Brett Keaton Harker (born July 9, 1984) is an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

coach and former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

, who is the current head baseball coach of the

Limestone Saints The Limestone Saints are the athletic teams that represent Limestone University, located in Gaffney, South Carolina, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Saints compete as members of the South Atlantic Conference ( ...

. He played

at the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Uni ...

for head coach

John Pawlowski John Pawlowski (born September 6, 1963) is an American baseball coach and former pitcher. He played college baseball at Clemson for coach Bill Wilhelm from 1983 to 1985 and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 2 seasons from 1987 to 1988. He then ...

from 2003 to 2005 before playing professionally from 2005 to 2011. Harker then served as head baseball coach of the

Furman Paladins The Furman Paladins are the varsity athletic teams representing Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, in intercollegiate athletics. Furman competes in NCAA Division I athletics and is one of the smallest NCAA Division I schools in th ...

(2017–2020).

Amateur career

Harker attended Hillcrest High School in

Simpsonville, South Carolina Simpsonville is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. It is part of the Greenville– Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 22,234 at the 2020 census, up from 18,238 in 2010. Simpsonvil ...

. He then committed to the

, where he was a member of the Cougars baseball team. In 2004, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate ...

with the

Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox The Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, or Y-D Red Sox, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Red Sox play thei ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thous ...

Professional career

Harker was drafted in the 5th round of the

2005 Major League Baseball draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

Coaching career

On July 9, 2014, Harker was named the pitching coach of the Furman Paladins baseball team. On July 6, 2016, Harker was introduced as the head coach of Furman.

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It beca ...

announced on May 18, 2020 that the

Paladins The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...

baseball team would be terminated due to budget concerns during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. In February 2021, Harker was named the pitching coach at his alma mater Hillcrest high school. The team won the Region 1 AAAAA championship, District 1 AAAAA championship, AAAAA upper-state championship, and AAAAA state-championship. This was the first state championship in school history. Harker was named the head baseball coach at

Limestone University Limestone University, formerly Limestone College, is a private Christian university in Gaffney, South Carolina. It was established in 1845 by Thomas Curtis, a distinguished scholar born and educated in England. Limestone was the first women's ...

August 3, 2021.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Furman Paladins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harker, Brett Living people 1984 births Baseball pitchers College of Charleston Cougars baseball players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Batavia Muckdogs players Lakewood BlueClaws players Clearwater Threshers players Reading Phillies players Jupiter Hammerheads players New Orleans Zephyrs players Schaumburg Flyers players Lincoln Saltdogs players High school baseball coaches in the United States Newberry Wolves baseball coaches Furman Paladins baseball coaches Limestone Saints baseball coaches