The Augustana University baseball program has seen a ton of success over the last decade which has included a National Championship at the D2 level.
In addition to the team success, the individual players that have contributed to that success have received numerous opportunities to compete at the next level.
In 2022, the Augustana Vikings had a great team that made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament and the players on the roster are receiving similar opportunities to those that came before them.
The Vikings announced this week that the fifth senior from their 2022 team has signed a professional contract and this one is with the San Francisco Giants.
Augustana University outfielder Carter Howell has signed with the San Francisco Giants as a undrafted free agent after last week's MLB Draft.
Here is the complete release from the Augustana Athletic Department on the news.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.-- Augustana baseball's Carter Howell has signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. Howell is the fifth senior this season to sign a professional contract.
Howell picked up a slew of honors during the 2022 season, including NSIC All-Conference First-Team honors, ABCA Division II All-America First Team honors, NCBWA Honorable Mention All-America honors, D2CCA Third-Team All-America honors, ABCA/Rawlings Central All-Region First Team honors, NCBWA All-Region First-Team honors and D2CCA All-Region First-Team honors.
"Carter's story is another really really fun one for me to tell and I tell it all the time. He is the definition of an Augustana baseball program guy. He played JV his first year here and then made the decision to red-shirt his second year. That was mainly because he probably wasn't ready for a high DII level of baseball yet but also because we had some talented guys in the OF," Augustana head coach Tim Huber said.
"His 3rd year was the Covid year and we (coaches and teammates) knew what was coming. He had filled out and worked really hard to fine tune the swing. He started out on fire and then the world shut down and the season ended. A year later, in 2021 he put up really good numbers and was the best player in the conference. Then this spring he did it all over again and proved he wasn't just a toolsey athlete with a good arm, good power and plus speed. We are going to badly miss not having him back for his final year of eligibility but I'm really happy for him and Carter absolutely deserves this opportunity the Giants are giving him."
"When the year started I thought this class had a really good chance to have 4 or 5 guys sign. I knew that we had some really good individual talent. Six guys now having signed pro deals off this years team....that's pretty darn cool!"
The Moorhead, Minn. native started in all 61 games for the Vikings as a senior and hit .396 with 68 runs scored, 91 hits, 11 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs and 74 RBI.
In 2021, Howell earned ABCA/Rawlings Second-Team All-America honors, making all 49 starts. He hit .423 with 58 runs scored and led the NSIC with 83 hits.
Howell was a part of the 2018 roster that saw the program's first-ever National Championship and a program-best 52 wins in a single season.