COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball shortstop Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) was named as one of 10 players to watch across the nation in college baseball by USA Today on Friday (Feb. 12). Howard, who hit .308 with five homers and 39 RBI last season, was one of three SEC players named to the list, joining LSU’s Alex Lange and Florida’s AJ Puk.

In 2015, Howard led the team in batting, at-bats and total bases while committing just seven errors in the field at short. He is coming off of an incredible summer as he was the starting SS for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. He hit .310 with six runs and three RBI in 17 games while slugging four doubles and a homer.

Howard was drafted in the 31st round of the MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants last summer, but elected to come back to Mizzou for his junior season and play with Team USA over the summer. This is another honor for Howard in the preseason. He was selected as the best infield arm in the SEC by Baseball America and was a top-100 prospect for the 2016 MLB Draft by D1Baseball.com.

Howard and the Tigers open the season this weekend in Fort Myers, Fla., where they will play a four-game series against Seton Hall beginning Friday at 2 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —