Madison College pitcher Michael Carpenter added his name to another exclusive list as he became the 18th player in program history to be drafted straight from the WolfPack. On Tuesday, July 16, Carpenter's name was called in the 11th Round when the Minnesota Twins used the 338th overall pick in the Major League Baseball Draft on the sophomore. In all, 28 players connected to the Madison College program have been selected with a total of 33 different draft picks since 1985. Carpenter becomes the sixth current or former WolfPack player drafted into the Twins organization, the most of any MLB team.

Madison College MLB Draftees: By Team | By Year

"I am really happy for Carp and he has a bright future ahead of him as a pitcher," boasts head baseball coach Mike Davenport. "The amount of growth he has made on the mound in just two years at Madison College is remarkable. His numbers speak for themselves this year. It was one of the best seasons in our program's long history. On top of all the success, Michael was an outstanding student, very coachable, and a great teammate."

Carpenter, who is committed to East Carolina University, finished the 2024 season with the best earned run average in all of NJCAA Division II baseball at 1.03, while also breaking the WolfPack's single-season record for strikeouts with 111. The NJCAA First Team All-American and NJCAA Region 4 Player of the Year allowed just nine earned runs over 78.1 innings of work and posted a 10-2 record with seven complete games and one save. The southpaw surrendered just 11 walks and recorded 45 consecutive scoreless innings during an eight game stretch from March 24 to May 10. Four time he fanned at least ten batters and was named the NJCAA Division II Pitcher of the Week after punching out 13 batters on April 20 against Triton College. 

Along with the single-season strikeout record, the Hartland, Wisconsin, native, also sits tied for second in wins and innings pitched, as well as ERA in a single season. His career record of 14-5 ranks second all-time, as does his 170 total K's. Carpenter is third in total innings pitched and 19th in career ERA.

The awards continued to come in Carpenter's direction on Wednesday when he as named 2023-24 College Sports Communicators (CSC) College Division Academic All-America First Team for his work in the classroom and on the field. Carpenter, along with teammates Will Johannes, Grant Ross, and Liam Stumpf, were part of a group of 13 Madison College sophomore student-athletes to earn 23-24 CSC College Division Academic All-District.

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UPDATE (7/29/24) - On Wednesday, July 24, Michael Carpenter officially signed with the Minnesota Twins to be a pitcher in their organization and will likely report to a minor or rookie league team this summer. Additionally, he was featured with a recent Q&A on the website Twins Daily.


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