Iowa’s attempt to raise NIL money for Sam Hojnar falls short
Veteran second baseman expected soon to announce his new school
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller had a meeting on Tuesday that left him feeling sad, frustrated and even a little angry.
Because it was during this meeting that Heller bid farewell to Sam Hojnar as a player.
They met for about 45 minutes and that’s when Hojnar told Heller that he planned to transfer to another school.
Hojnar, Iowa’s starting second baseman this past season, had entered the transfer portal about a week earlier, but there was hope that enough money could be raised through name, image and likeness to entice him to stay at Iowa.
However, it wasn’t meant to be and now Hojnar is transferring to a different school to play his final season.
Heller declined to say Hojnar’s new school on the record because he wants Hojnar to break the news. But Heller said he expects an announcement from Hojnar to come soon.
It also has been reported on Twitter that Hojnar will transfer to Maryland, which makes the situation even more frustrating for Heller with Iowa and Maryland two of the Big Ten’s top programs.
“It was nobody’s fault,” Heller said Wednesday in a telephone interview. “It was just, unfortunately, it didn’t work out. And I don’t blame Sam. He did what he had to do for himself to have one more year to not have to pay a penny after he paid pretty much full out-of-state room and board and tuition for two years.”
Hojnar, who is from Naperville, Illinois, played a key role in Iowa making it to the NCAA Tournament this past season.
The Hawkeyes finished 44-16 overall, tying the program record for most wins in a season.
Hojnar started 57 games and finished third on the team with 10 home runs, and he was also 11-for-11 in stolen bases.
Hojnar would’ve been key piece again next season, but the lack of financial support has caused him to move on even though he really didn’t want to leave the Iowa program, according to Heller.
College baseball teams at the Division I level are given a maximum of 11.7 scholarships to be spread around a maximum of 27 players.
There just wasn’t enough scholarship money to give to Hojnar, and he entered the transfer portal to basically cover himself.
“Sam was a walk-on when he came here originally and we were able this year to get Sam some money because when you’re dealing with 11.7 (scholarships) and kids coming in already committed two years out, three years out, it’s not easy to say you’re going to give this guy a scholarship,” Heller said. “It doesn’t work that way because it’s not there. And you’re usually working a least two scholarships over to cover yourself for the draft.”
“So, the only way Sam was going to get money was us trying to find someone who would help him with NIL. He felt like, and I don’t blame Sam, he felt like it was his last year, he had paid out-of-state tuition for two years here to play baseball. We knew what he needed to come back and told him I would try my best to help find a way to that.
“And he said, ‘well, if you can’t promise me one-hundred percent, I kind of have to go into the portal to cover myself, right?’ And I said, ‘yeah, I think that’s a smart thing to do.’”
Heller was hoping that Hojnar would wait a little longer to see if enough money could be raised through NIL. But it was hard for Hojnar to stay patient after other schools started making attractive offers.
One school eventually made an offer that Hojnar just couldn’t turn down from a financial standpoint.
“Unfortunately, I should have figured, he’s a good enough player that guys are making him offers so good he couldn’t refuse,” Heller said.
Heller said fans that are interested in giving money to Iowa baseball players through NIL should contact him and he then would get the process rolling.
Iowa has a specific plan for how NIL money is raised and for what a student-athlete will have to do to earn the money.
Iowa’s way is different than some schools that raise massive amounts of NIL money and then use it to reward star players on an individual basis.
“It just becomes more difficult each and every day,” Heller said. “I guess all of us are hopeful that there is some semblance of normalcy and there’s some sort of judgment or ruling on NIL to try to make it fair and at least somewhat equitable.
“We’re hustling every single day trying to figure out how to do it, but also how to do it legally and do it the right way.”
Meanwhile, Heller had little to say, or to update, about the sports gambling investigation that caused five of his players, including star hitter Keaton Anthony, to miss the final 17 games of the 2023 season.
Anthony already has left Iowa City and is preparing for the 2023 Major League Draft.
Heller said Wednesday that he also expects junior pitchers Ty Langenberg and Will Christopherson to enter the draft.
Langenberg was one of Iowa’s three starting pitchers this past season, while Christopherson was a key piece out of the bullpen.
Iowa also has to replace All-Big Ten first baseman Brennen Dorighi, who used up his eligibility this season after joining the program as a graduate transfer from Wofford.
The good news is that sophomore pitchers Brody Brecht and Marcus Morgan, and sophomore left fielder Sam Petersen, aren’t yet eligible for the draft and all three are expected to return next season.
Iowa also has multiple position players that could return next season, including shortstop Michael Seegers and centerfielder Kyle Huckstorf.
“I think there’s a good chance they could be back,” Heller said of Seegers and Huckstorf. “But I also know that both of them are good enough that if the right team has a need, they could be gone. And then you still have the free-agent situation and not knowing if they would take an offer after the draft.”
Heller is optimistic that third baseman Raider Tello and catcher Cade Moss both will return next season.
“If we can get Seegers back and Huckstorf back, and you know Petersen is back because his draft year is next year; Raider Tello, who could go in the draft, but I think there’s a good chance Raider will be back,” Heller said. “If we get those guys back and then Cade Moss is back and caught virtually every game.”
Heller had high praise for Moss, whose importance to the team was huge down the stretch after the five players were withheld from games because two of the players being withheld were backup catchers.
Moss was an ironman down the stretch, catching every inning in the final 17 games.
He also had to handle a hard-throwing Iowa pitching staff that could be wild and unpredictable at times.
“He absolutley saved us,” Heller said of Moss.
Heller said he was approached by numerous umpires this season that raved about the way Moss conducted himself behind home plate.
“I heard numerous times this year from umpires; the best guy we’ve worked behind this year as far as receiving,” Heller said. “Cade actually saved us. He toughed it out, and then on the offensive side, he was always there. He was getting on base and he would get a clutch hit here and there.
“But he did a phenomenal job with our pitching staff who’s not the easiest staff in the world to catch. At times, he had to be a goalie for the first half of the season. He did a tremendous job and you can’t give enough credit to Cade Moss for the year he had.”