Lann Finds A Lot Of Plusses In Making Commitment To Miami

Harper Lann RHP / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2025

AKRON - The reasons for making Miami a future home are numerous for Harper Lann.

“I felt it was a campus I truly loved,” Lann explained. “Even if I wasn’t playing baseball, I’d still love to go there.”

The prospects that come with baseball made it even more special.

“I narrowed it down to two or three colleges but felt Miami was the best fit for me,” pointed out the Walsh Jesuit junior, who was also considering Xavier and Western Illinois. “I have an opportunity to start as a freshman. It’s the best school I could go to and still get playing time.”

An offer and commitment came despite the inability to connect in the fall.

“They first saw me in person at the Future Games, but they wanted to see me pitch again,” Lann reflected. “It was difficult to do that since I took the fall off (rest needed from an injury freshman year). They based their recruitment of me off film since they didn’t see me in the fall or winter.

“I got an offer when I went on a (recent) visit and a week later I accepted it. I’d been talking a lot with the coaches and we found a date that worked to go there. I loved it. The baseball team is on the rise and they have a lot of great athletes coming in.”

The 14th-ranked 2025 right-handed pitcher in Ohio left a mark on the coaches at Miami.

“They liked how I was able to coach myself instead of needing help in some aspects,” Lann explained. “I’ve learned a lot from other people and they think my knowledge of pitching is a strength of mine.”

The desire to play at the next level started a number of years back.

“It’s been a dream of mine since sixth grade,” Lann noted. “Once travel ball started, that’s when it kicked in that I wanted to do it. Then freshman year, once I went to Walsh Jesuit, that put a light in my tunnel. Not only did Walsh help me with recruitment, but mentally it helped so much.”

Still, there were some difficult times when it came to the recruiting process.

“It was very stressful,” Lann admitted. “Seeing others commit earlier gets stressful. I’m thinking, am I keeping up? For me the phone was never blowing up, it was just a constant pace of colleges. But it was never the amount that I felt overwhelmed which in the end helped my recruitment. I knew Miami was where I wanted to go.”

The 38th-ranked junior in Ohio credited former Walsh Jesuit pitchers Ryan Piech (freshman RHP at Xavier) and Drew Erdmann (freshman RHP at Cincinnati) with setting an example of how to make it happen.

“They not only helped with my recruitment but the mental side of it,” Lann said. “Having people that have gone through it helped, and seeing mistakes they made was beneficial for me.”

A sense of relief came once a commitment was made.

“The weight of the world was off my shoulders,” the 6-3 210-pounder related. “All the hard work paid off and I reached the goal I was working toward. Now I want to set a goal to be a freshman starter at Miami.

“I need to fix some minor mechanical issues and continue to work on the mental side. Once I flip that, I’ll be a dominant force for Walsh and Miami when I get there.”

The 17-year-old is confident he can make an impact at the Mid-American school located 31/2 hours from home.

“I always want to be a starter and go deep in the game,” Lann said. “Pitching is already a job for me. I’m training to be an unhittable pitcher and I can’t wait to extend my career four more years.”

There is more that Lann is looking forward to when it comes to playing at Miami.

“Everyone there has the same reason for being there as me, to get to the next level,” concluded Lann, who carries a 3.0 GPA at Walsh Jesuit and is undecided on a college major. “That isn’t always the case in high school, but once you get to college it’s the same for everyone. I’m excited to move on to that.”