BY RICH PALZEWIC
CORRESPONDENT

SUAMICO – Bay Port’s Carson Schroeder recently announced that he will continue his academic and athletic career at Northern State University (NSU), a Division II college in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Schroeder was a safety on the Pirates’ 11-1 football team this past season and was a part of two consecutive Fox River Classic Conference titles. Bay Port made it to the WIAA D1 state quarterfinals for the second straight season.

“During my recruiting process I was getting looked at pretty late,” said Schroeder, who will study finance in Aberdeen. “We were sending game film everywhere and NSU responded. We kept in contact and I got invited for a visit – that was just recently two weeks ago. It came down between NSU and St. Thomas (D3, Minnesota). It was a really tough choice to make, but I think NSU fit me a little bit better and set me up for a good future for myself. I’m hoping to come out of college with barely any debt, so that’s the nice part of going there.”

D2 colleges can offer athletic scholarships, while D3 cannot. NSU is a part of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, playing with schools from Minnesota (9), South Dakota (3), North Dakota (2), Iowa (1) and Nebraska (1). There are a total of 16 schools in the conference.

Two of the member schools in the NSIC are UM-Duluth and St. Cloud State University. Former Bay Port players Austin Sylvester and Jake Hansen play at Duluth, while Matt Rotter recently committed to St. Cloud.

Schroeder expects to be redshirted his first year with the Wolves so he can bulk up, but will still practice with the team. The coaches project him as a safety in the defensive backfield.

“NSU has a great weight-training program,” added Schroeder. “They don’t just throw the freshmen into the weight room with lifting heavy weights right away – they work you into it. My parents are going to try and come to my games, but it might be a bit of a drive (nine hours) out to South Dakota. My mom wants to fly when they do get to come.”

Schroeder is also an integral part of the Pirates’ basketball team, who are currently tied for first atop the FRCC with a 9-2 conference record.