The Every Day Commitment
Hayden Harris (’22) is living the dream shared by many young men in Georgia: pitching for his home state’s Atlanta Braves.
Since he was a young boy, he wanted to play professional baseball and kept his eyes on that goal with every pitch. Growing up not far from Statesboro, Harris said he didn’t consider many colleges during his recruitment. Georgia Southern became the first to offer him a scholarship, a moment he still treasures.
“You’re an 18-year-old kid and you get a baseball scholarship, then you realize it’s not just something to chase after anymore,” he said. “The opportunity’s right there in front of you.”
Despite his quick enthusiasm and emotional commitment to Eagle Nation, he was given some sound advice on taking his time through the recruitment process.
“My family told me to take my time in making a decision, and I’d say it’s worked out pretty well so far,” said Harris.
Choosing Georgia Southern taught him not only a professional-level skill set, but also what it takes to build a strong team culture. During Harris’ five seasons as an Eagle, the program consistently contended for Sun Belt Conference titles.
“We were always in the hunt and led the conference for three of the five years I was there,” he recalled. “I got injured before I was able to start the only regional game we were supposed to host, but it’s still one of the best memories I have. I was able to see the stadium filled with fans.”
His teams never captured that coveted championship trophy, a rare regret from his time in Statesboro. Still, the Eagles continued to prove their worth by earning NCAA attention and reaching postseason play. As a senior, Harris and his teammates qualified for the NCAA tournament and landed in a bracket packed with strong opponents.
Harris ties much of his professional success to those college years. He credits the program’s tradition of building with homegrown talent.
“A big part of it is how well we’ve attracted in-state talent,” he said. “If you go back 40 or 50 years, Georgia has always been the thing, and our coaches and administrators put a focus on being consistent and concentrating on who’s in the Georgia talent pipeline.”
When Harris walked out of J.I. Clements Stadium for the final time, he had a collegiate career record of 8-7 with 95 game appearances, 144.1 innings pitched, 166 strikeouts, 10 saves and only 12 home runs given up. Even without a trophy to put in the case, Harris remembers his time in Eagle Nation fondly — both for his on-field accolades and his accomplishments on campus as a business major with a concentration in entrepreneurship and innovation.
“Even though I’m not a morning person, I almost enjoyed getting up in the morning and being able to walk to campus,” he recalled. “I didn’t have to drive anywhere; I was always able to walk around wherever I needed to go for anything. The campus was close to everything and our sports atmospheres were the best, and that was my favorite part.”
After graduating in 2022 with a bachelor’s in business, Harris focused on continuing his baseball career. He didn’t want to be a player who was told when his playing days were over. Rather, he put destiny into his own hands and kept the dream front and center.
“You have to earn your opportunities and take advantage of them,” he quipped.
Using the momentum created from his success with Georgia Southern, Harris found a slot with an Atlanta Braves Single-A affiliate team, the Augusta GreenJackets. But he didn’t stay there long. By the end of 2024, the undrafted prospect had climbed all the way up to AAA – just one step away from the big leagues.
In fall of 2025, his time had come. Harris got the news that he was heading to “The Show” while thinking about a completely different sport.
While preparing for a fantasy football draft with his fellow AAA teammates, he got the call every baseball player dreams of receiving. He left for Atlanta that night, and would soon wear a major league uniform.
“I certainly had some adrenaline and chills, but I tried to keep it very simple,” he said. “It’s still baseball. A lot more people, but it’s still the same game at the end of the day. I recognized some guys in the clubhouse when I got there, and that helped.”
It wasn’t a long wait for Harris to take the mound. His first game was on Sept. 2, 2025, and he made his major league debut in one of the most historic ballparks in the world: Wrigley Field in Chicago.
“That day, all the higher-leverage guys were down because they had pitched recently, so my coach told me that I would be relieving sometime that game,” he remembered. “So it wasn’t so much of a shot in the dark; it was pretty routine to what I was doing in the minors, so I wasn’t shocked how that worked out, thankfully.”
In his first game on a major league mound, he pitched for one inning where he retired three batters in only 12 pitches.
Harris appeared in two more games later in the season, totaling 2.2 innings, giving up three hits and one earned run for the Braves.
An undrafted player from a non–Power Five conference, Harris reached the major leagues after three years in the farm system.
By the end of the 2025 campaign, he held a career minor league record of 15-8 with a 3.06 earned run average across 158.2 innings, striking out 245 batters while allowing 12 home runs.
“That production reflects the competitiveness within the organization,” Harris said. “The Braves have five other 19- or 20-year-olds behind you trying to fill a spot, so it’s a double-edged sword. If you don’t pitch well, you probably won’t be playing for very long. I’m grateful they gave me an opportunity, and I took advantage of it.”
— Jacob Notermann