Marble Falls grad Harman receives state award

CAPTION: Mario Bennett (left) presents the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association award named after him to Brad Harman, a 1994 graduate of Marble Falls High School. Courtesy photo

Brad Harman recently received the Mario Barrett Meritorious Service Award from the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Harman, a 1994 graduate of Marble Falls High School, is the baseball head coach at Abilene High and a member of the association for 27 years.

Harman, who has served multiple positions in the association, called receiving the award a real honor.

“Mario Barrett has been a main stay in the association for many years,” he said. “The association has been in the existence for 53 yards. He’s done multiple things in the association and held multiple jobs. Right now, he’s in charge of membership. He’s the gold standard, not just for the association but for coaches.”

What made the moment even better is that Barrett presented the award to Harman.

“Ten minutes later it’s announced that Mario is inducted into the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame,” Harman said.

In 2019, Harman became a regional director, which is a three-year term. After it expired, he “was asked to stay.” Today, he’s the second vice president of the association.

“The last three years I worked closely with Mario and helped him deal with membership. Just who he is as a person is unbelievable,” he said. “They do factor in career achievements. It’s really an award that symbolizes selflessness and the willingness to go above and beyond what’s asked.”

For almost three decades, Harman has been doing that. He was the baseball head coach at Llano High School in 2012 and resigned to take over at Lago Vista for a year.

In 2013, he became the head coach at Monahans High School where he stayed until the end of the 2018-19 school year. He left to take over at Big Spring High School from 2019-22. He’s been at Abilene High ever since.

He has 360 career wins including six district championships, five regional quarterfinal titles, two regional semifinal championships and a regional title. Eighteen of his players have played college baseball. In 2018 he was selected to coach the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star game and has coached the Austin Area Baseball Coaches Association All-Star contest.

He also is on the Texas all-star team staff that chooses the best players from the state to go on a squad that faces other all-star teams representing different states. This is his third and final year on the staff. College coaches attend these games where players are showcasing what they can do. Harman laughed when asked how coaches comb through the talent in this state to narrow it to one roster of less than 50 players.

“It’s not easy,” he said. “This is for juniors and sophomores. Some of those coaches are waiting at the fence for them.”

One player who didn’t need that exposure was Kimble Schuessler, a 2020 graduate of Llano High School. Schuessler is a pitcher for the University of Texas at Austin.

Before he was a sought-after pitcher in high school, Schuessler attended Harman’s baseball camps. Harman’s Monahans teams faced Schuessler at different pre-district tournaments. The coach recalled seeing a section of the stands reserved for scouts.

“They had three rows roped off. It was loaded,” he said. “I saw him in the second, third and fourth grades. It was obvious then this kid is different than everybody else. He was highly competitive. When we called for different drills, the first thing he did was to run. He was truly dialed in. You can’t teach that kind of focus or extra effort. And when he pitched, it came out different. Same with his bat. It just wasn’t normal.”

Harman may be coaching another sensation in sophomore George Ferguson, who stands 6 feet and 4 inches and throws 94 mph.

“He’s a hard worker, and he’s special,” he said.

Ferguson is another example of what Harman has encountered his entire career as he’s moved from one job to the next, something he didn’t plan.

“It’s never been a goal,” he said. “Opportunities just presented themselves. I’ve been fortunate to end up at places with hard-working kids every step along the way. I’ve worked in places where kids are willing to do things the right way, the hard way.”

Though Harman could retire, he said he plans on coaching at least six more years. He has a son who’s in the eighth grade and a daughter, who’s two years behind him.

“But I may go 20 more,” he said. “I still get out of bed every day, I still love what I do. Coaches tell me you’ll know when it’s time. I’m not going to be able to just sit around the house. I don’t think my wife will let me sit around.”