Fifth-year senior Breanna Harris has accumulated 76 points for the Gators heading into the NCAA Tournament. (Photo: Chris Kim/UAA Communications)
High Achiever: Brianna Harris Gets Job Done for Gators
Friday, May 14, 2021 | Lacrosse, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – To obtain a true analysis of how Brianna Harris sees the field as she racks up goals and dishes assists for the Gators lacrosse team, a team of scientists, mathematicians and physicists would need to be called upon.
They could connect Harris to the sort of high-tech devices used in research labs to study human vision and movement that you see on the Discovery Channel or in those futuristic Hollywood movies.
Harris would likely be a willing subject.
"I actually love math and I'm obsessed with physics. My dad was a math major. My grandad on my mom's side was an engineering major. My dad's dad is super brilliant,'' Harris said. "My dad actually taught me math in high school. It's always been something that I actually find enjoyable. When I was young, I just loved making my own algebra problems on his board and solving them on my own."
Harris' passion for academics and athletics led her to UF, where as a fifth-year senior attacker for the Gators, she is coming off one of the best performances of her career. In Florida's victory over Temple on Saturday to claim the American Athletic Conference Tournament title, Harris scored a career-high six goals, added four assists and finished with 10 points, the second-highest single-game output in program history.
She turned in another dynamic performance Friday afternoon against Mercer in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In Florida's 23-5 victory, Harris scored five goals and added three assists as the Gators advanced to Sunday's second round to face the Vanderbilt-Jacksonville winner.
Brianna Harris does an interview after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the American Athletic Conference Tournament last weekend in Gainesville. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
Harris was named the Most Outstanding Player in the AAC Tournament and represents a major equation in Florida's chase for the program's first national title. The numbers have added up for Harris recently following the COVID-19 layoff that canceled the 2020 postseason, an extended stay at home in Maryland, a return to Florida and finally, the Gators' return to the field.
"She is at the top of her game,'' Gators coach Amanda O'Leary said. "She is certainly peaking. She is using all of her athletic ability to her advantage. She really shined [in the AAC Tournament] in not only producing goals, but also in assisting."
Harris has a career-high 84 points (44 goals, 40 assists), second on the team behind fellow senior Shannon Kavanagh (91). Those numbers are impressive, but they are just a small part of Harris' story.
She grew up in Annapolis, Md., and along with her twin sister Kayla, showed an early tenacity that caught the attention of her parents. Her dad, Robert Harris, is the head football coach at Broadneck (Md.) High. He knows a talented athlete when he sees one.
The first time Robert and his wife Sarah, an accomplished lacrosse player in her day, tested their daughters in organized sports, it was on the soccer field when they were about to enter elementary school. The memory has not faded.
The Harris family unpacked the car, pulled out lawn chairs and sent Brianna and Kayla onto the field. Robert looked over at his wife.
"Hey, let's hope this goes well,'' he said.
More than a dozen goals later for the Harris sisters, the family packed up the car and headed home to celebrate.
"They were just so competitive,'' Robert said this week. "They just went and got the ball. I looked at Sarah and she looked at me, 'Oh, there might be something here.' It's been so fun. It's coming to an end, so we're enjoying every minute of it."
Brianna, who is now 23 and a recent UF graduate with a mathematics degree and minor in physics, has not slowed down in the years since her breakout debut as an athlete. She starred in lacrosse at Broadneck after stints playing soccer, softball and basketball.
She chose the Gators over Penn of the Ivy League, realizing after a trip to campus that UF offered the best of both worlds. And then when her freshman season started, any doubts about leaving her comfort zone were quickly erased by a set of new challenges.
"I just remember my first day of practice. 'Holy crap, this team is a bunch of super heroes. I have never seen athletes this insane before.' I remember being like, 'I made the right decision.' I love being surrounded by people better than me,'' Harris said. "That's really how you grow in any aspect of life."
Whatever comes her way, Harris attacks it the way she does opponents. She suffered a knee injury in high school and another one at UF that cost her a season. She put in the rehab time to regain her form. A year ago at this time, she was back home as the global coronavirus pandemic put the world on pause. Once she was cleared to return, Harris had lost some muscle mass in her legs and knew she needed to get back in shape to maximize her senior season.
Another box checked.
"I'm starting to really feel more confident in my own skin again," she said. "I think the team offensively is just playing so well together. Something I really love to do is assist. I think the reason why I'm playing so well is because my teammates are playing so well. I mean, half my points are assists. I can't take credit for that. I feel very confident we can cause some noise." Brianna Harris splits a pair of defenders in the AAC Tournament. (Photo: Leslie White/UAA Communications)
While Harris envisions a long run in the NCAA Tournament for the No. 6-seed Gators before calling it a career, she already has future plans. She did an internship in the technology department at Comcast NBCUniversal in Philadelphia in the summer of 2019. Harris worked under the direction of a physicist working on a project to send people to Mars, and during a presentation she made about the project, gained the attention of Cherie Arabia.
Arabia serves as vice president of product experience for Comcast Technology and leads a team focused on end-to-end employee readiness for Comcast's Xfinity products, among other duties. Harris said Arabia took her under her wing and became a mentor, leading to a job as a software engineer. Harris is set to start this summer, most likely in the Philadelphia or New York office.
"I would just follow her around,'' Harris said. "She would walk into a room and everyone would just shut up. I would walk in behind her with my clipboard and be like, 'Oh, I'm her intern.' To see a woman like that just command a room was absolutely inspiring."
Maybe someday, perhaps as people roam around Mars, Harris will inspire the same in a young woman.
Her dad won't be shocked. More in awe.
"She's always been a high flyer academically and athletically,'' Robert Harris said. "She showed a very high aptitude for both at a very young age, as did her sister. We're just so proud of her and everything she's accomplished.
"The other thing is, she's a good person We think she is very balanced. She definitely gives her all in school and sports and whatever she does, like her job search."
