Howard played in 19 games as a rookie in 2012, hitting .222 with a homerun and seven RBI. One of his best moments of the season was in his first professional game on May 23 when Howard clocked a game-tying homerun in the top of the eighth inning to complete a six-run comeback at Joliet.

A graduate of Slippery Rock University, Howard finished a prestigious career with the Rock hitting .401 in his senior campaign with 10 doubles, six homers and 40 RBI. Howard started all 96 games of his two year career with Slippery Rock and earned honorable mention All-American honors by both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Daktronics to complement recognition as PSAC-West Player of the Year. Current Beach Bums pitchers Scott Dunn and Don Pugliese are also alumni from the Slippery Rock baseball program and have been major contributors to the success the Beach Bums have experienced in the past two years.

Prior to Slippery Rock, Howard played for one year each at Frederick Community College and Marist University. In 2009, Howard hit .406 for the Cougars with four doubles and five RBIs while with Marist he appeared in 14 games, scored six runs and batted .200 on the year.