Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Ferndale’s Austin Michel, center, will play for Feather River College next year after helping lead the Wildcats to an NCS championship this past spring.
By Ray Hamill — Ferndale graduate Austin Michel closed out his high school playing career in style and now he’s hoping to carry that momentum into college after recently making a decision on where he will continue his playing career.
Michel, who graduated from Ferndale this year, will play for Feather River College.
He joins the Golden Eagles after playing a pivotal role for the Wildcats this past spring, helping to lead them to an historic Little 4 and North Coast Section championship double.
And longtime Ferndale head coach Justin Andersen believes he can succeed at the collegiate level.
“He has the physical tools to compete at the next level,” Andersen said. “And I am excited to see what he can do with this opportunity. I am grateful for the contributions he made to our program.”
Michel certainly left his mark on the Ferndale High program.
As one of five seniors on this year’s team, Michel and the Cats claimed a first Little 4 championship in 19 years, a drought that began before any of the players on this year’s team was even born.
They clinched the championship on the final day of the regular season with a doubleheader sweep over the St. Bernard’s Crusaders, who had dominated the conference for much of the past two decades.
And beating St. Bernard’s four times in five matchups this year is something the standout senior says he will remember from his time playing for the Wildcats.
But that’s not all.
“I’ll remember the game against Hoopa when I had 15 strikeouts,” he added.
The conference title was just an appetizer for the Ferndale players.
They would go on to claim an NCS championship with a 17-5 win over Point Arena — one year after losing a section final to SB — and followed that with a first-ever appearance in the NorCal state playoffs.
All in all, it was a memorable way for Michel and his fellow seniors to close out their high school careers.
Now Michel is getting ready for a new challenge, and it’s something he’s looking forward to.
He first considered Feather River after attending a college expo at College of the Redwoods and felt the Golden Eagles would be a good fit.
Austin Michel and his teammates celebrate their NCS championship this past spring.
“I was looking at different colleges and came across Feather River, and it kind of seemed like a place I’d enjoy,” Michel said. “It’s kind of small — there’s not many people there — and the baseball team seems pretty good.”
Michel joins a Feather River program that went 35-10 in 2024, including going 21-4 on their way to clinching the Golden Valley Conference.
They also won three playoff games and advanced to the California Super Regionals.
But the team’s success wasn’t the only thing that had Michel interested in Feather River.
“It’s a pretty nice area,” Michel said of Quincy. “They’ve got good weather. They’ve got all four seasons.”
It’s also a good area for some outdoor sports, which the hunting enthusiast likes as well.
And after visiting the campus, Michel was quickly sold on taking his talents there.
As for what role he will play with his new team, Michel admits it’s something he hasn’t really talked to the coaches about yet, but he’s looking forward to playing some first base and possibly seeing some time on the mound, where he excelled for the Wildcats during his high school career.
Michel also played football for the Cats during his freshman year and basketball as a sophomore, but he says baseball has always been his favorite sports ever since he began playing T-ball as a 4-year-old.
“I just enjoy it a lot,” the said.
He added that he will mis playing with his Ferndale teammates and that the Wildcats had become very close kit over the years.
“We all hang out quite a bit outside of baseball,” he said.
He also was a quiet leader on the championship winning team who led by example and was one of the Wildcats’ most consistent performers.
“While he wasn’t always the most vocal senior on the team, we always knew what we were going to get from him,” Andersen added. “He was a corner infielder and had some dominant performances for us on the mound.”
Michel says he also appreciated the support the team and players received from the local community, which showed up in big numbers on their historic playoff run.
“There was a lot of community support,” he said. “A lot of people came out to all of our games and even the away games.”
Michel intends to major in Criminal Justice and says he would he would like to play at a four-year school after his time at Feather River if the opportunity is there.
He added that his mother Kristi has been one of the biggest influences on his playing career.
