Will Hawkeye softball bounce back in 2025? Pair of Iowa natives could be key

IOWA CITY — Iowa’s Pearl Field saw some championship-level softball in 2024, but there was one big problem.

The Hawkeyes were not on the field for it.

Iowa was the 2024 host of the Big Ten softball tournament, yet the Hawkeyes were one of the two teams in the conference to fail to earn a spot in the 12-team field.

“I would hope that that puts a pretty big chip on the girls’ shoulders in terms of hosting a conference tournament and not playing in it,” interim head coach Brian Levin said Tuesday at the team’s annual media day.

Following Iowa’s underwhelming 2024 season — 18-28 overall and a Big Ten-worst 6-17 record in conference play — a pair of instate players gives the Hawkeyes some reason for optimism in 2025.

Winterset native Jena Young led the Hawkeyes in on-base percentage (.455) and slugging percentage (.542) in 2024 despite only being a freshman. The infielder had as many home runs (four) as the rest of her team combined and only struck out five times in 161 plate appearances.

“It gave me a lot of confidence to know that all the work I’ve done over the course of my life has paid off and got me to this level,” Young said.

Now as a sophomore, Young is “continuing to blossom,” Levin said.

“She’s hitting the ball actually better now than she did at the end of last year, so I’m really excited about her,” Levin said. “She’s the epitome of a Hawkeye. She’s homegrown and just a cage rat. … She was pretty quiet her first year, but has taken on some leadership characteristics.”

Meanwhile, Fort Dodge native Jalen Adams is “kind of the backbone of this pitching staff,” Levin said. Adams posted a 2.59 ERA in 2024 while in the circle for a team-high 159 2/3 innings.

Levin also drew some optimism how Iowa lost games in 2024. Seven of Iowa’s 17 Big Ten losses in 2024 were only by a single run.

“We’re right there,” Levin said. “You change a few of those games, and it’s a different season. So the expectation is to get in the conference tournament and do well in it.”

The 2025 season is without its share of challenges, though.

Iowa is without its usual head coach, Renee Gillispie has stepped away for the 2025 season due to a “personal health matter.” Levin, Iowa’s interim head coach, had a 65-62 record as the head coach at Southern Miss before parting ways in 2022.

“Our job as a coaching staff is to try to produce an environment that’s conducive to winning softball games,” said Levin, who is approaching his third season at Iowa. “So it really doesn’t change from a standpoint of whether you’re an interim or a head coach. … We pretty much have been on the same sheet of music since I’ve been here.”

Outfielder Rylie Moss — the team leader in batting average in 2024 — missed the end of last season and is “still struggling with that lower-leg injury,” Levin said.

“Still going through therapy,” said Levin, who did not give a specific timeline for her return. “That’s a big loss for us.”

The conference also is about to get more difficult with the additions of UCLA, Oregon and Washington. (USC does not sponsor softball.) UCLA is No. 4 in D1Softball.com’s preseason rankings, and Oregon is No. 18. Washington earned an NCAA regionals berth last year as well.

“Those are very good teams, very good coaches, good coaching that will be going against us,” Young said. “It’ll be fun. It’ll be good competition.”

The 2025 season will begin this weekend against Kennesaw State, Tennessee, Marshall, Texas Tech and Missouri in a tournament in Clearwater, Fla. Big Ten play will begin mid-March as the Hawkeyes look to avoid another conference tournament absence in 2025 (this time in West Lafayette, Ind., instead of Iowa City).

“Now you’ve had that feeling, and you know what it feels like,” Young said. “They won’t be hosted here again, but you don’t want to not make it to the tournament again.”

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