By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Play Ball! Summer Sports on in Iowa:
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday that summer athletic seasons may be conducted for high school baseball and softball following a two-month activities suspension due to COVID-19.
The announcement approved the reopening of school facilities and the start of practices for Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and Iowa High School Athletic Association sanctioned summer sports starting on Monday, June 1.
Per the Iowa Department of Education, first contests may occur as early as Monday, June 15 and fans will be permitted at games.
The IGHSAU Board of Directors and IHSAA Board of Control met after the announcement and both groups voted to approve resuming the 2020 summer seasons under Iowa Department of Education guidelines.
Spring sports seasons never began and were ultimately canceled on April 17 following the cancellation of in-person K-12 schooling for Iowa’s 2019-20 academic year.
The IGHSAU and IHSAA plan to issue further sport-specific guidance and FAQ lists early next week.
Both organizations currently plan to conduct their state tournaments at their previously announced venues, with IGHSAU softball at Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge and IHSAA baseball at Principal Park in Des Moines.
Iowa State Officially Announces Addition of Ross, Two Other Transfers:
Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell announced today three additions to his roster who will be eligible to compete in 2020.
The new Cyclones include defensive back Greg Ross, a graduate transfer from North Carolina, kicker Alex Probert, a graduate transfer from Liberty and tight end DeShawn Hanika, a transfer from Butler Community College.
Probert, a native of Andover, Minnesota, will enter his final season with a career 73.0 percentage on field goals (46-of-63).
Hanika, who hails from Topeka, Kan., was a two-sport all-state selection (football and basketball) as a prep at Hayden High School.
He led his team to the Class 4A semifinals as a senior, catching 60 passes for over 1,000 yards.
At 6-6, 225 pounds, Hanika also led his team to a state title in hoops as a senior.
Hanika redshirted in his only season at Butler Community College and will be a redshirt freshman for the Clones in 2020.
Hawkeye Volleyball Put on Probation:
The Iowa Hawkeye volleyball team is on probation for one year and will vacate 33 wins over two seasons as part of the program’s penalty for violations by former coach Bond Shymansky.
Shymansky admitted to making two cash payments, totaling $2,000 to a recruit in 2017.
He was fired in the early parts of June 2019.
The university’s athletic department will also pay a $5,000 fine to the NCAA as a part of their punishment.
NCAA Votes to Lift Moratorium:
The NCAA voted to lift the moratorium on athletics for three major sports, Wednesday. The vote approved voluntary activity for football and men’s and women’s basketball during the month of June.
The moratorium that restricted activity was set to expire on May 31st.
The next step will be conferences voting to resume athletic activities among their member school’s campuses.