Multi-sport athletes are rare at the highest levels of the game. Don’t tell that to Monte Harrison.
The former MLB player is now making his name playing college football. He spent some years in the big leagues before later turning back to college football with Arkansas.
Harrison still had eligibility remaining, setting up the rare circumstance for a former baseball player. With his interesting athletic background, Harrison's age has become a common question for college football fans, as he's among the oldest players in the sport this season.
Here are the details on Harrison, his age and his career timeline between baseball and football.
MORE: When is Shilo Sanders eligible for the NFL Draft?
How old is Monte Harrison?
Harrison is 29 years old, having been born on Aug. 10, 1995.
A Lee's Summit, Missouri, native, Harrison was a standout three-sport athlete during his high school days, starring in basketball, football and, most notably, baseball, while enrolled at Lee's Summit West.
In Harrison's senior season, he caught 60 passes for 1,007 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns. He added another 198 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground, earning four-star billing and committing to Nebraska, then coached by Bo Pelini.
Harrison could have very well ended up in Lincoln. His exploits on the diamond made him one of baseball's top high school prospects, however. And after the Brewers made Harrison their second-round selection in the 2014 MLB Draft, Harrison opted to take his talents into baseball's minor leagues, the start of a nine-year journey in professional baseball.
Monte Harrison career timeline
Harrison started his professional career with a stint in Arizona Fall League, posting .261/.402/.339 splits with with one home run, 20 runs batted and 32 stolen bases in 50 games. It wasn't until Year 4 that Harrison came to showcase some of his potential; in 2017, Harrison tallied 24 home runs, 27 stolen bases and an .831 OPS across full and advanced A.
In January 2018, the Brewers traded Harrison and three other players to the Miami Marlins for former MVP Christian Yelich. At the time, Harrison was MLB.com's second-best prospect in the Marlins' organization.
Harrison's numbers came back down to earth a bit in 2018, hitting .240/.316/.399 in AA. However, after hitting .290 in Arizona Fall League, Harrison advanced to AAA in 2019 and hit .270 with nine home runs over the full season, and he played in the 2019 All-Star Futures Game.
On August 3, 2020, Harrison was promoted to the big leagues, and made his debut with the Marlins the next day. In 32 games with Miami that season, Harrison posted a .170 batting average and had a stolen base in the postseason.
Starting 2021, Harrison was placed at the Marlins' alternate training site, returned to the big league club, then was sent back down to AAA after just nine games.
In March 2022, Harrison was designated for assignment and later released by Miami. Soon after, he signed a minor league deal with the Angels. He spent the majority of the 2022 season with their AAA affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees.
After hitting below .250 between AAA and the MLB in 2022, Harrison returned to the Brewers' organization for 2023, but was released in September. His second stint with the Nashville Sounds was his final period playing baseball.
Because Harrison had committed to Nebraska out of high school but didn't use any of that football eligibility, he still had that option at 29 years old. On May 7, 2024, Harrison committed to play football at Arkansas as a walk-on.
Per his Arkansas roster page, Harrison, now a freshman, became just the second player in NCAA history to record a statistic in an official FBS game after an MLB career. In his collegiate debut in August, Harrison had two receptions for 29 yards.
Harrison's unique journey to the gridiron is one to keep an eye on throughout the college football season.
