The Iowa baseball program signed five players for its 2015 season, the Athletics Department announced Monday: Nick Allgeyer, an outfielder/left-handed pitcher, outfielder Joel Booker, infielder Kyle “Fenway” Parks, Luke Vandermaten, a right-handed pitcher, and Kyle Wade, also a right-handed pitcher.

This is the first recruiting class for head coach Rick Heller, who was hired in July. 

“We are pleased with our first recruiting class,” Heller said in a release. “Recruiting coordinator Marty Sutherland and assistant coach Scott Brickman did a great job in a tough situation. Being hired in late July, this class was a challenge for us, but I feel we handled it well.”

Allgeyer, a native of St. Louis, was a first-team all conference pick during his junior season. He batted .352 during the season, drove in 28 RBIs, and scored 21 runs. He had 46 total bases. 

Booker hails from Columbus, N.C., and was a National Junior College Athletics Association Region XI Division I second-team all-region honoree. He was one of the top outfielders in North Carolina when he was a prep, according to ESPN.com. 

Parks has made numerous appearances in Perfect Game National Game events in San Diego and Minneapolis and was a 2012 Perfect Game underclass honorable mention, along with being a selection for 2013 Perfect Game high honorable mention. Parks is also one of the top-500 players, according to Perfect Game. 

Vandermaten is a Fort Dodge, Iowa, native and another transfer from a junior college. He finished the season with a 9-1 record as a starting pitcher and had with 40 strikeouts in 49 innings and a 1.47 ERA. 

Wade earned a 5-3 record as a starting pitcher with a 3.59 ERA after pitching 37 innings during his junior season at Chino Hills High in Chino Hills, Calif. He was an All-Sierra League selection after he led his team to a league championship during his last season, and he also plays on the California SVG Arsenal, the best traveling-baseball team in the state. 

“We still need to sign a couple of pitchers in the spring signing period, but I feel we are in great shape heading into next year," Heller said in the release. “Only having three seniors on this year’s team took some of the pressure off in not having to bring in big class our first year.”

— by Matt Cabel