Athletes of the Week: Will Harris

Rosewood senior Will Harris always “brings the juice” on and off the field.

The talented student-athlete plays baseball and football at Rosewood High School.

By Harris’ sophomore season, he knew he had found a passion for both sports, which he had played for years. Still, Harris feels most comfortable on the baseball diamond field, which is way Harris recently committed to play baseball at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Harris’ achievements on and off the field have enabled him to be named this week’s Brian Allen State Farm Insurance Male Athlete of the Week.

“I’ve been playing baseball since I could hold a bat,” Harris said. “I tried playing football when I was little, but I didn’t like it, but when I got to middle school, I wanted to play.

“In eighth grade, we needed a quarterback, and I was the guy for the job. I’ve been the quarterback ever since.”

All Harris has done at Rosewood is make history.

As the Eagles’ starting quarterback, Harris led the Eagles to a 20-5 record the past two seasons. Two seasons ago, the Eagles were a game away from playing for a state championship.

Last season, the Eagles defeated archrival Princeton in overtime at Princeton.

“That was an amazing game,” Harris said. “It went down to the wire, and both teams fought hard.

“It was crazy beating them on their field.”

On the baseball diamond, Harris is no stranger to making big plays as an infielder or a pitcher.

In three seasons on the mound, he has a career 8-3 record with a 1.99 earned run average and 76 strikeouts. He posted a .328 batting average, a .426 on-base percentage to go along with 25 RBIs and eight doubles.

During Harris’ sophomore season, and with zero seniors on the roster, the Eagles reached the state championship series for the first time in school history. Despite not winning the championship, the Eagles earned their place in school history.

Last year, Harris’ junior year, the Eagles returned with 12 seniors on the roster, and it was shaping up to be another historic season. However, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the season.

“That was amazing, sophomore year we had no seniors at all, and we make it all the way to the state championship,” Harris said. “Last year, we had the same team returning. It would have been an amazing year.

“I wish we could’ve finished it out.”

Harris did spend the summer playing for the Wayne County Jets in the Independent Summer League, where he posted a 3.76 earned run average. He also got one more opportunity to play baseball with some of his Rosewood teammates, who graduated last spring.

“It was really great to get back out there,” Harris said.

Heading into his senior season, Harris said he wants to mentor his younger teammates and show them how to be successful student-athletes.

While leading his team on the field and diamond this season is still an unknown. Harris said he remains optimistic about getting a chance to play sports during his senior year.

“Hopefully, we have a season, and if we do, then I hope we have a successful in season in both football and baseball,” Harris said.