Staff Writer Cade Harris

Casey Fowler, sophomore on the Richland baseball team, committed to continue his academic and baseball career at St. Edwards University in Austin.

Fowler announced his decision on Twitter on March 29. “I’m very excited to announce my commitment to St. Edwards University to continue my baseball and academic career,” Fowler said. “I would like to thank God, my family and friends as well as my coaches for helping me get here.”

SEU is a NCAA Division II school and they play athletically in the Lone Star Conference. SEU is 22-18 so far this season while trying to make up for a down 2021 season. SEU baseball qualified for the NCAA tournament six years in a row starting in 2013.

Fowler is a shortstop for the Thunderducks and is already off to a hot start this season. Through April 13 he has a batting average of .312, an on-base percentage of .400, and a slugging percentage of .800.

Fowler has totaled 115 plate appearances, getting 30 hits, 14 home runs and 49 runs batted in.

The Dallas Athletic Conference named Fowler one of the players of the week for March 27-April 2.

The honor was given to Casey on a week in which he went 5-for-5 with five home runs in a game against Brookhaven.

“I have been coaching for 36 years and have never seen anyone hit five consecutive home runs before,” Richland head coach Guy Simmons, told NJCAA.com.

Going into the five-home run game, Fowler had no idea how he was going to do. “I was not sure how my day was going to go,” Fowler said.

“I had an alright round of batting practice and I ended up making the right adjustment for the game.”

Fowler also went 2-for-2 with a double in Game 2 of that week. For the week, Fowler had a .700 batting average with 14 runs batted in and scoring eight runs.

Fowler attended Langham Creek High School in Houston and is member of the 2020 senior class that had its high school season stripped away from them due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fowler chose Richland to go to school for the first two years as he looked to develop more of his game. “I felt like this was the best place to play and develop as a player,” he said.

Besides SEU, Fowler said he was in talks with East Texas Baptist University and McMurry University about playing baseball.

Fowler has gotten the chance to visit the campus in Austin and he had a lot of high praise for it. “I have been to the campus and it is a beautiful campus,” Fowler said. “My favorite part of the campus is on the hilltop where you can see the whole city of Austin.”

Fowler also had high praise to give to the school and his future team. “SEU has a great baseball program and a beautiful campus,” Fowler said. “I felt like this school was the best option to help lead me in the right path, both with my education and baseball career.”

Although Fowler is on his way out of Richland, he will still have stuff to take away for

the rest of his life. “What I will take away most is the brotherhood we have built on this team,” Fowler said.

Fowler and the Richland baseball team will wrap up the 2022 regular season on May 7.