By Blake Dowson | [email protected]

It was a struggle for Tyler Peyton at the beginning of his senior season.

After being crowned an All-American at the conclusion of his junior year and deciding to come back for one final go with the Hawkeyes even after getting drafted in the 33rd round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds, the 2016 Hawkeyes were his team.

Peyton was handed the reins of a team that had won 42 games the season before and reached the NCAA Tournament. And Peyton was looked upon to carry much of the production left vacant by the graduation of key 2015 contributors such as Eric Toole and Blake Hickman.

Iowa head coach Rick Heller, though possibly admitting it only after his senior leader had played his final game as a Hawkeye, said Peyton was more or less the chosen one to help him move the program in the right direction when he was hired in 2013.

“The day after Gary Barta offered me the job, [Peyton] was the first guy I called,” Heller said after the Big Ten Tournament. “It was to try to get Tyler over here [to Iowa City]. I wanted him to come over right away, and we needed him.

“Only one of the recruited freshmen showed up on campus that year; the rest of them bolted. We took a little bit of a hit that year, and we needed a boost, and Tyler gave us that boost. He’s a great pitcher and great hitter. I love having dual-threat guys like that, and he’s one of the best I’ve ever had.”

There was a feeling that as Peyton went, so, too, would the would the team. It was apparent from the get-go at Iowa’s media day, when Peyton showed up a few minutes late because of class, and media members dropped whatever interview they were in the middle of to get their cameras in front of him.

But the senior from Grimes struggled out of the gate, partially because of a nagging forearm issue that he couldn’t shake; it popped up after his first start of the year.

His average was down at the plate from a season ago, and his ERA on the mound was up.

As he went, so did the team.

The Hawkeyes struggled in the early part of the year, losing their first four games and failing to reach the .500 mark until the 30th game.

At certain points, the season looked as if it might be lost, especially after a series-opening loss to Michigan State that pushed Iowa further away from a berth in the Big Ten Tournament.

At that point Peyton decided enough was enough and told the team to follow his lead.

In his final four starts on the mound, Peyton went 3-0 with an ERA under 1.00 in more than 28 innings pitched, including a scoreless streak of 26.1 innings.

At the plate, he hit better than .400 during the final month of the season, sneaking the Hawkeyes into the eighth, and final, seed of the conference tournament, and they ran all the way to the championship game.

As we went, so did the team.

Peyton did it with his arm and his bat, but ultimately, his arm was drafted on June 11 during the 29th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs.

For Peyton, it’s a dream come true to get drafted. But after experiencing it in 2015, he put that dream on hold to fulfill another.

“It’s been a dream come true to wear the Iowa uniform, to be a part of something special like this,” he said. “Before I came here, I talked to a good friend of mine and he said, ‘You are joining something special,’ and he said it all right there. It’s been a great ride, and I wouldn’t trade anything for it.