MINOT, N.D. – It doesn't take much research to figure out where Minot State University senior baseball player Micah Holmen (Minot, N.D.) received his athletic ability.

After all, his dad, Barry Holmen, was a three-sport standout for the Beavers and uncle, Bob Holmen, was inducted into the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

His academic ability?

Grandpa Dr. Robert Holmen was a math professor at MSU who was inducted into the university's Hall of Fame.

But where does he trace his musical talent?

"My dad pushed me to do the music first and the academics first," he said. "I really got my start with music in the church. I had an uncle in Minneapolis who worked with Prince as a Hornhead, which was the name of his horn section in his band and worked for Celine Dion, Janet Jackson and, lately, the Jonas Brothers, so I would listen to him. I just picked it up. We had a sax at home and early on I knew it was something I wanted to pursue."

Holmen has parlayed that early love into a career. He will begin working in Michigan this summer as a musician at Mackinaw Island. In the fall, he will begin a two-year Master's program at Belmont University seeking a degree in commercial music performance.

"This summer is going to be really exciting, getting to be a professional musician is one of my dreams," Holmen said. "I took multiple trips this year to see where I wanted to go (to graduate school) and the commercial part of what Belmont offered was neat. It was about selling myself, what I can do and how to get more gigs.

"The future is scary and not having baseball is going to be different. I've been playing since T-Ball, but I'm ready to move on."

Over the course of five seasons, Holmen has done just about everything you can on a baseball diamond. He spent his first year as a redshirt and then played mainly in a defensive backup role for the next two. He played both corner infield positions before winning a spot last season at first base. He responded with career highs in every category, hitting .309 in 35 games played with four home runs, four doubles and 20 runs batted in.

"We've asked him to do a lot," said MSU head coach Brock Weppler. "He is the ultimate character kid. We knew that when we recruited him. One of the biggest priorities he and his father had were how does baseball and music work hand in hand because both are so demanding.

"I think he has felt privileged to be able to do both. He has never shortchanged anything. I think that's awesome. He has always asked how can we make this work. I'm excited to see what he can do now that he gets to just work on music. He will grind in that career just like he has with baseball."

His favorite memory on the playing field came last year as he had a breakout series at Southwest Minnesota State, going 5 for 7 with two home runs and eight RBIs in a double header in May.

"It was a turning point for me," he said. "I was a role player at that point – I guess I've been a role player my whole career – but that weekend just flipped a switch for me. I knew I could play at this level."

While his playing time hasn't quite reached his junior season, Holmen doesn't dwell on that aspect of the game. He settled into his role as a leader, still as excited to get on the grass at Corbett Field each week like he did early in his career.

"The motivation to keep coming out week after week is the same as it was right away – the guys I played with right away," he said. "We played in Surrey my first year (due to the Souris River flood that inundated Corbett Field) and guys like Ryne Hornecker were out there making plays no matter where we were playing because they just loved the game. That was big for me, being a local kid, playing on the field my dad played on. That was special."

"I'm sure he wanted more at bats and for his senior year to go better, everyone wants that. But Micah has never let it affect him," Weppler added. "He's been a leader. He is loud on the bench and works hard. We talked about Sal (MSU freshman Celistino Rodriguez) coming in during the offseason and how it was going to be tough to get playing time this year. He took it as a challenge. He could have said I could graduate now and walk away (after the fall), but he decided to come back and finish the season out. We point to him and the rest of our seniors to our younger guys on how they should carry themselves. I'm very proud of this group and of Micah because of that."

While his family ties made Minot State an obvious choice, there wasn't any pressure to automatically come to MSU. In fact, a change in the music department, along with Weppler's encouragement that he could excel at both as a Beaver, became the biggest influences to choose to stay home.

"It's been special to play in the same athletic department as my family, but there was zero pressure to come here," he said. "Right before I chose a school, MSU hired a great saxophone professor and I got the opportunity to walk on with the baseball team. That wouldn't have happened at many places."

While his music and baseball careers have taken up much of his time, Holmen has also given back to the MSU athletic community as a part of MSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serving as the organization's president this past year.

"I'm very fortunate to have been a part of SAAC," he said. "When Weppler asked me to be on it I was thrilled. This past year we got to go to the SAAC Summit and speak with presidents, AD s and other student-athletes and were really able to help with the role of student-athlete. This spring it was great to be a part of the fundraisers. I was very blessed to be the president."

Heading into the season finale this weekend with St. Cloud State, Holmen has started 41 games and appeared in 69 with the Beavers. He has 54 hits and a .276 batting average with four doubles, four home runs and 24 RBIs.

"I'm thankful of all the opportunities that Minot State afforded me," he said. "There were times I didn't think I could make it as a baseball player in college because of my rigorous schedule. So many late nights in Old Main and then up for 6 a.m. baseball workouts, but I wouldn't change any of it."

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.