GLENDALE, Ariz.- Former Madison Academy baseball player Ryan Harness had a splendid freshman year in college and even better season of play this past summer as part of the Southeast Collegiate League.

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound Harness completed his first year in college at Arizona Christian Academy located in Glendale, Ariz. with an outstanding freshman season of play on the Firestorm junior varsity squad. He batted .368 along with a .561 slugging percentage. He posted a .463 on-base average, which was second on the team. He also had two homers.

This summer, Harness took to the baseball diamond playing for the Birmingham Red, which played in the Southeast Collegiate League. The Red completed the 2022 season with the best record of the 15-team league posting 14 wins six losses and one tie.

Headed into his sophomore year of school, Harness looks to earn a spot on the Firestorm varsity squad and with the statistics he posted in his freshman season there’s little reason why he shouldn’t make the squad. In the classroom, he’s pursuing a degree in education with majors in both history and Bible. Of course, like most of the young players growing up in the beloved sport of baseball, his dream job is play professional baseball. It’s every player’s desire and Harness is among those millions who have the dream. If that dream doesn’t come true he would like to return to Madison Academy to teach and coach baseball.

In the summer of 2023, Harness hopes to be selected for a collegiate/professional development team where the skills of selected players will be developed before professional scouts who scan those talents and make necessary arrangements should those players are thought to be candidates for possible draft choices by the teams of Major League Baseball.