Scranton's Harding a consistent, quietly brilliant star
Apr. 22—He has been raking and running down scalding line drives under your noses for a few years now. You can make an argument, well-backed by statistics, that he's the most accomplished player to come out of the program he's in. If he finishes this season strong, the same might be said for his status in the conference in which he plays.
After all, the second season Connor Harding played in the Landmark Conference in 2019, he won its Player of the Year award. Before the 2020 season got sideswiped by the coronavirus pandemic, the sweet-swinging lefty was 14 for 28 with a 1.260 OPS, well on his way to earning that honor in back-to-back years.
The fact he ranks among the top five in the Landmark this season in hits (18), batting average (.409), triples (1), home runs (1), RBIs (10) and stolen bases (9) means another strong finish will put him in the conversation again.
He has a .417 career average, 154 hits, 90 runs, 19 doubles, 12 triples, five homers, 76 RBIs, 41 stolen bases and a .575 slugging percentage. That's why he's heading to the University of Connecticut to give Division I ball a chance next spring. And, it's only part of the reason his head coach believes he should get a chance at professional ball after he's finished with that opportunity.
But here's the thing about the University of Scranton's star centerfielder: None of those accolades, or any of those numbers, puts him firmly among the most important players in the history of the program.
"With work ethic, he's as good as we've ever had," Royals head coach Mike Bartoletti said. "Work ethic-wise, we've had some players as good as him. But in work ethic and talent, he's in the upper echelon. To say the best, you know, who knows. But when you talk about the discussion, he's in the discussion.
"But his competitiveness makes him."
How he got there is just as good a story.
Harding is a northeast kid, and a proud one. He braved the winter's bite and the chill of upstate New York springs to become one of the Empire State's best players at Vestal High School, just west of Binghamton and a few miles over the Pennsylvania border. As a senior, he led the Golden Bears to a state championship.
Of course he wanted to play college baseball, but he couldn't picture doing it anywhere else besides those northeastern schools. That made the thought of heading a little bit south, even to a place like not-so-tropical Scranton, seem, in his own words, "like a crazy idea."
But Scranton, and Bartoletti, had a pretty good salesman in Harding's ear all along.
The Hardings, you see, are big supporters of athletics at the University of Binghamton, and Connor's father, Tom, loves to golf. Dunmore native Tommy Dempsey also enjoyed the time he got to spend on the links during his days as the Bearcats' men's basketball coach. The two got to know each other, and when Tom shared with Tommy that young Connor was looking for a place to play college ball, Dempsey pitched a move south to the University of Scranton.
After all, Dempsey wasn't just a basketball star at Lackawanna College. He also moonlighted as a baseball player for the Falcons program run by Bartoletti back then. As good a student as he was a player in high school, Harding took the suggestion to heart. He visited Scranton, saw the burgeoning facilities, took stock in the academics, and fell in love — even if he had to find it to the south.
"A big focus of mine was wanting to stay close to home," Harding said. "I'm close to my family, and I wanted them to be able to come to my games. It just kind of worked out to be a great fit."
Recruiting and scouting are always big talking points, but in this case, Harding called Bartoletti to express his interest. Once Bartoletti got hold of the kid's film, he thought he was looking at a Division I prospect.
Tall and lanky. Fast and powerful. The best player on the best team competitively. He checked all the boxes.
For Harding, it wasn't quite that simple. When he joined the program, he looked around at a room loaded with teammates, and he wondered how he'd ultimately fit into the college game.
"I remember being worried about trying to make the team," Harding said. "You're a freshman. You're not sure. Looking back, maybe that was silly, but that's how I approached it."
Approach has been everything for Harding, Bartoletti said.
As a 6-foot, 170-pounder coming out of Vestal, Harding knew he needed to add weight and strength. So by eating right and hitting the weight room, he gained 35 pounds his freshman year.
As a high school shortstop, he joined a program where there weren't as many opportunities for immediate playing time in the infield. So, Harding worked day after day, practice after practice under the tutelage of former great Royals center fielder Tommy Trotter, filling his own free time by tracking fly balls and turning himself into what Bartoletti says is the best defensive outfielder in the Landmark.
While Bartoletti knew Harding's potent bat would play at the college level, it's not like the youngster ever took that for granted, either. Just ask UConn.
"I've had a great experience here," Harding said. "It's been a great team. I love the coaching staff. I love the facility. I have not complaints. I just want to see what it's got, and try to potentially compete at the next level, and I'm lucky enough to have that opportunity.
"But that's not the focus right now. I'm happy to be at Scranton, and we're trying to win a championship here."
There are plans made. But there's also hard work to be done. On the way to greatness, Connor Harding has never shied away from that.
Contact the writer:
570-348-9125;
@DonnieCollinsTT;
@PennStateTT
