Longtime teammates on the diamond, it was only natural that Daviess County’s Gavin Howard and Cameron Rickard would sign their college letters side by side – with the duo both set to attend Campbellsville University.
“It was amazing to sign together,” Rickard said. “That’s my best friend. It means everything to keep playing with one of my best friends.”
Invited to a showcase at Campbellsville last August, Rickard left with an offer and after a visit to the campus, he knew it was his future home.
“The visit was amazing,” Rickard said. “The campus was beautiful and all of the people there, the staff and coaches were really friendly.”
A lifelong goal to play at the collegiate level, Rickard acknowledged that it was during his freshman year that he realized his dream was in sight. Determined, he began to frequent the weight room – adding muscle and weight, while also focusing on gaining velocity on the mound.
While at Campbellsville, he plans to study physical therapy with the goal of eventually entering the occupational therapy field.
For Howard, his recruitment process kicked off last summer, and while he heard from multiple schools, he acknowledged he always had his eye on Campbellsville. While he never truly ruled out attending school out of state, he preferred to stay closer to home.
“I went up there, and I immediately noticed the campus,” Howard said. “It was smaller, but I was told everybody knows everybody. Everybody gets along well, and I love their coaches. They both treated me really nicely and treated me like family from the first day I was there.”
Boosted by his teammates’ support on and off the field, Howard took his game to the next level in his junior year, culminating with him appearing on college radars.
“I started focusing on becoming more versatile pretty much everywhere,” Howard said. “I just wanted to improve every aspect of my game and become the best I could for Campbellsville.
While at Campbellsville, he plans to study business management.
