Technically, Iowa baseball outfielder Keaton Anthony isn’t a true freshman. He joined the Hawkeyes ahead of the 2021 season. But he only made one appearance in 2021 as a pinch hitter because of a preseason hamstring injury.

In 2022, Anthony has fully recovered from his injury to become the Hawkeyes’ most valuable (redshirt) freshman.

Anthony has been strong for the Hawkeyes all season, leading Iowa with a .348 batting average over 25 games as of April 8. He also tops the Hawkeye leaderboard and is second in the Big Ten with 12 doubles.

He has started all of the Hawkeyes’ 25 games and hit safely in 19.

The outfielder out of Hoschton, Georgia, has earned the Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor a conference-leading three times this season.

Most recently, he won the conference freshman of the week award on April 5 for his performance against Michigan.

The Hawkeyes took two of three games over the Wolverines in their opening Big Ten series April 1-3 behind Anthony’s .462 batting average. He hit 6-of-13 in the three-game series and contributed a three-run home run in the final game of the series.

Anthony also hit .500 against UC-Irvine with five runs and four RBIs March 11-13.

Like Petersen, Anthony has a perfect fielding percentage in the Hawkeye outfield. Anthony has 22 putouts and one assist in 2022.

Both Petersen and Anthony are assets to the Hawkeye outfield and batter’s box. But Anthony is en route to be the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year, making him the most valuable freshman for the Hawkeye baseball team.