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Former Johnston High School baseball player Jack Dreyer is only two wins away from winning the 2025 MLB World Series.
The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ rookie pitcher made his World Series debut Monday, Oct. 27, in Game 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays in a contest that lasted 18 innings, tied for the longest in World Series history. The former University of Iowa pitcher came in for a brief outing during Monday’s game, pitching less than one inning and recording one out on five pitches and allowing no runs.
He got more significant time on the mound in Game 4 on Tuesday, Oct. 28, when he pitched two full innings, 29 total pitches, recording one strikeout and continuing his streak of preventing a run. Toronto tied the series up at 2-2, winning Game 4 with a score of 6-2.
Here’s what to know about Dreyer.
Who is Jack Dreyer?
Dreyer was born Feb. 27, 1999, in Salt Lake City, to parents Steve and Courtney Dreyer. His father played college baseball at Northern Iowa and pitched two seasons in the MLB with the Texas Rangers in the early ’90s. Steve is now a physical education teacher in Marshalltown, and Courtney is an attorney for Casey’s, according to LinkedIn.
Dreyer won 23 games at Johnston and posted a 1.13 earned run average with 195 strikeouts across 149 innings in his career. Dreyer was one of the top pitchers in the state during his senior season in 2017, leading his team to a state championship and going 10-0 with a 0.34 ERA and 102 strikeouts.
Where did Jack Dreyer go to college?
After high school, he went to Iowa, where he went 8-3 with a 3.41 ERA in 20 outings, including 10 starts, with the Hawkeyes from 2018 to 2021. He dealt with a series of injuries during his time in Iowa City, which led to him going undrafted in the 2021 MLB Draft and signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers shortly after.
Dreyer made the most of the opportunity, compiling a 1.50 ERA in 12 appearances in Rookie Ball in 2022. He was just as good the following season, going 5-0 with a 2.30 ERA in High-A. Dreyer had a breakout season in 2024 when he reached Triple-A for the first time and was named a Triple-A All-Star by Baseball America.
He was promoted to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster ahead of the 2025 season and pitched in 67 games during the regular season, compiling a 3-2 record, striking out 74 batters, and posting a 2.95 ERA.
Dreyer is the first Iowan to appear in the World Series since Dallas Center-Grimes alum Tony Watson did so in 2017 —also for the Dodgers — and the first Hawkeye to appear since Cal Eldred in 2004 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
How to watch the 2025 MLB World Series
Game 5 of the World Series begins at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The game airs on Fox and can be streamed with Fubo.
World Series scheduleGame 6: Friday, Oct. 31, Dodgers at Blue Jays, 7 p.m. CT on FOX*Game 7: Saturday, Nov. 1, Dodgers at Blue Jays, 7 p.m. CT on FOX* — if necessary
Des Moines Register sports enterprise and features reporter Tommy Birch contributed to this report.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.