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46 | March 5, 2020 | the frankfort station sports
frankfortstationdaily.com
LW East grad stars in Iowa bullpen after walking on
6
STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor
Grant Leonard was
ready to give up baseball.
The Mokena native and
Lincoln-Way East graduate
went to North Central
College in Naperville for
the 2015-16 school year,
ready to begin his career as
a pitcher for the Cardinals
baseball team.
Leonard went through
fall practices and scrimmages
and enjoyed that,
but things just did not feel
right.
“At North Central, the
baseball program was
amazing but everything
else about it wasn’t really
for me,” he said. “I wanted
to go to a bigger school.
“My dad [Mike] went to
Iowa and I was always an
Iowa fan growing up. I had
a feel for the campus and I
just had it in my heart that
it’s where I wanted to be.
I decided that if I couldn’t
play baseball at Iowa, I’d
still be happy being there
as a student.”
Leonard gave up his
baseball scholarship and
headed to Iowa, initially
unsure if he would even
get the chance to walk-on
to the Hawkeyes’ baseball
team.
Fast forward four years,
and Leonard has started
his redshirt senior season,
his fourth with the Hawkeyes.
He is coming off a
year where he established
himself as one of the top
relief pitchers in the Big
Ten and etched his name in
Iowa’s record books.
Last spring, Leonard
broke the school record for
saves in a season with 14.
He did not blow a single
save opportunity, going
2-3 with a 3.37 ERA. He
was named second team
All-Big Ten.
Lincoln-Way East grad and Mokena native Grant Leonard delivers a pitch for Iowa. Leonard, a former walk-on, set
an Iowa record with 14 saves last season. Brian Ray/Hawkeyesports.com
It’s been a long road to
success, but Leonard has
certainly got there.
“Last year was a pretty
special year,” he said. “I’m
just trying to build off that,
get better every single day
in every facet.
“I think my story has
helped me with my mentality.
I feel like nobody’s
better than me, nobody can
prove me wrong, nobody
can discount the work I’ve
put in to get here. I know
I’m not cutting corners, I
know I’m putting in all the
work, and I take that out to
the mound every time.”
An uncertain future
After making the decision
to transfer to Iowa,
Leonard said he began
sending Hawkeyes coach
Rick Heller e-mails, including
videos of him
pitching.
Heller invited him to try
out as a walk-on.
“I guess I annoyed coach
Heller enough for him to
respond to my e-mail and
give me a shot, and I just
ran with it from there,”
Leonard said. “From the
second he gave me the OK
to try out, my goal was to
put my head down and do
the work.
“I didn’t want to think
about maybe I didn’t belong
there, or the guys who
weren’t walk-ons are better
than me. I just wanted
to block all that out and do
my best.”
Leonard impressed the
coaching staff enough to
earn a spot on the team for
the 2017 season.
“It was exciting,” he
said. “Looking back at
my skill level then compared
to now, I probably
wouldn’t have kept me
on the team. So, I have
to thank coach Heller for
that.
“That first year, I didn’t
get many innings, but I
was all positive. I found
out that positivity makes
you a better pitcher.”
Leonard made just two
appearances in 2017, allowing
one run on three
hits in two innings.
But being around the
team all spring helped him
grow as a player. He also
embraced the analytics
side of the game.
“I always tell people
that if I was at a different
university, this whole story
might not have happened,”
he said. “At Iowa, we’re
a pioneer with the technology
side of baseball.
Since, I’ve been here, I’ve
really soaked that all in
and used that technology
to my advantage. We’ve
always come up with plans
and I’ve found ways to differentiate
myself, because
there are a million righthanded
pitchers out there.”
Leonard worked himself
into a regular role in the
Iowa bullpen in 2018. He
made 21 appearances, going
2-1 with a 4.64 ERA
and two saves in 21 1/3 innings.
By the start of the
2019 season, he had been
awarded a scholarship.
“I felt like I earned that,”
he said. “I had a pretty decent
scholarship at North
Central, and my dad was
on my side as far as giving
up that up and coming to
Iowa, so getting this scholarship
was great to help
him out and pay him back
for being on my side.”
Breaking through
Leonard thrived in 2019
after embracing the pressure
that comes with the
closer’s role. Knowing the
ninth inning was his thrust
him into a comfort zone.
“Fitting into that closer
role and just getting comfortable,
getting in a routine,”
he said. “It’s tough
to get into a routine as a
relief pitcher sometimes,
but I was able to do that.
I never let myself get too
high or too low, and I think
that’s why I was able to
have success.”
Iowa kicked off its 2020
campaign on Feb. 14, and
Leonard recorded three
saves over the first nine
games of the season.
Last year’s success has
him confident about his
final season in Iowa City.
“Last season was a huge
confidence builder,” he
said. “I faced a lot of hitters
in the Big Ten who are
returning and now I kind
of have a plan for them. I
didn’t have that going into
last year. I’m more mature
now, too, and ready to
handle any situation. After
getting so many innings
last year, I’ve seen pretty
much any situation.”
Beyond this season,
Leonard’s baseball future
is again uncertain. He has
started to attract some attention
from pro scouts,
but that is not his current
focus.
“I have had some interest
from some teams, but
I’m not really worried
about that right now,” he
said. “I’m just thinking
about making the most of
my senior year and making
this team one that people
will talk about for years.”