Zach Coppola

Zach Coppola ’12 was a standout two-sport athlete at Dowling Catholic, excelling in both baseball and football while helping lead the Maroons to state championships in each sport.

 

On the baseball diamond, Coppola was a member of Dowling Catholic’s 2011 State Championship team. As a senior in 2012, he earned first-team all-state and all-conference honors, was named the Iowa Newspaper Association’s captain of the Class 4A All-State Team and helped lead Dowling to a state tournament appearance. He led the team in hits, batting average, runs and stolen bases.

 

Coppola continued his baseball career at South Dakota State University, where he started in center field from 2013–15. He helped the Jackrabbits qualify for the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and earned first-team All-Summit League honors in 2015. That season, he set a school record by going 39-for-39 in stolen-base attempts while leading the team in hits, batting average, stolen bases, walks, runs and on-base percentage.

 

His collegiate success led to a professional opportunity when Coppola was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 13th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. He spent four seasons in the Phillies’ minor league system, advancing from Rookie ball to Double-A and earning All-Star honors in 2015 and 2017.

 

Coppola was also a member of Dowling Catholic’s 2010 State Championship football team.

 

He graduated from Dowling Catholic in 2012 and Iowa State University in 2019. Since 2019, he has worked at Innovative Captive Strategies, a Holmes Murphy company.

 

Reflecting on his time at Dowling Catholic, Coppola says the friendships and bonds he formed remain among the most meaningful parts of his experience. Many of his closest friends today are people he met in the halls and on the fields at Dowling.