The goal for every softball team in the state of Iowa is to go play for a championship in Fort Dodge. It’s been 16 years in the making for the Riverside Bulldogs as they have qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 2009. A group of girls who have been to state competitions in other sports and Head Coach Laci Patterson believes that is giving her team a calmer approach.

Riverside enters the state tournament at 24-3 and riding a 10-game win streak. Within the win streak, Bulldog pitching has limited their opponents to one run or less in five contests. Freshman Peyton Schafer has shined this season in the circle with a 2.22 earned run average earning Patterson’s trust in the biggest moments.

Dominant pitching certainly helps a team’s chances to get to the state tournament, but the offense has slugged all season and currently hitting .383 as a group. Patterson believes the run scoring eases the pressure on Schafer.

Riverside has five everyday starters hitting over .400. Team chemistry has been a major theme for Riverside as they have put out the same exact lineup in 26 of their 27 games this year including their only senior Elly Henderson.

When a Riverside team succeeds, the community comes around to support the Bulldogs.

Within Riverside’s 27 game this season they have played 16 non-conference games. Although, The Bulldogs haven’t played Newell-Fonda and only a few mutual opponents between the two, that isn’t such a bad thing according to Patterson.

Riverside and Newell-Fonda are set to battle at 5:15 PM central time in Fort Dodge Tuesday night. KJAN AM 1220/FM 101.1 will have live coverage beginning at 4:45 P.M.

The Audubon baseball season has come to an end in 2025, but the Wheelers didn’t go down without a fight. After a 1-10 start to the season for Audubon, the Wheelers surged to win their next four games in a row and gain a world of confidence through the rest of the season. Eventually, the Wheelers fell in the first round of the playoffs to Glidden-Ralston in a back-and-forth battle. Head Coach Eric Borkowski complimented the work ethic and attitude of his team all year long.

Borkowski emphasized the record may not have been as shiny as they hoped for but there’s still lots to be proud of.

Audubon was led by their senior class this season with five everyday starters graduating including their ace Adam Obrecht on the mound. Obrecht threw 36 innings this season including a complete game in the Glidden-Ralston playoff game. Another senior, Gabe Jensen caught all 22 games for the Wheelers and slashed a .237 batting average.

Audubon has a good number of impactful players returning for next season including their top three hitters for average in Carson Wessell, Brody Weber, and Brody Schultes.

The Wheelers are looking forward to next season with what they believe will be a strong senior class leading the program.

UNI has been picked to finish eighth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll. First year coach Todd Stepsis took over a program that finished 3-9 a year ago and has not qualified for the FCS playoffs since 2021.

Stepsis has been impressed with the way his team has reacted to the new coaching staff and the challenge ahead.

The program has struggled in recent year but with 22 all-time appearances in the FCS playoffs the expectations for the program remain high.

In the age of the transfer portal, senior tight end Derek Anderson decided to stay and be part of the rebuild. The former Hinton high school star took snaps on both sides of the ball last season.

Anderson liked the message he heard after Stepsis replaced long-time coach Mark Farley.

The Valley conducted its Media Day in Sioux Falls. The Panthers open the season at home on August 30th against Butler.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa volleyball program earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic and Team Honor Roll Awards, the organization announced on Monday.

Volleyball programs from across the country continue to prove their dominance off the court as a record-breaking 1,450 collegiate and high school volleyball teams maintained a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale), to earn the 2025 AVCA Team Academic Award.

“It is very exciting to see that the record-setting, on-court successes during the 2024-25 season have extended to the classroom,” says AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. “The fact that more programs earned the Team Academic Award than ever before is evidence of how committed our coaches are when it comes to helping their players reach their goals as both students and athletes.”

The additional distinction of Team Academic Honor Roll celebrates programs in the top 20% of GPAs for their division.

Iowa will host its Black and Gold Scrimmage on August 23 at Xtream Arena, beginning at 5 p.m. Admission is free to the public. The Hawkeyes open their regular season in Las Vegas against UNLV on August 29 at 8:30 p.m. CT.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team will face Ole Miss in the opening game of the 2025 Acrisure Classic on Nov. 25 in Palm Desert, California, the announcement was made Monday by Total Sports Consulting.

The two teams will meet at Acrisure Arena at 8:30 p.m. (CT).  Iowa is in a four-team bracket with Grand Canyon and Utah, who meet at 11 p.m.  The two winners will then square off at 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 26 and the two losing teams will play at 11 p.m.

Both games will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.

Tickets go on sale Friday, July 25 at noon and are available online at Ticketmaster.com, the official ticketing provider of Acrisure Arena. Tickets are also available at the Ticketmaster Box Office at Acrisure Arena.  Admission includes access to all games on that date.

The game against Ole Miss will be the first meeting in the all-time series.  It is Iowa’s first contest against an SEC opponent since facing Auburn in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

Iowa is 1-0 all-time against Grand Canyon, defeating the Lopes in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and 1-2 all-time against Utah.  The two teams have squared off in each of the past two seasons – in the 2024 National Invitation Tournament and last season in a neutral site matchup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa tennis team was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Team and four Hawkeyes were tabbed as ITA Scholar Athletes, the announcement was made Monday by the ITA.

Iowa’s four ITA Scholar Athlete selections were seniors Barbora Pokorna and Marisa Schmidt and juniors Daianne Hayashida and Pia Kranholdt.  It is the fourth career honor for Pokorna and Schmidt and the third such honor for Hayashida and Kranholdt.

The quartet was honored for posting at least a 3.5 grade point average for the 2024-25 academic year.  Pokorna graduated with a double major in international relations and Spanish, while Schmidt earned her degree in finance.  Hayashida and Kranholdt are both double majors in psychology and sport and recreation management.

The Hawkeyes earned the team honors after posting a 3.59 grade point average during the 2024-25 season.  To be honored teams must have a 3.2 or above GPA on a 4.0 scale.

Iowa finished the 2025 spring season with a 13-11 overall record and a 7-6 mark in Big Ten play.  The Hawkeyes qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010 and for the eighth time in program history.

Todd Stepsis has always been known as an optimist but as he gets ready for his first season as the football coach at UNI he knows the hill to climb is a steep one. The Panthers were 3-9 a year ago and face a Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule That is likely to have three of the top four ranked teams in the preseason FCS Poll.

The league hosts its Media Day in Sioux Falls later today (Monday) and Stepsis credits the veteran players for setting the tone during summer workouts.

The Panthers open the season at home on August 30th against Butler.

For this first time Sioux City is hosting the state baseball tournament beginning with Monday’s opening round in 3A. Lewis and Clark Park will also host the 4A quarterfinals on Tuesday. Tournament co-director Mike Skagg is expecting big crowds, in part because three Sioux City area teams are in the field.

Skagg says the community has responded with the opportunity host host.

The 3A opener on Monday pits top ranked Dubuque Wahlert against Boone.

Ninth ranked Kee High takes on seventh rated Martensdale-St. Marys this afternoon in the 1A baseball quarterfinals in Carroll. Kee is back at state for the first time since 2021 and the 21st time in school history. Kee Hawk coach Jim Mauss (Moss) says he’s proud of the growth of his team

Mauss says their success has been a team effort.

Mauss says senior pitchers Jordan Cota and Dalton Mudderman were contributors to their last state tournament team four years ago.