Carter Smith

Photo by: Josh Brunette

Photo by: Ronnie Archer

Photo by: Michael Hickey

Photo by: Michael Hickey

Photo by: Collin Phillips/Ball State Athletics

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Photo by: Josh Shelton

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Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Sellersburg, Ind.
High School:
Silver Creek HS

Awards and Honors:
All-MAC First Team (2024)
MAC All-Tournament Team (2023)
MAC Golfer of the Week (Sept. 13, 2023; Sept. 7, 2023; March 30, 2023)
Individual Champion, Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational (Sept. 10, 2023)
Individual Champion, Don Benbow Invitational (March 28, 2023)

Ball State's first first-team All-MAC golfer since 2015, he owns the Ball State record for the lowest score over 54 holes, and his two-year average of 73.06 is seventh in Cardinals history ... "Carter is becoming an elite player," says Cardinals coach Mike Fleck. "He is ranked as one of the top golfers in the MAC heading into the spring, and he should contend for MAC Golfer of the Year."

2023-24 (So.): First team All-MAC selection, the first for Ball State since Johnny Watts in 2015 ... his 72.78 stroke average was seventh among Ball State single-season averages, and his two-year average also is seventh … in Ball State’s opening tournament of the spring, a match play event at the MAC/A-10 Challenge in South Florida, he needed only 46 of 54 holes to complete his rounds … he was the No. 1 golfer on the top rated team who started each round on the first hole … he never played the 17th or 18th holes in any of three rounds, beating his opponent by the 16th hole each time … earned MAC Golfer of the Week three times, with a pair of Top-5 finishes and five Top-25 finishes … the individual champion of Ball State’s Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational in September, he twice shot a low round of 68 – in the third round of the EY Invite and again in the second round at Dorado Beach.

2022-23 (Fr.): Played a total of 33 rounds with an average score of 73.33 as a freshman ... shot his best round with a 65 (-5) at Butler’s Don Benbow invitational ... his 65-65-68---199 at the Don Benbow Invite set Ball State's record for the lowest rounds over 54 holes.. ... finished the Benbow Invitational with a 199 (-11) and finished first out of 88 participants ... finished tied for fifth at the MAC Men’s Golf Championship with a 216 (E) and helped lead Ball State to second-place finish … named to the MAC Golf Championship All-Tournament Team.

HIGH SCHOOL: Smith was the IHSAA's recipient of the Fred A. Keesling Mental Attitude Award at the conclusion of the 2022 Indiana State Finals ... he was the lone senior on his Silver Creek High School team which was making the school's first appearance in the state finals since 1939 ... he graduated with a 3.74 GPA, completed 45 hours of dual credit during his career and earned scholarships from the Silver Creek Career Academy for his leadership and academic success ... prior to his senior campaign, Smith was a sectional champion for Silver Creek, earned a runner-up spot at the regionals as a junior and took home a third-place finish at the 2021 IIHSAA State Finals ... he earned a spot on the 2021 All-State Team ... "Carter has dominated the top spot in the National Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings over the past couple of years as the #1 ranked player in his class and our state," said Fleck on the day he signed with the Cardinals program.