Iowa Baseball picks up portal commitment from talented outfielder

USA Today

7 hours ago

Iowa Baseball picks up portal commitment from talented outfielder
As Iowa baseball retools its roster this offseason following a relatively promising 33-22-1 campaign this spring that eventually fell short of making the NCAA Tournament, the Hawkeyes got a commitment from former Wagner College outfielder Bryce Phelps in the transfer portal.
The Denver, Iowa, native began his collegiate career at Southeastern Community College and spent each of the last two seasons with Wagner.
As a junior for the Seahawks, Bryce appeared in 33 games, where he batted .195 over 177 at-bats, including 15 hits and eight RBIs.
This past season, Phelps had a breakout campaign by starting 51 games and slashing a batting average of .399, an on-base percentage of .482, and a slugging percentage of .423, with 75 hits, 14 doubles, one home run, and 33 RBIs. Phelps' strikeout rate finished at just 11.7% in his 222 plate appearances and reached base via walk or hit by pitch in 14.0% of those appearances.
With his impressive 2025 season at Wagner, Philips earned himself a spot on the First Team All-Northeast Conference list.
'(It was) a combination of location, coaches, and teammates,' said Phelps in an interview with HawkeyeReport. 'Knowing that Iowa can be a place where I can go and compete with a bunch of guys that want to win, like my former Southeastern CC teammates Kooper Schulte and Caleb Wulf.'
'Just wanted to find the right fit at the highest level I could play at. The visit at Iowa was just as I remembered, felt like home. Having worked security at football games when I was at Southeastern Community College, I had a good feel for the outside of campus. Coach Heller and I had a great conversation. Talking about life, the program, and how I can fit in within the program as well. Talking to the coaches gave me the reassurance that I was wanted in the program. Having been recruited by them in high school and not working out I'm glad it circled back around.'
As for where Philips could land in the Hawkeyes' lineup, he will have a chance to earn one of the corner outfield spots with centerfielder Miles Risley returning and Kellen Strohmeyer in line to earn the other corner position.
Philips is just the third pickup for the Hawkeyes in the current transfer portal period, with Iowa likely to utilize the transfer pool as a valuable resource over the next few months while they patch up holes from their own departures.
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