Carter, 20, has captained Wales at Under-18 and Under-19 level and has also played for the Under-20 side, but he only made a full Dragons debut against Munster in November last year.
This has been his first full season of professional rugby, but the forward has impressed sufficiently to become one of five uncapped players in Wales’ 34-man summer Test squad.
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac said of Carter: “I think Ben is a fabulous young player.
“For a young guy that’s stepped into the Dragons team, he’s earned a lot of starts and Dean Ryan has worked him really well.
“He’s shown he’s got a very big future in the game. When you look at long-term replacements for Alun Wyn Jones, I think he’s a young man that has shown all the credentials.”
Carter, who is studying a pathway course in international relations at Cardiff University, admitted he was pleased to hear of Pivac’s comments on him.
He said: “It’s nice to hear. It’s all really nice things that he said and I’m grateful, but I am just going to go into the camp and do my own thing and give it a good crack.”
On his degree, Carter added: “There are modules on Welsh politics, the Cold War, but also things like nuclear politics and reasons for war. It’s very broad and I do really enjoy it.
“I’ve found it good to do something as well as rugby to sort of switch off sometimes, but at the same time, it’s also quite a lot to do.
“I am on a pathway course just getting a taste for it seeing if I will be able to manage it alongside rugby. I will decide whether I will take that on to the full course next year or pursue something else.”
Ben Carter of Dragons has received his first Wales call-up
I am just going to go into the camp and do my own thing and give it a good crack
Carter will be joined in the Wales squad this summer by four other uncapped players in Dragons team-mate Taine Basham, Ospreys prop Gareth Thomas and backs Ben Thomas and Tom Rogers of Cardiff Blues and Scarlets respectively.
So, how did Carter find out about his first Wales call and the moment every young Welsh rugby player dreams of?
“We were in the gym training and Elliot Dee told me to go and check my emails,” he said. “I did and luckily I got the good news. My friends and family were really pleased for me.
“I’m lucky I’ve got a really good support network around me and they were all really chuffed. I’ve had a lot of nice messages and it’s been a really nice 24 hours.
“If you had asked me at the start of the season about the Welsh squad, I would have thought you were crazy. I probably wasn’t even expecting to make a Dragons debut.
“It’s quite a shock and I am just really grateful I am in there. It will be a great opportunity for me to learn, but also I want to go and do well.
“I’m just really excited and looking forward to getting into camp.
“I think it will be a step up again from regional rugby and it will be a great opportunity to improve as a player.”
If you had asked me at the start of the season about the Welsh squad, I would have thought you were crazy. I probably wasn’t even expecting to make a Dragons debut
