakota State. He previously visited Ames in March, but he also took recent visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin.
As a junior at Amery High School, Wollan was a two-way standout and earned all-state honors for the 2025 season. Defensively, he racked up a team-high 125 total tackles, including nine for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also had four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three interceptions and one defensive touchdown.
Offensively, he had a team-high 932 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 160 carries. He also caught 15 passes for 179 yards, and he was an impact player in the return game, logging more than 500 kick and punt return yards.
According to 247 Sports Composite rankings, Wollan is the No. 93 linebacker prospect in the country and the No. 11 overall recruit in his class from the state of Wisconsin.
Wollan is the sixth player to commit in the Cyclones’ 2027 recruiting class.
Iowa State football 2027 recruiting commitments
As of April 21
- Gavin Ericson-Staton, OL | Lombard, Illinois/Montini Catholic
- Isaiah Hansen, RB | Newton, Iowa/Newton HS
- Koen Hinzman, OL | Hudson, Michigan/Hudson Area HS
- Will Slagle, OL | Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell HS
- Bryson Thompson, WR | San Antonio, Texas/Claudia Taylor Johnson HS
- Keaton Wollan, LB | Amery, Wisconsin/Amery HS
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
Avoiding common car crashes
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Prepare for more overnight closures at the northeast mixmaster as the Iowa Department of Transportation closes the ramp connecting westbound Interstate 80 and northbound Interstate 35.
Here’s what to know.
When will the Iowa DOT close the westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 ramp?
The westbound I-80 to northbound I-35 ramp will be closed to traffic from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning from April 21-24.
What’s the detour when the Iowa DOT closes the westbound I‑80 to the northbound I‑35 ramp?
During the closures, drivers wanting to go from westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 will follow a signed detour.
Instead of taking the closed ramp, motorists will stay on westbound I‑80, bypassing the northeast mixmaster connection. They’ll then exit at U.S. Highway 69, turn around, and head back east on I‑80, where they can connect to northbound I‑35 using the open portion of the northeast mixmaster.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
An Iowa women’s basketball transfer portal visitor committed to one of the Hawkeyes’ conference foes instead. Former Iowa State guard Kenzie Hare took a visit to Iowa during her transfer portal recruitment, but the 5-foot-9 guard committed to Indiana on Sunday night.
Hare had several visits throughout her transfer portal recruiting process, including trips to Michigan and Illinois State, but the Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow reported that Hare also visited Iowa.
On3’s Talia Goodman reported Hare’s commitment to the Hoosiers.
Hare has one year of eligibility remaining. This past season with the Cyclones, in 32 games played and 31 starts, Hare averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on 40.5% field goal shooting and 40% from 3-point range. A hip injury limited Hare to just 10 games during her first year with the Cyclones in the 2024-25 season.
The soon-to-be redshirt senior transferred to Iowa State before the 2024-25 campaign after spending two seasons at Marquette from 2022-24. Hare averaged a career-best 14 points per game on 45.5% field goal shooting and 42.5% 3-point shooting during the 2023-24 season with the Golden Eagles.
Had Iowa been able to lure the Naperville, Ill., native to Iowa City, Hare would have been another valuable addition to the Hawkeyes’ backcourt depth. But, Iowa has landed other backcourt reinforcements throughout this transfer portal cycle.
The Hawkeyes inked both Dani Carnegie and Amari Whiting.
Carnegie was a first-team All-SEC selection this past season at Georgia, averaging 17.8 points per game on 42.7% field goal shooting, 35.4% from 3-point range and 83.3% from the free-throw line. Whiting averaged 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game on 42.5% field goal shooting, 32.1% 3-point accuracy, and 71.6% free-throw shooting.
As Hare joins a promising core of players in Bloomington, the Hawkeyes will once again face the former Cyclone at least once this upcoming season as part of their Big Ten regular-season slate.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
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