University of North Carolina Athletics
Howell Leads the Way For Tar Heel Baseball Team
February 28, 2001 | Baseball
Feb. 28, 2001
By Tameka Rish, TarHeelBlue.com
Leaders are born -- or at least that is how the saying goes. However, on the diamond the position is earned. Leaders are usually the ones who have been through the system, know the ropes and have gained the younger players respect over the years. This player is more times than not a senior.
For this year's UNC baseball team, the leader would seem apparent. Jason Howell. He's the only senior on a team with 15 freshmen. He plays both first base and pitcher. He says himself that the word which best describes him is dedicated.
With all this, there is still one problem. Like those 15 freshmen, Howell is experiencing his first year at Carolina. He transferred to UNC in the fall from Appalachian State University.
"Baseball was good to me there," Howell says. "I just wanted to be somewhere where I would have to work hard again. That was the main reason I left. It was definitely a baseball decision."
While he may be new to Carolina, he says that he still can be the leader that the team needs.
"I like to lead on the field by performance and hard work. I think that pays off more than about anything."
Tar Heel assistant coach Scott Forbes got to see Howell's hard work during the off-season. Forbes coached the Wilmington Sharks, a summer team in the Coastal Plain League.
"Wilmington helped me tremendously," Howell says. "For one thing, it was a struggle at Appalachian. Not just for me personally, but the whole team. Going to Wilmington and seeing success, and seeing that I am successful helped give me a lot of confidence."
If in fact success helps build Howell's confidence, no one should be worrying about his self-esteem early this season. He has seen time as designated hitter, first baseman and relief pitcher. And he's not only seen time at these positions, but he's also had a major impact.
Howell leads the team with a .382 batting average (13-for-34). Howell's pitched 12.2 innings of relief, allowing just one run while striking out nine batters and earning two wins and two saves in five appearances.
"I wanted baseball to be fun for me again," he says. "Being here, I definitely have a better chance to go on to play in the pros. I definitely want to go on and play more."
Baseball is only one of the many things that Howell considers to be fun. In what little free time he has, he enjoys fishing, playing video games and watching wrestling with the guys.
However, when you play more than 50 games in a season there is little time for anything other than baseball. For this reason he said if he could play any other sport at UNC it would be football.
"You can't match the intensity of getting up for a football game on a Saturday, fanwise, everything. In baseball, it's kind of hard to get up like that for every game because we play so many games. For football, you can be just as intense as you want to be for one day."
Howell was a four-year letter winner in baseball, basketball and football at West Wilkes High School. In 1999, he led the Wilmington Sharks to the CPL championship and was 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 2000. It doesn't appear that the Carolina coaching staff should have to worry about his intensity.
