The extra buzz around Carter Beck doesn’t seem to be affecting him at all.
The Carnduff native has rocketed up this summer’s Major League Baseball Draft rankings over his two seasons at Indiana State University.
Recognized as the No. 81 outfielder across NCAA Division I schools, according to D1Baseball, he’s also moved up to No. 7 on the Canadian Baseball Network’s list of draft-eligible Canadians.
Scouts who made their way to Sycamores games this spring were treated to an historic season from the junior outfielder, culminating in him being named the Joe Carter Baseball Player of the Year, which goes to the top player in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Despite the noise surrounding him, Beck has remained laser-focused on one thing: winning baseball games.
“The most important thing was just staying consistent no matter what happens,” he told Saskatchewan Dugout Stories.
“Just going out and giving the same effort every day, and finding ways to compete at the highest level possible.”
The award was among several accolades Beck has received so far this year as he looks forward to potentially hearing his name get called during the draft in July.
SETTING THE TONE
Ever since Beck has leapt onto the U.S. college scene, he’s made his goals known and then followed through with them.
Heading into his freshman season with the University of Mary in 2024, he wanted to be named the conference freshman of the year.
The Southeast Twins alum did exactly that when he hit .355 with 12 home runs, 53 runs batted in and 11 stolen bases in 48 games.
“There’s been a lot of times in my life where I’ve been the guy showing up who is a nobody and has to go up, show out and do the best I can to even get a look sometimes,” he said in an interview with SDS during that season.
That performance, along with a 2024 season to remember with the Saskatoon Berries where he was named the Western Canadian Baseball League’s Most Outstanding Canadian and Rookie of the Year, gave him the opportunity at Indiana State.
NEW SCHOOL, SAME RESULTS
Heading into his sophomore campaign at a new school, Beck again wanted to make sure everyone took notice of his game.
The 5-foot-11, 206-pound slugger hit an impressive .335 with 11 roundtrippers, 56 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 55 games – almost a mirror image of his previous season at UMary.
For his efforts, he was named MVC First Team All-Conference and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team.
Beck then returned to the Berries, where he continued to put on a show by hitting .385 with nine homers, 43 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 43 games, was named a league all-star, and also hit a dramatic walk-off home run in the playoffs against the Moose Jaw Miller Express.
“The most important thing is being consistent,” the Baseball Sask product said in an interview with the Canadian Baseball Network in 2026.
“I vividly remember playing a home game and looking up at the scoreboard (last season) and seeing my batting average at .268. I thought ‘wow that needs to change,’ and from that day forward, I was able to get going again and hit pretty well the rest of the season.”
KEEP ON ROLLIN’
When you look at his season statistical reports over the last few years, consistency and bold predictions certainly became a theme for Beck.
Going into the spring, he set his sights on being named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and to be in consideration for All-American.
The 20-year-old then went to work and put together a season that looked like another carbon copy with a .348 batting average, 14 homers, 56 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 55 games, sitting among the conference leaders in those categories as well as hits, runs scored, doubles, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
He became just the third Sycamore in school history with back-to-back seasons of 10 homers and 10 stolen bases, joining Paul Frye (1985-1986) and Tyler Thompson (1997-1998).
And the big one: the Joe Carter Baseball Player of the Year selection.
“I knew that I had a chance to win it and that it was between me and one other guy,” Beck said. “I knew it was close so I was super-excited to hear that they honoured me with that award.”
He was also named one of five Sycamores to the MVC Baseball Scholar-Athlete Team, as the finance major picked up a GPA of 3.96.
BIG LEAGUE ASPIRATIONS
As much as the personal accolades have been nice, Beck says the job isn’t done yet.
The Sycamores are getting set to play in the conference tournament starting Thursday in Murray, Kentucky.
While he admits that having the extra attention was overwhelming at first, he’s settled into a rhythm and hopes to show what he can do when the stakes are higher for the team.
“I realized that nothing changes (with the scouts and draft buzz) and everything is still the same, it was easy to not worry about it,” Beck said. “It also helped when I remembered that all of this is cool right now, but the real goal is to get to the big leagues and this is another step along the way.”
As a result, he says he hasn’t thought too much about when he might get a call or what teams might be interested.
Beck does acknowledge that it would mean a lot for his hometown and home province to show kids that there is a path in baseball if they want to pursue it.
“I have a pretty unique path and showing kids that it is still possible to come from a small town and be a multi-sport athlete is something I really strive for,” he said. “The draft will be pretty cool, but hopefully in the next few years, something even cooler can happen and I can make my major league debut.”
The way Beck has been manifesting his goals and dreams into reality in recent years, it seems the baseball world is being put on notice of what’s to come.
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