A former Pella baseball standout is getting his senior season with the Iowa Hawkeyes off on the right foot. Grant Judkins has been named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, his second career conference honor. The right-handed pitcher earned the distinction after throwing six shutout innings in the Hawkeyes’ 4-1 victory over No. 18 Arizona on Feb. 22 at the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament in San Diego. He retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced as he notched his second victory of the season. Judkins is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two starts. He was tabbed as the Collegiate Baseball National Pitcher of the Week, NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week and Big Ten Pitcher of the Week during the 2019 season. Judkins was the Iowa High School Gatorade Player of the Year and the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Player of the Year after his senior season at Pella High School, where he led the Dutch at the plate and on the mound to the state tournament in 2015 and 2016. He racked up 99 career extra base hits with a career average of .431 and sported a career 1.34 ERA with 337 strikeouts and 240 ⅔ innings as a four-year starter for the Little Dutch.