Thomas Howell (curler)
Thomas "Tom" Howell is an American curler from Milwaukee. He currently plays third on Team Korey Dropkin.
Curling career
Juniors
As a junior curler, Howell won three United States Junior Curling Championships, in 2012, 2013, and 2016. As such, he played for the United States at three World Junior Curling Championships, notably finishing 5th at the 2012 World Junior Curling Championships and 7th at the 2013 World Junior Curling Championships.Howell was a member of the U.S. team at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics, playing second on a team that included Korey Dropkin, Sarah Anderson, and Taylor Anderson. The team finished 5th at the event; after going undefeated in the round-robin, they were eliminated in the quarter-final against Italy.
Howell also represented the United States at the 2013 Winter Universiade, as the alternate for the Chris Plys's team. That team finished in 5th place.
Men's
On the World Curling Tour, Howell, as a member of the Dropkin rink, has been a regular at events held in the U.S., playing in his first event at the 2010 Laphroaig Scotch Open at the age of 16. Howell won his first Tour event by winning the 2014 Twin Cities Open.From 2016-18, Howell and Dropkin joined the Heath McCormick rink, with Plys at third and Dropkin at second. During Howell's second season with Team McCormick, he won his first medal at the United States Men's Championship, earning silver when they lost to Greg Persinger's team in the final.
In 2021, Howell won his first United States Men's Curling Championship, which was postponed until after that year's Worlds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following season, he finished runner-up at the 2021 United States Olympic Curling Trials, after losing to the defending Olympic champion John Shuster rink in the final. As the 2022 US nationals were cancelled due to the pandemic, Dropkin's rink was invited to represent the US at the 2022 World Men's Curling Championship, where Howell and the Dropkin rink finished in fourth.
Dropkin and Howell formed a new team in the 2022-23 season, joining former junior teammates Stopera and Fenner. The team had good success, winning a bronze medal at the 2022 Pan Continental Curling Championships, and finishing fourth in. The rink won their first men's national title together at the 2025 United States Men's Curling Championship, representing USA at the 2025 World Men's Curling Championship. At the 2025 Worlds, the team went 4-8 after the round robin, finishing a disappointing 11th place.