© File photo An Iowa baseball hat is seen during Hawkeyes baseball media day, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, Iowa. 230208 Iowa Baseball 019 Jpg
Per Darren Rovell, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission told Action Network that it has launched an investigation into the University of Iowa’s baseball team.
“The commission takes the integrity of gaming in the state seriously and is continuing to monitor the situation and will provide any additional information when able,” said Brian Ohorilko, the director of gaming for the state’s commission.
This comes after several players were withheld from action during the Hawkeyes’ series against Ohio State.
On Friday night, the University of Iowa released the following statement.
“Due to a potential NCAA violation, we withheld some student-athletes from competition. We will have no additional comments as this is an ongoing investigation,” the University’s release read on Friday.
The Hawkeyes’ leading hitter, redshirt sophomore Keaton Anthony, was among the notable players absent per Kyle Huesmann of Hawkeye Report with On3.
Anthony leads Iowa with a batting average of .389 in 43 games played and started. The Hoschton, Ga., native has tallied 38 RBI, nine homers and 22 doubles thus far this season.
Other notable absences for Iowa during the Ohio State series included right-handed pitcher Jacob Henderson, catcher Ben Tallman, and catcher Gehrig Christensen.
Of course, all of this comes on the heels of a sports betting scandal at the University of Alabama. Former Crimson Tide head coach Brad Bohannon was fired last Thursday after an investigation into suspicious betting activity following Alabama’s 8-6 loss against LSU on April 28.
Per ESPN, sportsbook surveillance video from the sportsbook at the Great American Ball Park indicated that the person who placed the bets was communicating with Bohannon at the time.
The Hawkeyes won their weekend series against Ohio State, improving to 34-12 (10-7 Big Ten) after a 16-9 Friday win and a 15-3 Saturday win over the Buckeyes.
Iowa returns to action on Friday, May 12 at 6:05 p.m. CT for a three-game series versus Michigan State in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes are still very much in the mix for and looking to track down an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
In D1Baseball’s most recent college baseball bracket projections, the Hawkeyes checked in as a No. 3 seed in the Terre Haute Regional alongside top seed Indiana State, No. 2 seed Tennessee and No. 4 seed Central Michigan.
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