In December 2021, during his high school baseball team’s winter conditioning, Noah Canter went through an event that completely altered his mindset.
While working out, Canter said his achilles “blew up” on him and he suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury at the same time that he tore his achilles.
“It was a battle, but over the course of these two years and battling through surgeries, I learned a lot about myself and I’ve built my character a lot more,” Canter said. “They shaped me into the person I am today and have allowed me to be more resilient in the face of adversity.”
Today, 20-year-old Canter is the starting catcher for Cosumnes River College’s baseball team and has committed to play baseball at the University of the Pacific in the fall.
“I think they are getting one of the best catchers in the area for sure,” said CRC’s outfield and hitting coach Harvey Hargrove. “Whoever their starter is should be looking over his shoulder because Noah is coming.”
Canter said one of the reasons he chose UOP was his familiarity with their head coach, Reed Peeters. According to the Pacific Tigers website, he has mentored 31 players who went on to play professionally.
“I heard nothing but great things about him. He’s seen me play and seen a little bit of my journey from when I played in high school to when I got hurt, to my first year back and my progress into this year,” Canter said.
Canter is an Elk Grove native and will now play division 1 baseball with the Tigers.
“The school is outstanding as well and it being close to home is a blessing. My family is going to see me play baseball every single weekend and I get to watch my three little brothers grow up which is important to me,” said Canter. “Ultimately I felt that UOP was what the man upstairs wanted for me.”
In a game against Sierra College on April 18, Canter not only tied the 23-year-old CRC home run record of 12, but surpassed it, according to the CRC Hawks website. Since then, Canter has added to his tally, closing out the regular season with 15 home runs.
“Honestly it hasn’t really set in yet, we still have playoffs so that is where my focus mainly is,” Canter said. “I think once the season is over, I’ll soak it in a little bit more and enjoy it but for right now I am just trying to do anything I can to help this team win.”
By breaking the home run record, Canter earned the nickname of “Home Run King.” However, that is not the only nickname Canter has on the diamond. He is also known as “The General.”
“One of my old coaches that I used to play for, he’s been coming out supporting our games and he was posting some stuff on X. He referred to me as ‘The General’ one time and it kind of just stuck,” Canter said.
Canter got into baseball through his dad and started playing at age 6. He has kept playing all the way up to what is now his third and final year at CRC. Due to injury, Canter medically redshirted, opting out of playing his first year in order to retain his two year eligibility.
“He is the type of guy that wants you to get better. He knows that you can get better and if he wants to push you, he is going to push you and make you better,” said sophomore center fielder Chase Christenson.
Canter, a kinesiology major, said that after college he hopes to do something along the lines of sports or physical therapy, maybe even coaching, but his dream is to play baseball professionally.
“From a little kid standpoint, I’ve always watched big league games. I’ve been in big league stadiums, it would be awesome to have the opportunity to share the field with some of the players I grew up admiring,” Canter said.
Outside of baseball, Canter said he wants to be known as a leader, a follower of Christ and someone who strives to be the best version of himself as well as pushing others to do the same.
“He is a great teammate,” said sophomore pitcher Ben Pernetti. “I would play with nine Noah Canters on the field if I could.”