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 — Add another Iowa arm to the 2025 MLB Draft pile.
Right-hander Anthony Watts is off the board on day two of the MLB Draft (July 13-14), going to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 14th round at pick No. 420. Watts joins Cade Obermueller (2nd round, Philadelphia Phillies), Daniel Wright (10th round, Chicago White Sox) and Aaron Savary (13th round, Cleveland Guardians) as Iowa pitchers selected this year.
After transferring from Creighton following a strong prep career at Waukee Northwest, Watts shouldered a hefty load out of the Iowa bullpen. He made 43 appearances across the 2024 and 2025 seasons. In his final year, Watts had a 4.72 ERA with 19 walks and 45 strikeouts across 40 innings.
With Watts’ selection, Iowa baseball has had four-plus pitchers selected in back-to-back MLB Drafts.
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.