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Iowa Baseball lands Florida International RHP Logan Runde

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann06/16/25HuesmannKyle
The Hawkeyes landed a portal commitment from FIU pitcher Logan Runde.
The Hawkeyes landed a portal commitment from FIU pitcher Logan Runde.

The transfer portal, for the most part, has been a very good source for the Iowa Baseball program over the past few years. Rick Heller and his staff have been able to find the right pieces to fill positions of need, and this offseason is no different, although, the new 34-player roster cap will limit how many additions they can make.

On Sunday afternoon, the Hawkeyes earned their second commitment of the portal cycle, landing Florida International right-handed pitcher Logan Runde. The Peosta, Iowa native returns to his home state after spending time at Iowa Western CC, Kirkwood CC and most recently, two seasons with the FIU Panthers program. Logan told HawkeyeReport that he chose Iowa over offers from Kansas and Cincinnati, two teams that finished their ’25 season with an NCAA Regional appearance.

“The tradition of Iowa Baseball and Iowa pitching made my decision clear when committing. It is an expectation to have quality weekend starters and pitchers,” said Runde. “I did take a visit to Iowa City once I got back in Iowa after the season. Met with the coaching staff and the visit overall went very well. In every aspect, I was impressed with what they had to say and the baseball facilities.”

Out of Dubuque Hempstead High School, Runde was originally rated as the #7 RHP in the state of Iowa by Perfect Game. He started his career in the JUCO ranks, spending a year apiece at Iowa Western CC and Kirkwood CC. As a sophomore at Kirkwood, Runde posted a 2.93 ERA over 12 starts, totaling 63 strikeouts over 63.1 innings of work. He opted to transfer to Florida International where he spent each of the past two seasons.

Over his two seasons with the Panthers program in Miami, Runde appeared in 36 games, with 14 starts, posting a 5.70 ERA over 101.0 innings, including 87 strikeouts to 33 walks. This past year, his season-best outing came against Liberty, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings, including nine strikeouts to one walk. Opponents were able to hit him, tallying 1.39 hits per inning.

Logan has a deep five-pitch mix arsenal, including a four-seam fastball (90-94), cutter (87-89), changeup (86-88), slider (83-86) and curveball (79-82). The opportunity to work with pitching coach Sean Kenny, who made impressive strides with the Iowa pitching staff in his first season on the coaching staff. His impact on the Hawkeyes pitching was a factor in Runde’s commitment.

“I’m impressed with what Coach Kenny had to say during the visit. What he did with the pitching staff last year was exciting to see,” said Runde. “He will be a great new set of eyes on me and a good person to work with this next year.”

“I will be training this summer, lifting and hitting an off-season throwing plan, building muscle to increase velocities.”

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