Kai Howell and his Journey to Utah State Eastern University

Kai Howell, who is a student-athlete at Utah State University Eastern, was born in Montana on the Maelstrom Air Force Base. The Howell Family eventually moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho at the age of five. Howell has two younger sisters, Piper and Saydee, and his parents are Desirae and Dustin. 

Howell has always had a passion for baseball ever since he was little. He started playing tee ball at the age of five, where his love for baseball turned into a passion. From the ages 7-13, he started travel baseball and played for the Idaho Falls Chukars where they went on to win multiple championships at big tournaments in Utah and Idaho.

Howell was a four-year for the Bonneville High School varsity baseball team, which is a 4A school in Idaho Falls. In 2019, Howell and Bonneville High School went on to win a state championship. After the season, he was named first team all-area as an outfielder.

During the summer, Howell played Legion AA baseball for the Idaho Falls Bandits, a team comprised of athletes from six different Idaho Falls high schools. In 2019, the Bandits went on to win the National Championship in Shelby, North Carolina as they defeated Fargo, North Dakota. Unfortunately, Kai’s senior baseball season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn’t end things with his baseball career. Kai signed to play college baseball for Walla Walla Community College in Walla Walla, Washington which is in the Northwest Athletic Conference. He played center field and pitched for Walla Walla. During his freshman season Kai ended up tearing his Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) which led to multiple surgeries.

After months of recovery, Howell was cleared to play baseball, once again, in his last year of Legion baseball with the Bandits. He played center field his last season as they had another successful run. The Idaho Falls Bandits won another national championship in the 2021 season as they defeated Honolulu, Hawaii, 6-1. After the season, Howell had to get another surgery, hoping that it would heal fast, but it didn’t. For the next 2.5 years, he had to get a total of four surgeries on his elbow to recover. 

With the thought of his baseball career being over, Howell heard from USU Eastern head coach Kirk Haney in the summer of 2023. He took the offer shortly after and is now a pitcher for the Eagles. He loves the program and plans to return in the 2024-2025 season at full strength.