Mitch Wood’s first home run of Iowa baseball career a symbol of perseverance

The Hawkeye designated hitter left the program for two years and revamped himself as a player and as a person.

Chris Meglio, Sports Reporter

March 5, 2026

Iowa utility player Mitch Wood takes off his helmet after hitting a home run during a baseball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Loras Duhawks at Duane Banks Field on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. The Hawkeyes defeated the Duhawks, 10-0. (Samantha DeFily/The Daily Iowan)

Mitch Wood walked up to the plate in the same fashion WWE star Shane McMahon would take center stage in a packed stadium – the song “Here Comes The Money” by Jim Johnson blaring in the background, all eyes on him.

At the bottom of the fifth inning with Iowa leading 5-0 over Loras, the designated hitter held a 2-1 count with two runners on base. Duhawk pitcher Andrew Krause whipped the fourth pitch right down the middle, and Wood cracked a no-doubter home run down the left field line, several feet above the foul post.

The first home run of his three-year Hawkeye career.

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“I’ve hit a few [home runs] in other places, in the fall and scrimmages,” Wood said. “It’s good to finally get that first one off the board.”

When he first committed to Iowa baseball as a high schooler in Ottumwa, he thought he’d come right in and make a seamless impact – as he did on any team he played for growing up. But reality hit him like a truck, as a person and as a player. The struggles he faced during the 2021-22 season as a freshman forced him to steer elsewhere.

Wood took his talents to the JUCO level at Arizona’s Yavapai College for his second year. There, he logged 54 hits, including five homers and 39 RBI (runs batted in), for a .323 batting average throughout all 49 games that season. He then transferred to Northern Kentucky and secured Second Team All-Horizon League honors behind 13 home runs and 44 RBI across 54 games.

Coming off two confidence-building seasons, Wood called Iowa baseball head coach Rick Heller ahead of the 2024-25 season pleading his case to return to the Hawkeyes. Heller welcomed him back with open arms.

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“I was interested to see kind of what the change would be,” Heller said.

And as Heller expected, Wood came back as a better player and an even better teammate. The attitude in which he carried, despite the lack of consistent playing time, permeated throughout the dugout. In 29 games including five starts, Wood logged a .276 batting average with three home runs and six RBI in 29 at-bats.

“To see him come back and really be a good teammate last year when he wasn’t playing every day, and the guys like Mitch a lot,” Heller said. “I think he’s just a very mature and a team-oriented player now that he really focuses on what he can do to help the team.”

Wood has seen an uptake in plate appearances this season, already at 18 at-bats through 12 games so far. His .444 batting average spotlights his eight hits and 11 RBI.

A big part of his revamped success is by staying calm. The game that was once “sped up” four seasons ago has slowed down dramatically thanks to a shift in mindset – playing the game with more joy and less pressure.

So when Wood took his sweet time jogging the bases for the first time in the black and gold, he couldn’t hide the grin that stretched across on his face.

“My freshman year, I came here and I was making it more than just a game,” Wood said. “We’re all living out our dreams here, and it’s just might as well have as much fun as you can.”