On Tuesday, Sam Houston left-handed pitcher Michael Watson signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals, becoming the second Bearkat from 2024 to join an MLB team.
Watson joined the Bearkats as a graduate for the 2024 season, having previously pitched for Southwest Assemblies of God, where he established the program record for strikeouts and was named an NAIA All-American. When he arrived in Huntsville, he made an immediate impact, eventually garnering All-Conference USA second team accolades as a starting pitcher.
He finished with a 7-1 record and a 3.50 ERA, striking out 91 batters and walking 25 in 72.0 innings. He limited opposing batters to a league-low.203 average and was named CUSA Pitcher of the Week on April 15 after striking out 10 in 7.0 one-hit innings in a win over WKU.
Watson’s 91 strikeouts were the most by a Bearkat since Hayden Wesneski had 110 in 2019.
On July 4, he was acquired by the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball, where he made three starts, striking out 14 batters in 16.0 innings while allowing only two runs. He struck out seven and allowed only two hits in his debut of 6.0 innings, and he won his first game on July 14 against Lincoln, striking out five in 5.0 shutout innings.
