Keaton Anthony, Brody Brecht Freshman All-Americans

Iowa Baseball Duo Snags National Honors

Iowa's Keaton Anthony celebrates hitting a double during a game against Illinois on April 9, 2022 at Banks Field in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa’s Keaton Anthony and Brody Brecht have been named Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-Americans, it was announced Wednesday by the collegiate baseball newspaper.

The duo are the 10th and 11th Hawkeyes to earn freshman All-America honors and the first since Peyton Williams in 2020. It is the third time in program history Iowa has had multiple players earn freshman All-America honors in the same season (1999, 2017).

Anthony earned the distinction after putting together an impressive redshirt freshman season, hitting .361 (73-of-202) with 22 doubles, 14 home runs, 55 RBIs and 46 runs scored. The Hoschton, Georgia, native hit safely in 44 games, reached safely in 50 contests and had a team-best 22 multi-hit games.

The outfielder was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year -- the second Hawkeye all-time to earn the distinction -- second-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman team honors. During the regular season, Anthony was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week a program and league-record six times.

Anthony ranked fourth in the Big Ten with 22 doubles – the second-most in a single season in program history – and was third in slugging (.678) and OPS (1.133) and sixth in batting average (.361). His 14 home runs were the most by a Hawkeye freshman since 1999.

Brecht earned the accolade after posting a 3.18 ERA in 17 appearances on the mound. The Ankeny, Iowa, native allowed just 13 hits and 16 runs (eight earned) over 22 2/3 innings where he had 44 strikeouts. Brecht surrendered just one extra base hit in his 17 appearances and limited hitters to a .155 average.

The right-handed pitcher was stout on the mound during the final two months, allowing one earned run over 10 relief appearances. He allowed just four hits and struck out 28 over 13 1/3 innings from April 6-May 15.

The Hawkeyes finished the 2022 season with a 36-19 overall record with the 36 wins ranking eighth in program history. Iowa finished in a tie for second in the Big Ten regular season standings, advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and the team became the first team to win two games on the same day at the Big Ten Tournament.