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Iowa Baseball lands Illinois State starting pitcher Tanner Perry

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann06/20/25HuesmannKyle
Iowa Baseball landed Illinois State pitcher Tanner Perry in the transfer portal.
Iowa Baseball landed Illinois State pitcher Tanner Perry in the transfer portal.

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, although, the new 34-player roster cap will limit how many additions they can make. Still, that hasn’t stopped the coaching staff from making a number of additions at key positions.

On Wednesday evening, the Hawkeyes earned their fifth commitment of the portal cycle, landing Illinois State right-hander Tanner Perry. The O’Fallon, Missouri native began his collegiate career with a year apiece at Jefferson College and Southern Illinois, while he has spent his past two seasons with the Redbirds program.

“I felt like I needed a change in my career, so I was excited for the new opportunity,” Perry told HawkeyeReport. “My visit to Iowa was awesome. The coaching staff was very welcoming and made Iowa City feel like home for my mother and myself. Talks with Coach Heller and the staff were great; everything was very natural and easy going which made me feel comfortable.”

“The high level of pitching development was a driving factor for me. I felt like this was my best opportunity to become the best player I can be which is what I value more than anything at this point in my career. The love and devotion for Iowa sports from the fan base is something I have admired from afar and was eager to experience firsthand.”

After starting his collegiate career with stops at JUCO Jefferson College and Southern Illinois, Perry opted to transfer to Illinois State, where he has been a starter for the Redbirds over the past two seasons.

As a junior in 2024, Tanner appeared in 15 games, with 14 starts, posting a 5.21 ERA over 76.0 innings, including 62 strikeouts to 46 walks. Opponents batted .240 against him, averaging 0.89 hits per inning. He provided plenty of innings, with eight starts of 6.0+ innings, including a season-best 7.2 innings against Belmont.

This past season, as a senior, Perry appeared in 16 games, with 15 starts, finishing with a 6.31 ERA over 71.1 innings, including 76 strikeouts to 28 walks. He did log a pair of complete games, allowing four runs on six hits against Western Illinois and tossing a two-hit shutout against Illinois-Chicago. Although opponents averaged 1.16 hits per inning, Perry improved his walk+hbp rate, dropping it from 15.1% to 10.6%.

The Hawkeyes are set to lose two of their three weekend starters, while the status of Aaron Savary is up in the air until after the MLB Draft. No matter how that plays out, Perry will certainly be in the battle with guys like Justin Hackett, Tyler Guerin and FIU transfer Logan Runde for a spot in the rotation.

Tanner has a four-pitch mix, including a four-seam fastball (89-93), cutter (84-88), curveball (76-79) and a changeup (80-84). He has shown flashes of high-level potential, logging ten starts of at least 6.0 innings pitched and three earned runs or less allowed.

“I consider my fastball and cutter to be my best pitches due to my unique release and movement characteristics along with my ability to throw these pitches for strikes.”

HawkeyeReport caught up with Perry to further discuss his transfer to Iowa, who he is as a pitcher and why he thinks he’s ready for the jump to the Big Ten level of competition.

Q: What offers did you have after entering the portal? Any other schools that you considered?

PERRY: I had offers and interest from a few other Big Ten and Big 12 schools. The decision ultimately came down to Iowa and a great school in the Big 12, but it came down to where I thought I saw myself being in the best position possible to elevate my talents and make a major impact on my team.

Q: How would you describe yourself as a pitcher to Iowa fans that are looking to learn more about you?

PERRY: I would describe myself as a person and baseball player as being driven and relentless. I am on a mission to becoming the best pitcher I can possibly be in hopes to fulfill my goals of playing professionally. My dad played baseball at the major league level and for as long as I can remember that is all I have ever wanted to do.

Q: Pitching coach Sean Kenny made significant strides with the pitching staff in his first year at Iowa. Why is he someone that you want to work on your pitching with?

PERRY: I want to work with Coach Kenny because I love his approach and plan he has for me to take my next steps as a pitcher. I love his balanced mindset between the new age of pitching with data and metrics to get guys better and old schools’ mindset and applications of the metrics to get guys out. The trust we have in each other is something we both value and are excited to put to work.

Q: As we saw with Murray State the Missouri Valley is not a nothing conference, but it’s still a jump in competition to the Big Ten. Why do you feel like you are ready to pitch at a place like Iowa?

PERRY: I think the MVC has prepped me well because although it’s not a power conference, it’s a conference full of mature talent that consists of a lot of JUCO guys like me, which makes for a deep conference that we see every year in postseason play. I feel like I am ready for the competition because I am a player that raises to the level of competition, and I look to raise my level of play at every level I’ve been at.

Q: Are you playing summer ball anywhere? What are your primary areas of focus this offseason or areas that you’d like to improve going into the fall?

PERRY: I am playing summer ball for the West Virginia Black Bears in the MLB Draft League. This offseason I want to add 10-20 lbs of good weight to help increase my pitch velocity, while maintaining my pitch-ability I’ve accumulated over my years at Illinois State. I feel like I learned how to pitch without my best stuff this past season, so I chose Iowa because I feel like it was my best opportunity to tap into my best stuff and pitch with that elevated stuff.

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