In spite of a miscommunication related to grades prior to his senior season of Belle Tiger baseball this past spring, 2024 Belle High School (BHS) graduate Carter Kinkead will continue his academic and athletic pursuits as a member of the College of the Ozarks Bobcat baseball team.

“Carter had a heck of a high school baseball career here at Belle,” Tiger head coach Bryce Gehlert said. “He was a integral key to our success over the last four years and I wish him nothing but the best at a Bobcat.”

Helping the Tigers to a 12-4 record during their 2023 fall season, Kinkead led Belle in numerous statistical categories.

Among those were a team-high .605 batting average, .716 on-base percentage, 2.019 OPS (on-base plus slugging), 1.302 slugging percentage and 26 hits.

Kinkead was also fifth on the team with 12 singles and tied for second recording six doubles along with fellow 2024 BHS graduate Clayton Shockley.

Belting a team-high eight home runs, Kinkead also led the Tigers with 33 runs batted in (RBI), 17 walks and five hit by pitches.

He was also fourth on the team with 23 runs scored and fifth for the Tigers with 10 stolen bases.

In the hit department, Kinkead recorded a season-high three hits twice against Bourbon and Vienna.

Going for a season-best three singles against Bourbon, Kinkead also record a season-high two doubles against Vienna.

His best game last fall came against Steelville where he hit two home runs, drove in nine runs, scored four runs and drew two walks. All of those were season highs.

Carter also homered against Jamestown, New Bloomfield, Plato, Vienna, Stoutland and in another game against Steelville.

In addition to the aforementioned Steelville game, Kinkead also walked twice against Plato, Tuscumbia and in two games against Stoutland and Vienna.

He was also hit by a pitch in games against St. Elizabeth, Jamestown, Bourbon and in two games against Vienna.

Moving from the Gasconade Valley Conference (GVC) to the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC), Kinkead will be competing against schools from Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

SAC members in addition to the College of the Ozarks include Central Christian College of Kansas, John Brown University, Langston University, Mid-America Christian University, Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Southwestern Assemblies of God University, Texas Wesleyan University, University of Sciences and Arts of Oklahoma, University of North Texas at Dallas and Wayland Baptist University.