Author: Nathan Bloechl

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Iowa Games Still Shooting for July:

Iowa Games officials are still planning on holding their summer games in July but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced several sports to be cancelled or adjusted.

Spokesman Cory Kennedy says air gun competition has been cancelled.

District qualifying for bowling has been moved to July and the bowling finals have been moved to August.

“Figure skating and lacrosse has been cancelled, as well as high school trap shooting. All of our other sports and events are on as scheduled as of today.”

Kennedy says a lot will depend upon when the Iowa State University campus reopens.

“We have a lot of events on their campus and we are talking about what their plan is. The best recommendation we have is to follow our social media pages — we update that as often as we can with information.”

The main weekend of competition, which includes the opening ceremonies, is July 16th through the 19th.

Iowa Wild Cancel Season:

Hockey is done in our state capitol of the season.

Yesterday, American Hockey League President and Chief Executive Officer David Andrews announced that the league’s Board of Governors has voted to cancel the remainder of the 2019-20 AHL regular season and the 2020 Calder Cup Playoffs due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis, meaning the Iowa Wild’s season is officially over.

The AHL’s standings – sorted by points percentage – and statistics as of March 12, 2020, are considered final and official, and will serve as the basis for determining league awards for the 2019-20 season.

The Wild finished the 2019-20 year tied for second in the league with 82 points, accumulating a 37-18-4 record.

MLB to Start in July?

Major League Baseball owners approved a proposal yesterday that commissioner Rob Manfred plans to present to players today on a return-to-play scenario that will have baseball back in home stadiums by early July reports have indicated.

Among the changes Manfred is proposing to the player association are:

• An expansion of playoff teams from 10 to 14
• An 82-game season
• The use of home stadiums in areas that have local and state government approval
• A so-called spring training 2.0 that begins in June, with a season set for early July
• A universal designated hitter
• Geographical schedules, in which teams play only in-division opponents and interleague opponents in a similar area (i.e., American League Central teams play AL Central and National League Central teams.)
• A 30-man roster with a taxi squad that would have upward of 50 players available

By this plan, Manfred believes the season could start by Fourth of July weekend with limited travel by bus for teams and essential personnel.

Spring training 2.0 would be held at home teams’ stadiums and would not include any games.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Hawkeyes to Host Virtual Coaches Program:

The University of Iowa Department of Athletics and Athletics Development are pleased to present a virtual Hawkeye Events series – Hawkeye Events Live – to replace the annual outreach schedule featuring Hawkeye coaches and student-athletes, along with Herky the Hawk and Iowa Spirit Squads.

In an effort to maintain this nearly 50-year tradition of traveling across the state of Iowa to meet with Hawkeye fans in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hawkeye Events Live series, featuring a question and answer session with coaches, student-athletes, and friends of the program, has been created for this spring and summer.

The weekly series will be hosted by Laura VandeBerg, host of hawkeyesports.com, and broadcast live on the Iowa Hawkeyes Facebook page.

The first show is scheduled for this Friday, May 15^th and will feature select Hawkeye senior student-athletes.

Epenesa Officially Inks Rookie Contract:

Former Iowa standout A.J. Epenesa has officially came to terms with the Buffalo Bills on his rookie contract.

Epenesa was selected in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft after leading Iowa with 11.5 sacks this past season.

He finished his career with 26.5 sacks.

The Bills also announced they’ve come to terms with their fifth-round choice Jake Fromm, as well.

MLB Draft to be Five Rounds:

This year’s Major League Baseball draft will just be five rounds, reports have announced.

The five-round draft will begin on June 10^th.

Previously, Major League Baseball proposed a 10-round draft to the Player Association, but could not come to terms on an agreement.

Without an agreement, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred implemented the five round draft.

Players who go undrafted can be signed for a maximum of $20,000.

This comes in lieu of Major League Baseball continuing their contraction of Minor League Baseball, as well.

Dates for Pro Soccer in Des Moines Pushed:

The target date for professional men’s soccer in Des Moines has now been pushed back to March of 2023, reports the Des Moines Register.

The Des Moines pro soccer team will compete in the United Soccer League, which is a feeder league to Major League Soccer.

The initial timeline was to have ground broke on a new pitch by this fall and to begin playing in March of 2022.

The stadium will be located just south of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Des Moines, where land was purchased by the ownership group in December for 7.98 million dollars.

Stadium funding is still a question mark for the club, however the deadline to secure financial backing has also been extended.

Hawkeyes To Honor Seniors Virtually; 

The University of Iowa Athletics Department will honor its senior student-athletes during a week-long Senior Week beginning Sunday.

All Senior Week content will be scheduled on Instagram accounts operated by the University of Iowa Athletics Department and University of Iowa Student-Athlete Academic Services.

Here are the daily themes:

Sunday, May 10 — Coaches “Kick Start” the week with a message to senior student-athletes.

Motivational Monday, May 11 — Messages from your favorite former Hawkeyes.

Support Staff Tuesday, May 12 — Athletics support staff members have a message for seniors.

Wallpaper Wednesday, May 13 — Seniors are invited to use a Hawkeye-themed interactive wallpaper on their personal accounts.

Throwback Thursday, May 14 — Guess the Hawkeye senior from their baby picture.

Future Friday, May 15 — Seniors reveal the next steps in their journey, whether that is an internship, graduate school, full-time job, travel, or something they are excited about this summer. They will post plans on their personal pages.

Bonus Friday Feature — “Hawkeye Events Live with Seniors.” Tune in to watch Laura VandeBerg catch up with senior Hawkeyes.

Saturday, May 16 — “Always a Hawkeye” video. A compilation video of our seniors with a sendoff on what would have been Commencement Day.

Again, all content can be found on the Hawkeyes Instagram page.

ISU T&F Announces 13 Returnees Next Year: 

The Iowa State track and field program will be welcoming back many senior student-athletes for the 2021 outdoor season through the NCAA’s waiver program due to the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19.

They include:

• Addison DeHaven – Distance
• Eric Foltgantz – Sprints/Hurdles
• Scott Fuchs – Throws
• Edwin Kurgat – Distance
• Festus Lagat – Middle Distance
• Daniel Nixon – Middle Distance
• Vlad Pavlenko – Throws
• Leonel Perez – Middle Distance
• Bailey Righi – Throws
• Roshon Roomes – Middle Distance
• David Too – Distance
• Mason Weh – Sprints/Hurdles

ISU track was postponed and then cancelled, following the Big 12 Championships on February 28th.

The Clones finished as Big 12 Champions following indoor results.

Tampa Corner Decommits From Hawks: 

Tampa, Florida cornerback Jordan Oladokun has announced his decommitment from the Class of 2021 at the University of Iowa.

Oladukon committed to the Hawkeyes just over three weeks ago, before flipping course early Friday morning.

Oladukon orignally chose Iowa over a top seven that also included Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Penn State and Pittsburgh.

Oladukon is ranked No. 69 in the country at cornerback and No. 118 in Florida.

His future intentions are unknown at this time.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

NFL Schedule Released, Chiefs, Texans on Opening Night:

The National Football League has released their 2020 football schedule and things will start with a bang as the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will welcome in the Houston Texans.

This will be a playoff rematch of this year’s AFC Divisional Round and will be played September 10^th at 7:20 p.m. on NBC.

The Dallas Cowboys will take on the Los Angeles Rams on the first Sunday Night Football of the season.

The first Monday Night Football of the year is a doubleheader featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants and Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos on Monday, September 14th.

Chicago will open up at Detroit in Week One, while Minnesota will host Green Bay — both games on Sunday, September 13^th.

The full schedule can be found here.

Pass Interference No Longer Reviewable?

Sticking in the National Football League, pass interference replay review will not be returning to the league in 2020.

The much maligned rule was the subject of constant scrutiny last year and Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said that there has been “little” support for bringing it back this year.

The rule stemmed from the 2019 NFC Championship Game where the Los Angeles Rams benefitted from a pass interference no-call.

Replay challenges on pass interference were seldom overturned, last year.

Cyclone T&F with 31 Academic Big-12 Honorees:

The Iowa State track and field team saw 31 of its student-athletes named to the 2020 Academic All-Big 12 Track & Field Team, the conference announced Wednesday.

The Cyclone women saw 16 named to the squad, while the ISU men had 15 honorees.

First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA while the second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters.

Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence.

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide and the cancelation of the remainder of the track and field season, participation requirements were waived for the 2020 Academic All-Big 12 Track & Field Team.

Drake Seeking Fan Advisory Members:

The Drake athletic department is currently soliciting new members of the Bulldogs’ Fan Advisory Council for the 2020-21 season.

The Fan Advisory Council is in its third year and creates a forum for dialogue with supporters and department staff to enhance the fan experience and engage the Des Moines community.

Members of the Fan Advisory Council offer insights on various departmental and game day operations including fan experience, concessions, customer service, communications, ticketing and other athletic initiatives.

The Fan Advisory Council consists of 15 members who serve two-year terms on the council. Drake athletics is accepting new applications for the Fan Advisory Council May 7-31 with those selected to be notified by the end of June.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Zander Moved to VP of Advancement, Athletics:

Derek Zander, who has served as the athletic director at Iowa Wesleyan University since 2017, will take on a new role as vice president for advancement and athletics, effective June 1.

In this capacity, Zander will continue to oversee athletics for the University while taking on the leadership of the advancement team.

While serving as the Athletics Director, Zander has made significant improvements to the Tiger Athletics Department over the last three years.

There have been enhancements made to the men’s and women’s soccer facilities, scoreboard and sound system upgrades to the Ruble Arena, aesthetic improvements to the Howe Student Athletic Center, and improvements to several technology pieces within the athletic department.

Zander also assisted in the final stages of the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division III, which took just over six years to complete.

He has been instrumental in growing the number of athletic programs from 10 in 2017 to 16 for the 2020-2021 academic year. ​

In 2018, Zander joined the Iowa Wesleyan Advancement Team to focus on the development needs of the University. In conjunction with members of the advancement team, Zander led the efforts to renovate the Willis Wrestling Facility, which is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2020.

The 2019 Carol J. Nemitz Staff Member of the Year Award winner, Zander has shown strong dedication and commitment to enhancing the student-athlete experience, while assisting in executing the mission and vision of the university.

Mount Pleasant’s Akey Moving to Burlington:

After two years as the head coach of Mount Pleasant boys’ varsity basketball, Caleb Akey is honoring his roots.

A 1996 graduate of Burlington High School, Akey has been named the Grayhounds’ new varsity boys’ basketball coach after Reggie Shipp’s contract was not renewed.

Burlington went 12-10 this season under Shipp, their first winning record in over 20 years.

Akey went 23-21 in his two seasons as head coach in maroon and gold, that after spending nine years learning from arguably one of the best to do it in Mount Pleasant basketball history in Paul Rundquist.

Akey seems to be getting into a program at the right time, as the Grayhounds aim to crescendo quickly.

Two years ago they were 0-21 — after compiling their first winning campaign in two decades, Akey will look to take them to the next level.

The opening in Mount Pleasant now becomes an interesting one.

Legendary former Iowa Wesleyan head coach Alan Magnani was the assistant under Akey this year, with Mike Wilson coaching junior varsity and Ray Stigge coaching the freshman group.

Big 12 to Host Virtual Media Day?

The Big 12 is the first Power 5 Conference to announce that this summer’s football media day will be hosted virtually, a league spokesman announced.

The event was scheduled to be held at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock in July — but with ongoing COVID-19 concerns, the conference has decided to play things safe.

The AAC, MAC, Mountain West and Conference USA have already announced they’ll hold football media day virtually this summer.

The Big Ten has yet to announce any changes to their media day, scheduled still for July 22^nd and 23^rd in Chicago.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Iowa Golf Announces Signing:

The University of Iowa men’s golf program and head coach Tyler Stith — a Mount Pleasant native — announced on Wednesday that prep Felipe Pedraza has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend to the University of Iowa.

“Felipe is a powerful player with a great attitude and work ethic,” Stith said. “He possesses the talent to be an elite college golfer.  We are excited to see what he can bring to the team this fall.”

Pedraza joins incoming freshman Callum Macfie and graduate transfer Charles Jahn to Iowa’s 2020-21 team.

Pedraza holds several honors in Peru:

• Top-ranked junior in Peru.
• Placed top five in Peruvian rankings in each of the past five years.
• Member of the Peruvian national team, representing the country in six tournaments.
• Selected to play at the 2020 South American Junior Am

The spring golf season for the Hawkeyes was obviously cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNI Volleyball Picks Up Commit:

The UNI volleyball team has signed Sarah Konovodoff to an Institutional Letter of Intent during the 2020 spring signing period.

The newest member of the Panther family played her prep career at Rosary High School in Illinois, where she was a three time all conference performer.

Konovodoff recorded 1040 digs in her senior season, averaging 4.5 digs per set while recording 696 serve receptions and 109 aces.

Konovodoff chose UNI over Wisconsin, Nebraska and Illinois.

Wesleyan Taking HOF Nominees:

The Iowa Wesleyan Board is taking applications for those to be inducted into the Tiger Hall of Fame.

Nominations for possible inductees are due by May 15^th, 2020.

You can submit nominations online at iwtigers.com.

2019 inductees included Barry Holtgrewe, Jo Hufker and Steve Williamson.

World of Outlaws to Race Friday at Knoxville Speedway:

The World of Outlaws, also known as the “Greatest Show on Dirt”, will hold a behind-closed doors race this Friday at the famous Knoxville Speedway in Knoxville, Iowa.

The event is invitation-only and all full-time World of Outlaws drivers are expected to be in attendance.

Also racing will be former NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne and Kyle Larson.

Larson found himself in scalding water after using a racial slur during an iRacing event last month. For that, he was suspended indefinitely from NASCAR.

World of Outlaws permitted Larson to race this weekend after completing sensitivity training.

Kahne retired from NASCAR in 2018.

Although no spectators will be allowed at the events, the entire night will be broadcast live on DIRTVision.com.

Hot laps for Friday’s event begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by qualifying and racing at 7:30 p.m.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Big Ten Announces Additional Closures, Delays:

The Big Ten Conference announced today that it will extend the previously announced suspension of all organized team activities through June 1, 2020, and will re-evaluate again at that time.

This is an additional measure to the previously announced cancellation of all conference and non-conference competitions through the end of the academic year, including spring sports that compete beyond the academic year.

The Conference also has previously announced a moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting activities for the foreseeable future.

The Big Ten Conference will continue to use this time to work with the appropriate medical experts and institutional leadership to determine next steps relative to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main priority of the Big Ten Conference is to ensure the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty, fans and media as we continue to monitor all developing and relevant information on the COVID-19 virus.

Bees Offering Buzz-Thru Food Service:

The Burlington Bees will offer fans the opportunity to order and pick-up a selection of ballpark favorite food items from Community Field on Thursday, May 7 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM with new orders ceasing at 6:15 PM.

Concessions offerings will feature staples including hot dogs, burgers, nachos and pretzels in addition to Community Field specialties Macho Nachos and Bees Rite sandwiches.

Fans are encouraged to view the menu and must order with and official BUZZ-thru Curbside Order Form.

All orders must be paid prior to pick-up and may be placed by phone to the Bees Front Office at 319-754-5705 or by emailing completed order form to staff@gobees.com.

Bees’ staff will call all emailed orders to confirm order and receive payment.

Fans may pick-up orders curbside at Community Field in the time frame selected upon their order form.

To complete curbside pick-up fans will enter the East Driveway (nearest to Lunning Chapel) then stop at numbered spots directly in front of ballpark gates and the Bees Front Office.

Orders will safely be delivered directly to vehicles upon arrival.

NFL Playing All Games in Season:

The National Football League announced today that it will schedule all 2020 games in the United States in order for the entire season to be played in NFL teams’ stadia under consistent protocols focused on the well-being of players, personnel and fans.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made this decision after consultation with our clubs, national and local governments, the NFL Players Association, medical authorities and international stadium partners.

The NFL had been planning to play one game in Mexico City at Azteca Stadium and four games in London – two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and two at Wembley Stadium – during the 2020 season.

The Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins had all previously announced that they would be home teams for International Series Games in 2020.

These teams will now play all of their home games this season at their home stadia in the United States.

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com

Former Lone Tree Standout Earns Head Coaching Gig at Wake Forest:

Wake Forest Director of Athletics John Currie has named Lone Tree native Steve Forbes the 23rd head men’s basketball coach in Demon Deacon history.

Forbes had immeasurable amounts of success at East Tennessee State, compiling a 260-77 (.722) overall record in his five years as the head coach there and at three previous community college head coaching stints.

ETSU won 130 games and two Southern Conference championships during his tenure, while all 22 of his seniors earned their ETSU degrees.

Forbes joined elite company in 2018-19, becoming one of just 10 active Division I head coaches who have reached the 100-win mark in their first four seasons.

Forbes graduated from Southern Arkansas University with a degree in secondary education in 1988.

A former baseball student-athlete for the Muleriders, Forbes spent one year at his alma mater as the sports information director before embarking on a coaching career, which began at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa in 1989.

Drake Softballer Named MVC Scholar of the Year:

Senior Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa) of the Drake University softball team is the first-ever Missouri Valley Conference Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year as voted on by the league’s softball sports information directors, the MVC office announced last week.

This is the first year the Valley has awarded the top scholar-athlete of the year honor in softball. In addition, Roemmich and junior Nicole Timmons (Davenport, Iowa) were selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team while junior Macy Johnson (Winterset, Iowa) earned scholar-athlete honorable mention honors.

Roemmich is on the first team for the third straight year, joining former standout pitcher Brynne Dordel (2009-11) as the only Bulldogs to accomplish the feat.

Timmons is on the first team for the second consecutive year while this is the first MVC Scholar-Athlete honor for Johnson.

Drake finished this year with a record of 8-16 before COVID-19 abruptly ended the season in Mid-March.

Garza Picks Up Another Honor:

Hawkeye junior Luka Garza (men’s basketball) and senior Katie Burch (field hockey) have been named the University of Iowa’s 2019-20 Male and Female Athletes of the Year.

The duo will be Iowa’s nominees for the 2020 Big Ten Conference Athletes of the Year awards.

Winners will be announced at a later date.

Garza was a unanimous consensus first-team All-America selection, becoming the first Iowa men’s basketball student-athlete to earn National Player of the Year distinction by six major news outlets.

The junior center was also named the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year and has entered his name into the 2020 NBA Draft.

Garza has scored 20+ in 16 consecutive Big Ten conference games, the longest streak in the conference since 1987.

Hawkeyes Pick Up Another In-State Stud:

The Iowa Hawkeye football team picked up another hot in-state prospect when Ankeny’s Brody Brecht committed to the black and gold.

The 6’4′, 205-pounder will play receiver for the Hawkeye football team, while also playing baseball for Rick Heller’s group in the spring.

Brecht picked the Hawkeyes over Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Nebraska.

Last year, he caught 35 passes for 735 yards and seven scores for Ankeny, who finished 7-4.

On the diamond, he hit .371 with 3 home runs, 30 RBI while going 6-3 on the bump with a 2.46 ERA.