Former Eagle pitcher Hayden Harris was just called up to The Show, as announced by the Atlanta Braves organization on September 2.
In his five seasons in Statesboro, Harris was a key piece of the Eagles' pitching rotation. From 2018-2022, he would pick up eight wins and ten saves through 95 appearances and 144.1 innings. Harris finished his collegiate career with 166 strikeouts and a .241 opponent batting average. In his final season, he would toss 3.2 scoreless innings against Troy in the Sun Belt Tournament before making an appearance against Notre Dame in Statesboro's Regional in June.
After the season, Harris signed a free agent deal with the Braves in July of 2022.
After a long wait, the organization assigned him to the Mississippi Braves in late 2023 after battling in single-A ball for most of the season. There, he would pitch 55 innings across 42 games and held batters to under .220 in his time there. Harris would first see action for the Gwinnett Stripers of AAA in June of 2024, playing the rest of the season there. He would be sent back down to the Columbus Clingstones of AA to start 2025, going a perfect 4-0 with an 0.79 ERA and 37 strikeouts before being called back up in June.
Harris outperformed his strong start to 2025, claiming just an 0.36 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 21 games before finally getting his call up to The Show. Hayden Harris is now the 17th former Eagle to make it to the MLB, and is the first to do so since Sam Howard in 2022.
