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Las Vegas High School baseball player Bryce Harper watches his team from the dugout during their game against Canyon Springs High School Tuesday, May 5, 2009.
Saturday, June 13, 2009 | 11:14 p.m.
Prep Sports Now
The Bryce Harper debate
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Las Vegas Sun reporters Steve Silver and Ray Brewer discuss baseball phenom Bryce Harper's decision to leave high school early and enroll at the College of Southern Nevada. Silver and Brewer also applaud the decision to televise high school football games on Thursday nights.
Sun Archives
- Las Vegas 'prodigy' makes Sports Illustrated cover (6-2-2009)
- Talent sky-high, feet on ground (5-7-2009)
- It's a swing of beauty (2-7-2009)
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I was skeptical at first.
When it was first rumored that 16-year-old Bryce Harper, the stud baseball player from Las Vegas High who seemingly hits the cover off the ball each time he makes contact, was going to skip his final two years of high school to play for the College of Southern Nevada, I was initially critical.
You only get one chance to live the high school experience -- everything from attending pep rallies to flirting with your high school sweetheart in between classes -- and passing on those once-in-a-lifetime moments to face a better fastball seemed like a risky decision.
Then, thanks to Harper appearing on the June 8 cover of Sport Illustrated with the headline 'Baseball's Chosen One,' things changed. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound catcher went from being the best high school player everyone in Las Vegas talked about, to the athlete people across the nation quickly anointed as a sure-thing hall of famer.
The spread in the nationally respected magazine made Harper a superstar, one too big to play against the likes of Canyon Springs and Desert Pines twice each year in Northeast Division play.
Harper's family ended the speculation this weekend by announcing he will play for the CSN next spring, Coyotes coach Tim Chambers said.
Magazine article or not, Harper's days at Las Vegas were obviously numbered. The decision -- whether you think it is good or bad -- will now make national headlines because of his notoriety.
"The kid just wants to play baseball," Chambers said. "The kid is a 3.9 student, so from an academic standpoint he will be fine. If he wants to take his girlfriend to homecoming or the prom, he can still do that."
Chambers said Harper, who hit .626 with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs this spring, is scheduled to start classes at CSN in the fall. He must also pass a GED test.
Athletically, Harper was ready for a bigger challenge. And, more importantly, all signs point to him being socially ready, too.
"As long as he continues to play hard, he will be fine," Chambers said.
Harper is expected to be a high first round pick, if not the top pick overall, when he is eligible for the draft -- which, now that he is at CSN, could be next June.
Chambers said the family has contacted Major League Baseball for a ruling on when Harper can be selected. A representative from mega-agent Scott Boras' office attended most of his games this spring.
Come next spring, however, he will be one of several lined up to get a glimpse of 'the prodigy.'
Do a search for Harper's name on Ebay.com and 75 items come up, including an autographed baseball with 28 bidders, the last willing to pay $113.
The Sports Illustrated article, which documented a 570-foot home run he hit last year as a freshman and compared Harper to NBA star LeBron James, opened the flood gates to the Bryce Harper-mania.
"Hopefully we can let this kid get back to playing baseball instead of signing autographs and doing interviews," Chambers said.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com.
Bryce Harper has a dream opportunity coming...to be able to play ML baseball at a very young age. All well and good for him, but supposed that some misfortune befalls him and he is severely injured and sidelined permanently... It has happened to others in the past.
Where will he be then, without his college education? He can't eat baseballs....
Foregoing a college education or post secondary education for the minimal GED is not good in my estimation...no one can predict the future. Why the rush to get into the major leagues?
It is true that with a GED he can get a local job as a cop or firefighter which only require a GED education and reap the rewards of higher salaries and retirement benefits than most locals. That could be his destiny if some misfortune abruptly ends his career...something for him and his parents to think about....
Good Luck Bryce...may your star shine bright and long...save your money boy...you never know what is ahead for you. May you have a great career, safe from injury!
If only our war heroes on this Flag Day could receive such high honors, publicity, individual recognition and a secure financial future...But, this is America land of opportunity for the athletic and film stars...
When was the last time the RJ or Morning Sun ran a large story on Medal of Honor winners equal to the attention given to young Bryce?
Going to CSN is a good move for the young man. They use wood bats in this league. It's going to be like playing Minor league A ball for two years
Nice picture there Ray Brewer. What's that stuff under your lower lip?
I am totally against this move by this kid. If I were his parents, I wouldn't allow him to leave high school early. He needs a chance to be a kid and grow up. Baseball will come with time. Sometimes you have to let the world come to you and not force things. He's naturally talented.
If he continues to work hard, he will succeed at any level. However, rushing him into maturity has increased the risk of failure.
I wish him the best. I hope the Sun puts a reminder in their calendars to write a follow up story 5 yrs from now. We'll all either know about him because he's setting MLB on fire......or we'll all forget about him because he didn't make it.
S711
get his autograph now!
the kid looks like he's almost 30
Looks like baseball is becomig like hockey. 14 and 15 year olds move across the country to play hockey. How many sure bets have washed out in all sports? I know guys who never were drafted in hockey that have had good careers and I know guys that have gone in the first or second round that never did nothing. This kid could peak in two years and then what?
Good move Bryce and Family. The kid has a gift and natural talent. Why wait or hold out on reaping the benefits of that talent for the sake of someone else's opinion or view. Oh Believe me others will find a way to exploit young Bryce at the first chance they get. So bravo for Bryce and family for taking matters and your son's fate and affairs into your own hands.
Get your GED and enroll at CSN, you will be killing like 3 birds with one stone (getting a GED which IS the equivalent of a high school diploma, taking college courses and having those in you back pocket when your ready to finish a degree, going up against better competition to prepare for the majors and becoming eligible early for the MLB draft.) We must realize that if drafted Bryce will be making more then enough money to return to college on his own dime and get a degree, especially if he gets hurt. He could send his whole high school baseball team to college if he wanted to! So get real vsestini this kid will never have to find work as a firefighter etc.. Also say Bryce struggles against competition at CSN, well then good, now he can stay in college longer to sharpen those skills. Better yet he can do 2 years at CSN ( a junior college) then transfer to a major D1 program. All on scholarship!!
This kid and his family are following the American dream and taking Bryce's fate into their own hands. Good for them! Quit hateing!
What a lot of people don't realize is that CSN offers a high school program in which certain classes also award college credit. My ex-girlfriend went through the program and loved it. So he will be attending CSN but will still receive a high school diploma.
I only hope this kid gets an education eventually. Tomorrow is never promised today. Like my mom used to say "You can loose a job, and everything that job bought you, but you can never loose your education". Good luck kid!
Many people make good points about education and possible injuries. That being said many do not understand that Bryce is going to be one of the first 3 players picked in next years draft, and get a bonus of quite a few million dollars. Many people work a lifetime and don't make the money that will be offered to this young man. He is a great kid from an exceptional family, he is doing the right thing, they have had discussions with many people that are smarter, and more well informed than I or any other poster on this board. I say good luck, may GOD bless you with good health. Pay no attention to the haters, most are not well informed and have no idea what it is like to be the very best in the country at anything(me included). Great decision, be a leader, we have enough followers.
Everybody who doesn't like this move thinks he will lose out on a wonderful education. There's a lot of educated unemployed people who'd point out that it's not any more of a guarantee than taking a chance at superstardom.