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Ouachita baseball’s Carter Wade on playing college sports:

“It doesn’t matter what division you are in”

May 27, 2021 - Madison Cresswell

In choosing a college to further his education and baseball career, Carter Wade, a senior accounting major from Little Rock, Ark., first decided to attend a Division I university.

“In high school, everyone makes a big deal about going D1 in sports,” Wade said. “I soon realized that if you have the opportunity to keep playing past high school, it doesn’t matter what division you are in. You are still in a competitive league and still playing the game you love.”

Carter Wade

After a year of playing baseball at another Arkansas university, Wade said knew he was meant to attend Ouachita.

“Luckily, I was recruited by Ouachita in high school, so, I was able to get familiar with the campus and attend baseball games with my older brother, who was the manager of the Ouachita football team,” he said. “The campus felt like a good fit for me, so I was excited to transfer and continue playing ball.”

After starting classes at Ouachita and meeting his fellow teammates, Wade reflected on how he knew then that he wouldn’t trade his Ouachita experience for anything.

“While the coaches were Christian at my previous university, it wasn’t like the culture at Ouachita,” Carter said. “Here, it isn’t strange to say prayers every day after practice or have Bible studies as a team. When you have a whole team that goes to chapel and participates in Bible studies, it’s really cool.”

Aside from his baseball successes, Wade found confidence in his academic performance due to the support from his team and coaches.

“Coach Howard puts a big emphasis on having a good team GPA and winning ball games,” Wade said. “If you are struggling, Coach Howard makes sure that you are getting all the help that you need. He tells us we are student-athletes; student comes before playing the game.

“Freshmen are required to do study hall hours, and struggling upperclassmen are encouraged to make a plan to improve their grades with their professors,” Wade added. “The free tutoring [in the Academic Success Center] also is, no doubt, very beneficial.”

Though Wade originally chose another university, he is happy now to call Ouachita home and to continue his family legacy.

“My great-grandma taught here, my grandma taught here, my dad went here and my brother went here,” Wade said. “There is a legacy, but I got to know the campus in my own way with my own journey.

“Just the feel of Ouachita has been amazing,” Wade continued. “From the class sizes to winning ball games, I know I made the right decision in transferring and playing ball under Coach Howard.”