Pitching coach Robin Lund is leaving Hawkeye baseball for an assistant pitching coach position with the Detroit Tigers, Iowa Athletics announced Tuesday.

Lund has been with Iowa baseball for four seasons, helping the Hawkeyes to 103 victories. The heralded coach also led Iowa’s Trenton Wallace and Adam Mazur to Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Seven Hawkeye pitchers under Lund’s direction have gone on to play professional baseball, including Wallace and Mazur.

Lund coached Iowa’s pitching unit to national prestige in the 2022 season. Hawkeye pitchers combined to allow 6.88 hits per nine innings — second in the nation. The Hawkeyes also ranked third in the country with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings and fourth with a 3.72 ERA. Iowa’s pitchers also had a program-record 609 strikeouts in 2022.

“We are all happy and proud for Robin and his family,” head coach Rick Heller said in a statement. “Going straight from Iowa to the big leagues not only shows how incredibly talented Robin is, but how strong and progressive our program has become.

“Robin has done a fantastic job in his four years here at Iowa and we will miss him. The Tigers are lucky to gain such an amazing teacher, coach and person. We wish Robin all the best in this next chapter of his career.”

On Wednesday, Iowa baseball announced the hire of Sean McGrath as a pitching coach and player development analyst.

“We are excited to welcome Sean and his family to Iowa,” Heller said in a statement. “Sean is an outstanding pitching coach with a proven track record of success at both the college and professional level. He is also a fantastic recruiter. Our successful pitching program is in great hands with a coach as talented and well-rounded as Sean. I have no doubt he will take us to even higher levels.”

McGrath came to Iowa after spending the 2022 season as the Arkansas Travelers — the Seattle Mariners’ Double-A affiliate — pitching coach. The Travelers had a 4.27 ERA in 2022, along with a league-leading 11 shutout and .229 batting average against. Travelers pitcher Taylor Dollard was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Year in 2022 under McGrath’s direction.

McGrath also worked as a pitching coach at Elon University, UMass Lowell, as well as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Iona College and a scouting director for Prep Baseball Report in New Jersey. 

He was a four-year pitcher for Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, racking up 111.1 innings on 70 appearances.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity Rick has given me to join the Iowa baseball program,” McGrath said in a statement. “The culture that their staff has created, along with their emphasis on development has me very excited to get to work.”

McGrath will join Heller, associate head coach Marty Sutherland, volunteer hitting coach David Pearson, baseball operations director Nic Ungs, player development director Ryan Colegate, and student assistant Ty Snep on the baseball staff.

The Hawkeyes have not yet announced their 2023 baseball schedule. Iowa went 3-0 against Mississauga, Iowa Central Community College, and Des Moines Area Community College in its fall slate.