A bizarre move by Ole Miss baseball gifted Rick Heller a talented two-sport athlete

In one of the stranger circumstances you will see on the recruiting trail, an Iowa native is staying in the Hawkeye state.

Western Dubuque two-sport star Brett Harris had just graduated when he received some unfortunate and unsettling news about his college future. Ole Miss manager Mike Bianco called Harris to let him know they were pulling his scholarship, leaving his baseball future in limbo. No one knows why Bianco and the program made the harsh decision to pull Harris' scholarship offer, but Rick Heller and the Hawkeyes righted that wrong.

Catcher Brett Harris officially committed to Iowa after a stunning move by Ole Miss

The surprising move by Ole Miss not only put Harris in a tight situation but also drew backlash for the timing and the potential reasons behind it. Nonetheless, Harris is staying put in Iowa and is joining Rock Heller's squad next season.

Perfect Game ranked Harris as the No. 44 overall catcher, and the path he took to get to Iowa City will bring a tear to your eye. Harris initially committed to Ole Miss in 2023 during his older brother's final season with the Rebels. Calvin was a crucial part of Ole Miss' 2022 National Championship, batting .336 with three home runs and 21 RBI in 43 games as a catcher. Calvin was then selected by the Chicago White Sox in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Brett was destined to follow in his brother's footsteps until his life and playing career were threatened when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2023. He had to put his football career on hold, and even though he continually underwent treatment for the tumor, he was still one of the best Iowa high school baseball players. Through July 7 this season for Western Dubuque, Harris is batting .414 with 15 doubles and 31 RBI.

After all he had overcome, Ole Miss pulled a truly classless move. Originally reported by USA Today's Ehsan Kassim, at the end of June, just days after he graduated from Western Dubuque High School, he lost his scholarship, forcing him to pursue other opportunities extremely late in the process. He was stunned by Ole Miss's decision, but shortly after, he committed to the Hawkeyes. According to Kassim, Harris won't know if the chemotherapy treatments were a complete success until November, and he will continue getting MRIs until then.

Harris has an amazing story filled with adversity, and the ability to overcome one of the biggest challenges in his life, and Iowa is lucky to have him. For Ole Miss, it is a horrible look, and the entire program should be ashamed of pulling a kid's scholarship a month before he was getting ready to head to school. Mike Bianco and the Ole Miss program continue to receive harsh backlash from the decision, and rightly so. There is no justification for pulling a kid's scholarship when he did nothing wrong, especially when he has a life-threatening brain tumor and was looking forward to becoming a member of the same program his brother was a part of.

Shame on Mike Bianco and Ole Miss, and what a great move by Rick Heller to offer him a scholarship late in the game to keep him close to home.

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