St. Johns Country Day's Brayden Harris is the Varsity 4 All-News4JAX baseball player of the year for the second straight season.
– The chants of overrated made Brayden Harris and the St. Johns Country Day baseball team laugh. If dominance was overrated, Harris, now a two-time Varsity 4 All-News4JAX player of the year, was overqualified.
He leaves the Spartans as one of the best players in area history, including state championships in two of his final three seasons. Not only was Harris the ultimate gamer in the biggest season of his career, he did it after an offseason pivot. Harris competed in his fall baseball schedule as a hitter, but he didn’t step on a pitching mound for roughly six months.
“It was the first time I’ve done that,” he said. “I’ve never gone like half a year with no games . Once I found it, I was good. And every week, I just kept improving.
”It may have taken Harris a few weeks during the season to find his stride and get the adrenaline aligned, but the success came back in a hurry. Harris was Across five seasons, Harris whiffed an astounding 526 batters and finished with a 32-8 record. Five of those losses came during his eighth grade season, making Harris’ true varsity record a stellar 28-3.
Harris threw 45 pitches in a state semifinal win over Schoolhouse Prep, leaving in the fourth inning with a 4-0 lead. Two days later, Harris started the state championship game, a 6-2 win over Orangewood Christian for an unbelievable double. Harris hit the 105-pitch limit on the number, striking out the final batter to earn the program the second championship in program history.
“The work I put in all year prepared me for throwing both of those games and being able to be good in both of them,” Harris said. “Because most kids, they don’t train their body enough to take one day off and then come back and throw 100 pitches. And also just the experience. I’ve been on varsity for five years straight in playoff games.
Every year we’ve made the playoffs and I’m pitching every year, too. And I think that experience just really helped me get to that. ” In the pitch count era, the notion of a high school hurler throwing 10.2 innings and earning decisions in the final four and the final is outlandish. So many things have to line up for something like that to happen.
“I’ve never seen someone do that. And whenever we found out the dates for the final four and state game, I knew that it could be a possibility,” Harris said.
“And like Coach Tom was saying, he was like, ‘y’all better hit if you want me to take him out. ’” Harris, the pitcher, was elite. He finished with career highs in wins , strikeouts and innings pitched . Harris won five of St. Johns seven playoff games.
Harris, the batter, was a puzzle for opposing pitchers to try and solve. Not only did he crank out career highs across multiple categories , but hurlers never figured him out. Harris had smacked just one homer in four seasons before this year.
“I wouldn’t say I felt the pressure, but again, that’s like what I want, the other team to bring it, because then that gets me more locked in,” Harris said. “And I know teams are going to start trash talking, especially just us being good for so long. They’re going to say we’re overrated, we’re not that good, which we’re hearing that even in the playoffs, teams are saying that. I think us as a team, we like that.
It helped us play better in those games. ” Went 7-0 with 76 Ks in 56 IP with 1.00 ERA. Is 14-2 over his last two seasons. Had career-best 16 Ks in 5-1 win over state semifinalist Clay.
Back-to-back Varsity 4 All-News4JAX player of the year with incredible final season. Led the team in the Triple Crown categories . All seven of those homers came in the playoffs. Had 42 hits.
As a hurler, finished 13-2 with 165 Ks, 1.07 ERA and wins in the state semifinals and title game. Had 526 Ks in his career. Ignited Blue Devils’ surprising run to the final four by delivering in all the big games. Went 9-4 and whiffed 122 in 68.1 IP and finished with 1.84 ERA.
Breakout season for the Jacksonville University signee. Hit .390 with five homers, 25 RBI and 22 runs scored. A career .320 hitter with 76 RBI, 12 HR.
Second team selection last year. Hit .340 with three homers and 22 RBI. Added eight doubles and a triple for Class 2A state champs. Scored 26 runs and had 36 hits.
Two-time All-News4JAX first-team selection, and a second teamer in 2024. Career .363 batter with 105 runs scored and 93 RBI. Led team with .493 on-base percentage. Virginia Tech signee.
Two-time All-News4JAX selection. Hit .340 with 34 hits, 17 RBI and six homers for Class 1A state champ. A .329 hitter with 58 RBI, 14 HR in career.
Second on the team in average . On-base percentage cemented how valuable he was to the offense. Belted six homers, scored 28 runs and drove in 27 for regional finalist Cardinals. Had 32 total hits.
Headed to Santa Fe College. Facing the state’s most difficult schedule, Martinez hit .365 with 20 extra-base hits and 43 RBI. Scored 33 runs. As a spot duty pitcher, he was 2-0 with 10 Ks, 0.84 ERA in 8.1 IP.
A career .346 hitting with 24 HR, 96 RBI. Second team selection last year. Four-time All-News4JAX selection. Hit .296 with 20 RBI, six doubles, four homers and a couple triples.
Career-best 34 hits and 36 runs. Signed with the University of Florida. Huge final season for the Bulldogs. Hit .484 to lead Bolles in hits m average and RBI .
Belted four homers. Washington & Lee University signee. He’s also one of the best catchers around for the Class 2A state champs. Led the Conquerors in average and hits while playing the state’s most challenging schedule.
Added 25 RBI and three homers. Alabama signee. Career-best year at the plate with six homers, 27 hits and 20 RBI. Whiffed 108 batters in 60 IP for 18-10 Saints.
Selected in the 12th round of the MLB draft by the Marlins. Runner-up in player of the year voting by coaches after an unbelievable final season that made him a fourth-round draft pick of the Braves. Faced the state’s second most difficult schedule. Went 10-1 with 103 Ks, 1.90 ERA in 62.2 IP.
Had a massive season at the plate . Led the Toros all over the stat sheet. Hit .330 with 10 doubles and 23 RBI. On the mound, he was Tocoi’s most consistent arm.
Threw 50.2 innings and whiffed 81 with a 1.68 ERA. Fired the program’s first perfect game in five-inning win over Menendez. Team-leading 16 appearances for Class 1A state champs. Went 5-2 with 74 Ks in 47.2 IP in a dominant season.
Had six saves. Finished 6-0 with 0.62 ERA, 53 Ks in 34 IP for Class 2A state champs.
Second team All-News4JAX selection last year. Went 17-3 in his career with 199 Ks in 126 IP. At the plate, he hit .274 with a couple HRs, seven doubles and 19 RBI. Three-year varsity player for the Eagles who turned in his best season in 2026.
Finished 8-2 with 87 Ks, 2.11 ERA in 56.1 IP. Headed to Charleston Southern. A catcher as well. Led team in the Triple Crown categories .
Team-best hits and runs , too. Led Rural state champs with a .457 batting average. Pounded out 37 hits and drove in 24 runs en route to state title. On the mound, was 2-0 with a pair of saves, 27 Ks in 18.1 IP.
Didn’t allow an earned run. Great all-around season for the JU commit. Hit .410 with 20 RBI, 29 runs scored. Drew 29 walks to boost OBP to .564.
Had 13 extra-base hits and went 22 for 27 on stolen bases. Second team All-News4JAX last year. Hit .432 with 31 RBI, 13 extra-base hits . On the mound, he was 4-2 with a 2.30 ERA and 53 Ks in 38 IP.
Hit .297 with career bests in hits , doubles , RBI and homers . Earned a win in limited pitching work. Signed with LSU. Two-way star for Bulldogs who played shortstop and also threw it.
Hit .304 with 21 RBI, 5 homers, 16 runs scored and 28 hits. On the mound, he went 7-3 with a 2.72 ERA and 57 Ks in 57 IP. Led Bulldogs to the regional finals by topping the list in each offensive category . Nearly flawless on defense .
Committed to Florida. Helped lead Barracudas back to playoffs in a two-way role. Was 5-2 with 1.54 ERA, 61 Ks in 41 IP. Hit .289 with team-best 24 RBI, 15 runs scored.
Played infield, outfield and pitched. Hit .300 with 18 RBI, six homers and three doubles. Headed to Enterprise State. Tennessee signee was first-team selection last year.
Hit .284 with 3 homers, 22 runs scored and 16 RBI. Added 12 stolen bases and had .454 OBP. On the mound, he was 4-2 with 67 Ks in 47 IP. Was 11th-round draft pick of Diamondbacks in MLB draft.
Two-way force went 6-1 with 54 Ks in 42 IP, 1.83 ERA and a no-hitter. Hit .259 with 33 RBI and 12 extra-base hits for 19-7-1 Flashes. Two-way star for Sharks led team at the plate . Scored 21 runs and had 30 hits to lead the team.
On the mound, went 6-2 with 70 Ks in 53.2 IP. Had 1.57 ERA and fired three complete games. Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years. Community gathers for vigil after fatal crash tied to ICE encounterCan you inherit a home in a 55+ community?
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