Rising Stars: The New Wave of BGSU Men’s Basketball | Episode 2: Camden Karel

Due to the current landscape of college athletics, where the transfer portal has taken over, BGSU men's basketball head coach Todd Simon has been forced to add 10 new players to the roster for the third straight year.

One of the new players that will step onto the Bill Frack Court in the Stroh Center this season is Camden Karel, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound freshman forward from Byron Center, Michigan.

Ranked the No. 3 player in the state of Michigan while at Byron Center High School, Karel was drawn to Bowling Green because of the coaching staff.

"On my official visit, it just felt right. The coaches were great; they treated me like family, and it was a really home-like environment," Karel said. "I liked how they said they were going to push me, and they showed me examples of how they would use me in a real game scenario. I just liked how thorough they were, too."

Karel was one of the first high school players that Simon and his staff focused on when they arrived at Bowling Green in 2023.

"He was someone we identified early on when we got here. He was someone we wanted to be part of our program," assistant coach Bryce Martin said. "I've been able to develop a relationship with him over the last two years, and it's only grown since he got here. When you have those relationships, you're able to pour in as much basketball knowledge as we can give."

As a freshman, Karel is determined to do whatever it takes to win.

"I'm here to perform and do anything I can to get on the floor and help us win," Karel said. "Whatever I need to do, whether that's rebound, pass or score from time to time, I'm here for it. I'm here to hustle and try to get Bowling Green some wins."
Karel has quickly adapted to the Division I level.

"His ability to acclimate to the college game has been faster than we expected. We're really pleased with his ability to navigate our defense, and obviously, he's really skilled offensively," Martin said.

"One thing the coaching staff loves about Karel is his confidence.

"He has a level of confidence about him that you can't teach," Martin said. "That's why he's in the position he is and why he'll help our team win a lot of basketball games this year."

Karel's biggest role model has been his grandfather, who served as a graduate assistant for BGSU football under Doyt L. Perry.

"He coached football and basketball and played football at Western [Michigan]. He's all about hard work, fundamentals, and just being a good person in general," Karel said. "He's really pushed me to become who I am today, both as a person and as a basketball player—to share the ball, help the people around me, and score when needed to get the win any way possible."

One of Carroll's favorite hobbies is listening to audiobooks, especially while traveling.

"It first started with my dad. We'd listen to the same books and talk about them," Karel said. "It honestly started with basketball; you have to fly places and drive places. Those three-hour drives are hard to deal with as a kid, so we found that listening to books helped pass the time. I came to really love it, and now, whenever I'm traveling, I'm always looking for the next book to listen to."

He also enjoys cooking on the grill.

"I got really into making steaks during COVID. I don't really know how it started, I probably just found a video and thought it'd be fun to try. I stumble across stuff like that and try something new. I started cooking steaks, and they turned out really good," Karel said. "We have a great community at home, so some of the neighbors would come over, and we'd cook together. It's just a fun thing to do. I'd say my favorite is the Tomahawk steak. It can get a little pricey, but the giant cut with the bone in it is just so fun to cook."

Karel's ultimate goal is to help Bowling Green win the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

"I think we have a great team here, and I think we can really win. My goal is to win the MAC and make it to the [NCAA] tournament, putting up a banner that hasn't been in this facility yet," Karel said. "That's my number one goal but making the team better is the first step toward that, any way I can."

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results