 In November 2008, Cowels signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Santa Clara University.He went on to average 16 points and six rebounds as a senior in 2008–09.In his freshman season at Santa Clara, Cowels played all 32 games with 11 starting assignments while averaging 7.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 24.0 minutes per game.