Ex-MLB player Monte Harrison, 28, plans to walk on with Arkansas football

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Arkansas football has landed a player who was a four-star wide receiver recruit — a decade ago. Not only that, but Monte Harrison spent much of these past 10 years playing professional baseball, including parts of three seasons in the MLB with the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels.

Arkansas confirmed a report Tuesday that Harrison, a 28-year-old outfielder who played parts of three seasons with the Angels and Marlins, plans to walk on with the Razorbacks' football program.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette first reported Tuesday that Harrison had committed to the school. An Arkansas football spokesman told The Associated Press via text that he will walk on with the SEC school.

Harrison was a four-star football recruit in 2014 out of Lee's Summit (Missouri) West High School, the Democrat-Gazette reported, and caught 60 passes for 1,007 yards. He also had 13 touchdowns rushing with 198 yards. He had committed to play football and baseball at Nebraska, according to the newspaper.

The second-round draft choice by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2014 Major League amateur draft played 10 seasons professionally with the first seven-plus years at various minor league levels. He was dealt from Milwaukee to Miami in the trade that sent Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich to the Brewers in Jan. 2018. 

That trade is now widely regarded as a major coup for the Brewers — Yelich went on to win 2018 National League MVP and was the runner-up for the award in 2019. Milwaukee has reached the playoffs in five of the six seasons that Yelich has been on the team, while the Marlins have made it just twice in that span. Meanwhile, none of the four prospects Milwaukee sent to Miami in exchange for Yelich, including Harrison, still play for an MLB organization.

Harrison got his first MLB call-up from the Marlins in 2020 and batted .170 with a homer and three RBI in 32 games.

He played another nine games with Miami the next season between minor league stints and then nine contests with the Angels in 2022 along with 88 with Nashville in the Class AAA International League.

Harrison hit .240 with 90 homers, 336 RBI and 210 stolen bases in the minors. He batted .177 with two homers and six RBI in the majors.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.