Bio

Jeff Carl, a three-time All-WIAC South Division selection at shortstop from 1979-81, helped UW-Oshkosh to three consecutive conference titles before becoming the second-round selection of the Montreal Expos in the 1981 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft following his junior season.

A graduate of Madison West High School, Carl was selected 29th overall in the 1981 Draft and remains the highest-drafted player in storied history of the UW-Oshkosh baseball program, which has seen 52 players sign professional contracts with MLB-affiliated teams. The Titans produced a 74-21 record during his three seasons and twice advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series, finishing fourth in 1980 and third in 1981.

Carl earned All-America accolades in 1979 and 1981 from the American Baseball Coaches Association.

In 1979, Carl helped UW-Oshkosh to a 19-8 record and a share of its eighth conference title. Carl hit .368 while leading the team with seven home runs and 10 stolen bases. The 1979 Titans, the first WIAC team to play in the NCAA postseason, went on to produce a 1-2 record as hosts of the West Regional.

In 1980, the Titans won the outright WIAC title and reached the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time in program history as Carl hit .306 and paced the team with 11 home runs.

The 1980 UW-Oshkosh squad was the first from the WIAC to play in the Division III World Series. The Titans, who concluded the season with a 24-9 record, won the West Regional with four straight wins in Lisle, Ill., before falling twice at the final tournament in Marietta, Ohio.

In 1981, Carl hit .459 with 15 home runs and 63 runs batted in to cap his three-year career with a .382 batting average, 33 home runs, 125 runs batted in and 102 runs in 95 games played. The 1981 Titans, who compiled a 31-4 record and captured the outright WIAC championship, swept all four games as hosts of the West Regional before going 1-2 at the World Series in Marietta.

Carl, who was named to the WIAC’s 28-member All-Time Baseball Team in 2012, played five seasons with the Expos organization, hitting 64 home runs and collecting 218 runs batted in while reaching the Double-A level from 1981-85 before an elbow injury halted his professional career. He hit a total of 21 home runs and drove in 72 runs while playing at the Single-A and Double-A levels in 1982.

Carl settled in Memphis, Tenn., following his professional baseball career. He is now self-employed since retiring from United Postal Service after 27 years of service.

Carl, who continues to play softball on a regular basis, was inducted into the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Carl resides with his wife, Leigh Anne, in Somerville, Tenn.