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169 W rong-way Robert is on the right road to success and a lot of it has to do with the University of Iowa. Junior Robert Neustrom is a right fielder for the Hawkeye baseball team who is majoring in political science and social studies education. In 61 games last season, he batted .310 with 79 hits, 26 extra-base hits, 41 runs, and 55 RBIs and was named second-team All-Big Ten Conference. at's quite a resume for a former T-Ball player with a reputation of making contact and sprinting le toward third base. "My mom told me last year, 'I never would have imagined you playing baseball at Iowa when you were playing T-Ball and hitting the ball and running to third base,'" Neustrom told a University of Iowa Athletics Department all-staff meeting Feb. 14 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. "She used to call me 'Wrong-Way Robert,' which I think would come as a surprise to many of the coaches." Neustrom addressed Iowa athletics coaches and staff two days before the Hawkeye baseball team opened the season at the Diamond 9 Sunshine State Classic Series in Kissimmee, Florida. Optimism is high for an Iowa team that won 39 games a year ago. Among those victories were four at the Big Ten Tournament in Bloomington, Indiana, giving the Hawkeyes their first tournament title. Iowa opened its NCAA Regional with a 6-3 win over host Houston. Much is anticipated from Neustrom as well. e 6-foot-3, 210-pound native of Sioux City, Iowa, was a Cape Cod League All-Star in 2017, hitting .302 for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. When the Hawkeyes won a silver medal at the World University Games from Aug. 20-29 in Taiwan, Neustrom hit a team-best .387 with seven extra- base hits, six runs, and six RBIs. He hit safely in six of the seven games with three multi-hit games. "People ask me what it's like to play here and I just say it is unbelievable," Neustrom said. "Being able to represent the United States in Taiwan, playing in the Dominican Republic (in November, 2016), winning a Big Ten (Tournament) championship — those are all things people dream of and you can't imagine some times." Neustrom has been tabbed the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year by Baseball America and Perfect Game. "He is already receiving a lot of preseason accolades," Iowa director of athletics Gary Barta said. "I know his coach is telling him to ignore preseason accolades. But the fact is, he was second-team All-Big Ten (in 2017) and he was also Academic All-Big Ten." Neustrom is a 2015 graduate of Sioux City North High School, where he exceled at football, basketball, and baseball. As a senior in football, he caught 58 passes for 799 yards and 10 touchdowns. He led the Stars in total yards. In basketball, he averaged 14.4 points and 7.5 rebounds in 24 games, shooting 59 percent from the field and 49 percent from 3-point. In baseball, he was the state's Gatorade Player of the Year. "Growing up, I have always been a Hawkeye," Neustrom said. "I dreamed of playing all three sports here, but I don't think (Iowa head men's basketball coach) Fran McCaffery saw much stock in a 6-3 power forward, so that didn't work out." ings worked for Neustrom on the baseball diamond, once he headed in the right direction.