By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – For nearly three decades, I have marked the end of each Iowa Hawkeye sports calendar year by ranking the top-10 UI men’s student-athletes for that year.

This tradition started when I worked for the Iowa City Press-Citizen and has since followed me along the way.

And though never an easy task, compiling, or perhaps I should say trimming, this year’s top-10 list was among the most difficult ever because of all the worthy candidates in multiple sports.

It was hard to trim the list below 15, let alone to 10.

A strong case could be made that four Iowa football players and four Iowa baseball players deserve to be on the list.

But that would leave just two more available spots and therein lies the problem in that there are more deserving candidates than available spots.

The rankings are based on several factors, including statistics, awards, impact on the field and team success.

To show just how difficult it was to trim the list to just 10, the following nine student-athletes in no particular order didn’t make the cut: Spencer Lee, Brody Brecht, Drew Stevens, Brennen Dorighi, Keaton Anthony, Filip Rebraca, Jenoah McKiver, Kaevon Merriweather and Lukas Van Ness.

And speaking of Keaton Anthony, he was well on his way to making this list until being withheld from the final 17 games of the baseball season as an investigation into sports wagering was conducted. That investigation still is ongoing, or so it would seem.

Anthony missed the final month of the season, and yet, he still made third-team All-America playing mostly as a designated hitter. The Georgia native had a team-leading .389 batting average and 22 doubles when he started being withheld from games, and he still ended up leading the team in doubles.

It was hard to leave Spencer Lee off the list, and maybe he was held to a higher standard than the others because of what he had accomplished leading into this season.

Lee was well on his way to topping this list and becoming the first four-time national champion in the history of the Iowa wrestling program when he was pinned in the NCAA semifinals, shocking the wrestling world. He then withdrew from his third-place match, marking an abrupt end to arguably the greatest career in program history.

So, again, perhaps I am guilty of holding Lee to a higher standard, and for those who feel that way, fair enough.

But on the other hand, the 10 that made the cut also are deserving.

Here are the 10 that ultimately made the cut:

Rank, name, class, sport, hometown:

10. Austin Kresley, Jr., track and field, Oakley, California: He was the Big Ten champion in the 200-meters champion (20.26), breaking the school record he set earlier in the season. He also broke the 100-meter school record he set earlier in the season with the 10.10 he ran at Tom Jones Memorial Invite.

He ran second leg on Iowa’s 400-meter relay that set a school record and placed second at the Texas Relays (38.70), as well as the second leg on Iowa’s 400-meter relay that placed second (39.41). He also finished fifth in the 100 meters (10.32, 10.25 in prelims) at the Big Ten Championships.

He placed seventh in the 200 meters (20.35) and ran the second leg on Iowa’s 400-meter relay that placed fifth in 39.19 at the NCAA West Preliminary. The relay time ranks fifth all-time at Iowa. He also placed third in the 200 meters with a then-school record-setting time of 20.32 at the Desert Heat Classic. And he ran a collegiate-best and wind-aided 20.07 in the 200 meters at the Tom Jones Memorial Invite. He also set a then-school record and placed third in the 100 meters at the Texas Relays (10.19), running a wind-aided 10.10 in the prelims.

9. Sam Petersen, Soph. baseball, Huxley, Iowa: He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors after hitting .333 with 41 RBIs, 38 runs scored and having 20 extra base hits (9 doubles, 9 home runs and one triple) during the regular season. Petersen swiped 17 bases on 19 attempts. He also hit .350 in conference play with two doubles, four home runs, and 15 RBIs.

Petersen is the fourth Hawkeye outfielder to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors under head coach Rick Heller.

Petersen overcame a hand injury to finish second on the team with 11 home runs. He also led the team with 20 stolen bases on 22 attempts, and he performed well in left field.

His ability to hit with power, and with average, and to steal bases and perform well on defense gave Petersen the edge over three of his teammates that were also considered.

8. Mac McClear, Sr., golf, Hinsdale, Illinois:  He was a Co-Big Ten Champion, and he earned All-Big Ten Second Team recognition and All-Midwest honors.

He was also Iowa’s first two-time medalist at the Big Ten Championships and 16th conference golfer to win the league tournament on multiple occasions.

He posted a team-best 18-hole round of 66 (-5) in round two at Galloway National Golf Club to clinch Big Ten medalist honors. His five collegiate victories are the most by a Hawkeye men’s golfer since 1976.

He was the medalist at the Hawkeye Invitational, shooting season-best 206 (-10) through 54 holes to lead Iowa to its second team championship of the season. He also led the Hawkeyes in season stroke average (71.7), total rounds (35), rounds of par or better (20), individual victories (3), top-five finishes (5) and top-25 finishes (9)… competed individually at NCAA Regionals in Las Vegas, shooting 211 (-5) through 54 holes at Bear’s Best

7. Sam LaPorta, Sr., football, Highland, Illinois: He was named first-team All-Big Ten by league coaches and media, and was one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award, which is awarded to the nation’s best collegiate tight end.

He was also named the Big Ten Tight End of the Year and fourth-team All-America by Phil Steele.

LaPorta finished last season with 58 catches for 657 yards and one touchdown in 12 games. No other player on the team had more than 34 receptions.

He finished his career with 1,786 yards receiving yards and 153 receptions. Among Iowa tight ends, he ranks first in career receptions and second in career receiving yards.

He was picked by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.

6. Cooper DeJean, Soph., football, Odebolt, Iowa: He capped a spectacular 2022 season by being named the Music City Bowl Most Valuable Player.

He also won the Reggie Roby Special Teams Award and was named first-team All-Big Ten by league media and second-team All-Big Ten by league coaches.

He finished third on the team, and led all the Iowa defensive backs with 75 tackles last season. He also led Iowa with five interceptions, and with three pick sixes, and he finished second on the team with eight pass break-ups.

As a punt returner, DeJean averaged 16.5 yards on 10 returns.

He played cornerback last season, but he has also played safety and the cash position.

5. Tory Taylor, Jr., football, Melbourne, Australia: He has been a force since joining the Iowa football team in 2020. His ability to flip field position has helped to overcome Iowa’s numerous deficiencies on offense, especially this past season when he averaged 45.4 yards on 82 punts. He had 27 punts that traveled beyond 50 yards and 38 that were downed inside the 20.

He was named first-team All-America by FWAA, Phil Steele and Pro Football Focus, and second-team All-America by Associated Press. He was also voted a permanent Team Captain on special teams, and was vote first-team All-Big Ten by league media and Phil Steele, second-team All-Big Ten by the Associated Press and third-team All-Big Ten by league coaches.

4. Kris Murray, Jr., basketball, Cedar Rapids: The 6-foot-8 forward earned consensus third team All-American from having been voted to the third team on three of the four outlets used by the NCAA to determine its consensus All-America teams.

Murray was voted third team All-America by Sporting News, United States Basketball Writers Association, and the Associated Press.

He was also a Naismith, Wooden and Lute Olson Award semifinalist, and was a finalist for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year.

Kris Murray averaged a team-best 20.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per outing this season. He was the only Division I player to average 20-plus points, seven-plus rebounds, one block, and having made 65-plus 3-pointers this season.

He also scored at least 30 points four times this past season, and at least 25 points nine times, and 20-plus points 15 times.

Kris is the son of former Iowa basketball player Kenyon Murray, and the twin brother of former Hawkeye All-America forward Keegan Murray, who is now a member of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings after having been picked fourth overall in the 2022 NBA draft.

Kris Murray is also expected to be picked in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft.

3. Austin West, Jr., track and field, Iowa City: The Iowa City West graduate earned first team All-America honors by placing third in the decathlon at the 2023 NCAA Championships with 8,054 points. He won the 400 meters (46.56), placed second in javelin with a collegiate-best 212-9 (64.85m), and posted collegiate bests in high jump (6-4 3/4, 1.95m) and discus (146-2, 44.55m) as part of his performance in the decathlon.

West was also the Big Ten champion in the 400-meter hurdles, running a collegiate-best 49.34, which ranks second all-time at Iowa, and he anchored Iowa’s BigTen runner-up 400-meter relay (39.41), which ranks ninth all-time at Iowa. He also placed seventh in the long jump at the Big Ten Championships with a leap of 24-4 1/2 feet.

2. Real Woods, Sr., wrestling, Albuquerque, New Mexico: He came to Iowa from Stanford as a graduate transfer and would go on to finish as the NCAA runner-up at 141 pounds.

He advanced to the title bout by outscoring his opponents, 40-7, and posting three major decisions. His appearance in the championship round extended Iowa’s streak of NCAA finalists to 33 consecutive tournaments.

Woods finished 20-1 with 12 bonus-point victories (six majors, four tech falls, two falls), and he was 8-0 in duals and 6-0 in Big Ten duals.

He has one more season of eligibility.

1. Jack Campbell, Sr., football, Cedar Falls: He was the recipient of the 2022 Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s top collegiate linebacker, and the 13^th player in program history to earn unanimous consensus All-America honors.

He was also named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and was a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award and the Bednarik Award.

He led Iowa with 128 tackles in 2022, including a team-high 60 solo stops. He also had five quarterback hurries, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one tackle for a safety.

The Detroit Lions selected Campbell in the first round, and with the 18^th overall pick, in the 2023 NFL draft.