Kainoa John “KJ” Harrison is the winner of an academic award, his top-ranked Oregon State baseball team is heading to the College World Series, and it is widely expected he will be selected in the first three rounds of the Major League Baseball draft that begins today.
Those don’t-pinch-me scenarios were made possible because he said, “no, thanks.”
Three years ago, as a recent Punahou School graduate and the 10th-best catching prospect in the nation, Harrison and his family were awaiting the 2014 draft and the subsequent offer. If he were drafted and received a life-changing signing bonus, he would turn pro. If not, he would hold firm to his Oregon State commitment.
“It was more nerve-racking than anything else,” said his father Kenny Harrison, a former University of Hawaii standout who played in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ system and in Japan. “It was crazy. I don’t think we really enjoyed it. You’re trying to make the right decision. You have a number that’s set to forgo college. Is that the right number?”
The Cleveland Indians picked Harrison in the 25th round of the 2014 draft. Although the Indians’ offer was “close” to the six-figure amount sought, according to Kenny, KJ opted to go to college.
“It was the best decision of my life,” KJ said. “One of the reasons I wanted to go to school so bad was because of the rich program history that Coach (Pat) Casey and his staff had built. I fell in love with the place as soon as I got there. They welcomed me in as family. It worked out pretty well.”
He won Pac-12 honors as a first baseman, played in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, and toured Japan and Cuba as a member of the national collegiate team. This season, his slash line is .330 batting, .396 on-base average, and .515 slugging percentage. His 66 hits include 13 doubles and eight home runs, two of them in the Super Regionals this past weekend.
This time, Kenny Harrison said, the eldest of his five sons is more prepared for the outcome of this week’s draft. “We’re much more relaxed,” Kenny said.
KJ said he is more focused on the World Series than the draft. “The main goal is going to Omaha and trying to win a national championship,” KJ said.
KJ has long prepared for both events. Growing up, there was a batting cage in the back yard of the family’s Kailua home. “The funny part was my dad used to bust out tennis balls,” KJ recalled. “Because we used to hit so late, we couldn’t use baseballs because they were too loud and neighbors would complain.”
KJ and his brothers eventually worked out in a batting cage in Kailua. Their father would supply wooden bats — the required equipment in pro ball — that he purchased or culled from friends through the years. “I have enough support,” Kenny said of his collection of wooden bats.
KJ played several sports, but “I’ve always been a baseball player at heart. Baseball was my favorite sport growing up. I needed to love baseball because my father played. I was born into baseball.”
He said he often watched videos of his father’s games, and sought advice. During his playing and coaching careers, Kenny Harrison was known as much for his impersonations and off-the-wall antics as his baseball skills.
“My dad is crazy, man,” KJ said, laughing. “It’s so awesome to have such a big mentor in my life. He taught me everything I know. My mother, as well, too. I have somebody to talk to about baseball, somebody who knows what he’s talking about. He was a very successful baseball player. I’m so lucky and blessed to have a father like that in my life. I love him.”
