Mason Ellens always believed he could play Power Four Football. The Illinois defensive back received that chance Friday when Iowa State offered a scholarship. It was reaffirmed two days later when Iowa also offered. 

“I kind of knew it was coming because there would be other schools that would come in and they would tell my head coach (Chad Hetlet) that there’s no way they could get their hands on me because they thought I’d be be a Power Four player eventually,” Ellens told HN.

Bigger schools have been recruiting him for the last year, including Iowa. The Hawkeyes have visited with him at the school multiple times. They were back at Glen Ellyn (IL) Glenbard West High on Thursday for a workout. 

“I think that’s what’s really got their attention,” Ellens said. 

It’s been a big spring on the track for Ellens. He’s run the 100 meters in 10.77 seconds and the 200 in 21.89. That speed has complemented an impressive junior year highlight video. 

In addition to standing out on offense and defense, Ellens proves that he’s an electric returner. That’s a bonus on the recruiting trail. 

“Most coaches do mention that to me. That’s been a big part for me because that shows that I can move well and shows my speed as well,” he said. 

Ellens (5-11, 155) entered the week having built strong relationships with Ohio and Miami (OH). Other MAC and FCS schools also offered scholarships. While he’s open to all the schools interested in him, he said he favors Iowa and Iowa State right now. 

“I’m looking to take official visits to Iowa State and Iowa. I’m also focused on track and getting better times to send out to (college) coaches,” Ellens said. 

Ellens spoke with Iowa assistant Seth Wallace about officially visiting the Hawkeyes the weekend of June 21. That’s when the program welcomes a large group of its verbal commitments and top targets. 

Iowa State still is working out a date for his official visit. It could happen within a week or two of the Hawkeye stop. 

Ellens heads into his official visits knowing what’s most important to him. 

“I think I’m going to focus mostly on how the coaches treat their players and how well and how hard they coach them. That’s kind of the big thing for me,” he said. 

Ellens is undecided about a college major. He’d like to study something that keeps him involved in sports. 

Rivals, On3 and 247 did not yet rank Ellens at the time this story was published. Prep Red Zone rated him as the No. 40 player overall in Illinois for ’25. 

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.

Northwest Iowa — While farmers were worried what this year would bring when it started in January due to 182 straight weeks of drought — and even as spring neared, our very dry soil conditions had farmers concerned — it seems to be of less and less concern, especially in our area, due to timely rains.

According to the US Drought monitor at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, while there was a little area of “abnormally dry” conditions in our part of northwest Iowa two weeks ago, that area has disappeared, and, in fact, the state as a whole is showing less and less drought.

The latest USDA Crop Progress Report for Iowa showed continued improvement in moisture levels. Only nine percent of northwest Iowa topsoil was either short or very short of moisture compared to 19 percent the previous week. 67 percent of northwest Iowa has adequate moisture, with 24 percent surplus.

All of the recent rainfall is also having a direct impact on lake levels. Mike Hawkins, a fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources tells KUOO news levels on the Iowa Great Lakes have risen considerably recently.

And with more rain in the forecast, Hawkins says those levels are likely to come up even more. Rain is possible this Monday and Monday night.

(With help from fellow Community First Broadcasting stations KUOO in Spirit Lake and KAYL in Storm Lake)