Iowa-UCLA baseball postgame: Rick Heller recaps season-ending loss
Iowa coach Rick Heller and player Andy Nelson follow UCLA players after the Bruins’ 9-3 win in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha.
IOWA CITY — Daniel Wright has his next baseball home.
The Iowa pitcher is heading to the Chicago White Sox organization after being selected in the 10th round of the MLB Draft (July 13-14). His day-two selection at No. 286 overall comes after Wright had a 3.41 ERA over 18 appearances in his lone season with the Hawkeyes.
The former Sergeant Bluff-Luton standout took a winding route to this point, first walking on at Wisconsin to play football in 2021 before moving back to baseball in 2022 with Iowa Western. Wright spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Houston, then returned to the state of Iowa once pitching coach Sean Kenny jumped from the Cougars to the Hawkeyes.
Wright served as one of Rick Heller’s top bullpen arms this season, yielding just 11 earned runs in 29 innings while ranking third among relievers in innings pitched. He was one of four Iowa pitchers drafted, joining Cade Obermueller (2nd round, Philadelphia Phillies), Aaron Savary (13th round, Cleveland Guardians) and Anthony Watts (14th round, St. Louis Cardinals).
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.