Photo courtesy of SMSU Athletic Communications Carter Lang takes an at-bat for Southwest Minnesota State University. Lang joined the Mustangs this season after two seasons at Alexandria Tech.

MARSHALL — Southwest Minnesota State University head baseball coach Jeremy Ische knew that he had a special player when Carter Lang chose SMSU after two years at Alexandria Tech Community College.

In his two years with the Legends, Lang, a 2022 graduate of New Ulm High School, had put up some pretty impressive stats.

Lang finished his 2024 season with a .359 batting average that included six doubles and seven home runs along with a team-leading 40 RBIs and 36 runs scored.

“I saw him play for Alexandria and then last summer playing [for Courtland] amateur baseball,” Ische said. “I saw him play in Green Isle [in the State Amateur Baseball Tournament] and he had a big home run there.”

Ische knew that he had a solid player in Lang when he chose to play for the Mustangs this year and it did not take Lang, who was named to the 2024 All-Elite Team and also to the Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC) All-Academic team, to make himself known.

“He did not start in February and we had him penciled in at shortstop as he was splitting time at shortstop with another player,” Ische said. “But we got to Game 4 of our series with Duluth and I put Carter in the lineup at third base, and he has not come out since. He has played great and he had a grand slam home run in that game.”

Ische said that it can be a big jump from Junior College to DII college baseball.

“The arms are better — the defense is better and the runners are faster — and it is an older league too,” he said. “When you go to Junior College, everybody is 18 or 19 and then you get to a four-year level and there are some players who are 23 or 24 years old — it is a big jump.”

Lang, who is batting fifth in the order, has made the jump fairly well as he is hitting .308 with five home runs and 15 RBIs.

Lang said the jump was noticeable.

“The level of playing increases and the pace of the game increases to,” Lang said. “But I gained quite a bit of experience at Alex instead of going to a four-year college as a freshman. That definitely benefited me. The level of competition is better and a lot of these four-year players are really talented.

“And my coaches and teammate have really helped me with the offensive and defensive side of the game. It is more of the process of slowing the game down and staying as focused as a I can for every pitch.”

Ische said that Lang’s resume so far as been a plus for the Mustangs both offensively and defensively.

“Early on I was more impressed with his offense but the last two or three weeks, I would say I like his glove a lot more,” Ische said. “He has made some great plays at third base with some back-hand plays and on slow rollers. He has saved a lot of runs down the line for us. He is doing a good job for us on both ends. He is a staple at third base.”

Ische said that Lang’s skills will be needed this weekend when the Mustangs (17-10, 12-8, 4th) host Minnesota Crookston (13-17, 10-10) in a three-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference series.

“We want to make the [NSIC] tournament,” Lang said. “We have a lot of potential — I think that we are going to have a good year.”