Mychal Harris, communications junior, was named the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Week on March 12.

KIAC is made up of five teams: Brescia, IU Southeast, Asbury, Berea and Alice Lloyd.

Benjamin Reel, IUS baseball head coach, has been working with Harris for two years.

“Mychal is great,” Reel said. “The one word that would describe him is energetic. He is a pleasure to coach for sure.”

Harris joined the IUS baseball team two years ago.

“He loves to be there,” Reel said. “He plays the game like a child. He has that child love for the game.”

Harris said the coaching staff was  what attracted him to IU Southeast.

“When I came to visit, I had a really good time with the guys,” Harris said, “so it’s a really swell chemistry.”

During Harris’ recruitment process he was offered spots from many schools on the West Coast and Midwest. Harris discussed other factors that influenced his decision to choose IU Southeast.

“IUS is a lot cheaper than the other schools that offered me spots, and the team is actually good,” Harris said. “It wasn’t like they could offer me everything, but, not only could I be successful with baseball, I could also enjoy myself.”

Reel explained the recruiting process and how Harris was chosen.

“We recruit through a networking system,” Reel said. “You hear about a kid, and we have a recruiting coordinator, and they go out and start recruiting them. We heard he had skills, a plus runner, a plus defender — plus meaning excellent — and we got him. He worked hard, and, now, he is doing great and sweeping the results.”

Harris received baseball awards throughout high school and at American River Junior College.

KIAC Player of the Week was his first baseball award while playing for IU Southeast.

Harris currently leads the KIAC with a .457 or 16-for-35 batting average.

“He plays great defense in the outfield,” Reel said. “He has exceptional speed. He can make things happen with his feet.”

Harris is from Stanton, Calif., and attended American River Junior College, where he also played baseball, before transferring to IU Southeast.

Harris said his interest in sports began when he was five years old and started playing soccer. He has been playing baseball since he was seven years old.

“I’ve been playing since little league,” Harris said. “I got really focused on it when I was 12 and started playing every day.”

Baseball is not the only sport Harris has played. He also played basketball and football, each for a year, during high school.

“I knew I had a better shot at baseball, so I wanted to focus on that,” Harris said.

Harris is not the only sports player in his family.

His father, Michael Harris, played professional football for the Jets and the Bears. His cousin, Ben Francisco, plays professional baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Although Harris has been playing baseball for many years, he said his most memorable moment during his baseball career happened while he played for IU Southeast.

“My most memorable moment in baseball was when I stole home for IUS during playoffs last year,” Harris said. “We were playing Berea, and the game was at Berea.”

Harris discussed his personal baseball goals and goals for the IUS baseball team.

“I want to be the best center fielder in the Midwest by the end of my career,” Harris said. “I want for us to get to playoffs. If we get there, we will be able to get it together by then.”

Harris lives on campus and said he considers his teammates a family.

“We are really all family,” Harris said. “Not everyone on the team is from the same spot, and especially being from a commuter school where there isn’t a lot of hanging out, it’s important to have that.”

Harris said living on campus is nice and convenient. Although he lives far from home, he makes sure to visit California every winter break.

Harris said he is focusing his communication studies on business advertising.

“I want to do some type of business-promoting job,” Harris said. “I want some way to get a lot of money working with a lot of companies.”

Harris said he will most likely move back to California but is open to wherever work takes him.

By AMIRA ASAD

Staff

aasad@umail.iu.edu