The Iowa softball team has had a rollercoaster season in 2025.
From a flaming hot start to multiple losing skids and the firing of interim head coach Brian Levin in early March, the Hawkeyes have already overcome many more obstacles than most teams do in an entire season.
With four Big Ten series remaining for the Hawkeyes as of April 9, current head coach Karl Gollan’s squad has some work to do.
“We’re going to have to run the table pretty good here, the last four Big Ten series,” Gollan said after a loss to Illinois State on April 8. “We’re probably going to have to try to put up seven to eight wins out of that run.”
Iowa currently sits in 11th place in the Big Ten standings with a 4-6 conference record. Three of the final four conference series opponents sit below the Hawkeyes in the standings, including the season finale against last-placed Rutgers.
With those standings in mind, Iowa should be in good shape to win or sweep at least three of the remaining four series. The toughest upcoming opponent for the Hawkeyes is Penn State on April 19-21. The Nittany Lions land in ninth place in the Big Ten as of April 9 with a 5-5 conference record.
Iowa will certainly be tested, and the last thing they need to do is overlook any opponent. While the road ahead doesn’t look smooth, the Hawkeyes have the team to get the job done.
Perhaps the most consistent aspect of Iowa’s game is pitching and fielding. As a team, the Hawkeyes have committed just 36 errors in 999 total chances through 37 games this season. That statistic helps rank Iowa fifth in the Big Ten with a .964 fielding percentage.
Hawkeye ace pitcher Jalen Adams has been outstanding this season, posting a 2.26 earned run average through 26 appearances to rank 10th in the Big Ten. Her 130 innings pitched rank her second in the conference behind Ella Harrison of Rutgers. Adams also has the second-most wins in the Big Ten with 16.
The combination of great pitching and defense has helped Iowa to land top-10 in ERA in the conference, and they’ll need to keep that trend going while mixing in more consistent offense.
The Hawkeyes’ offense has been up and down this season, and it seems to be the root of issues when they struggle.
As of April 9, Iowa has lost six of its last seven games. In that skid, the Hawkeyes scored over five runs just once — an 8-7 loss to Wisconsin on March 28. In the previous 10 games before the Maryland series, Iowa averaged just 3.9 runs per game in a stretch where they went 4-6.
Those numbers, simply put, won’t play in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes rank 12th in the conference with 159 runs through 37 games. In comparison to UCLA’s 343 runs to lead the Big Ten, that statistic isn’t easy to look at.
Iowa, however, has the pieces to get the job done down the stretch. The middle infield duo of shortstop Soo-Jin Berry and second baseman Jena Young have been the bright spots for the Hawkeyes offensively.
Young and Berry sit in first and second on the team in average, both hitting over .340 through 37 games. The second-year duo has combined for 41 RBIs on the season, Berry with 23 and Young with 18.
If Iowa’s best players play well, they will be in great shape heading into the Big Ten tournament by the end of the regular season. Given that, it will be important to take care of business in the midweek nonconference games, two of which are against in-state rival Iowa State.
64 teams make it to the regionals in NCAA softball, with 32 conference champions receiving automatic bids. While the Hawkeyes winning the Big Ten seems far-fetched at this point in the season, making some noise in the conference tournament will only help force the selection committee to consider Iowa.
If the Hawkeyes take care of business in the remaining winnable Big Ten series and midweek nonconference games, they’ll be very likely to receive a good draw in the conference tournament and go on a run.
Despite its recent skid, Iowa can make the NCAA tournament. The team has rallied around coach Gollan ever since he took over in March, and he knows what it takes to get them to the tournament.