It did not take Reagan Harrell long to figure out he did not want to spend his life in computer information.
He went to Plan B, which was a trip to Webber International University baseball coach Colin Martin to ask permission to broadcast the school’s games since no one was. He was given the OK.
Harrell, a recent graduate of Webber International, found his niche.
“I looked around the Sun Conference (which is a group of NAIA schools in Florida) and though I’d start a podcast,” he said.
That was in the spring of 2022, but once he was in Columbus, Ga., for the NAIA World Series, his life changed, again.
“I fell in love with the sport of softball,” he said.
“I started looking into the NAIA media and there was nothing covering softball, so I started with that," he said.
NAIASB started in 2023.
Cindy Pfister, a player at Nebraska’s Midland University, joined Harrell with the podcast.
“We do good numbers,” Harrell said.
His program brought him to Klamath Falls last weekend for the Cascade Collegiate Conference championships. He credited Oregon Tech coach Greg Stewart and league commissioner Rob Cashell for their help.
“This is the best softball conference in NAIA,” Harrell said. “It is to softball what the SEC is to football. I love covering NAIA. The coaches. The student-athletes. The Champions of Character (program).
“I look at the direction the NCAA and NAIA are going and I have become a big fan of the NAIA.”
A punter from Leesburg, Ga., Harrell first kicked for Missouri’s Lincoln University before he transferred to Webber International where he graduated with a degree in sports business management.
“I had no idea what the NAIA was when I was in high school,” he said.
An early observation was that sixth-seeded conference tournament entry Carroll College of Montana played good softball. The Fighting Saints knocked off third-seeded College of Idaho in their first game, and almost took down eventual champion Eastern Oregon.
“Carroll would be third in other conferences,” he said.
“If you’re interested in college sports where kids play for the love of the game and pay for their education, it’s NAIA. The biggest misconception people have is that it is the same as (NCAA) Division III or low Division II.”
Wrong.
Harrell learned, too, what playing softball in the Pacific Northwest meant.
“It’s a lot tougher when it’s cold, but I learned the passion for the sport is amazing,” he said.
He noted temperatures were in the 80s back home in Wells, Fla., while CCC teams battled snow, rain, howling winds and down-right cold playing at OIT’s John & Lois Stilwell Stadium.
Harrell has developed plenty of help with his podcast, which he said can be found anywhere podcasts are available.
One of the individuals who is working with Harrell is Oregon Tech All-American shortstop Kaila Mick, who runs NAIASB’s TikTok program.
Melissa White will soon join Pfister as a co-host, with Brayden Carpenter and Connie Darnell helping with video and graphics.
Harrell loves what he does so well that he has help coordinate a 27-team tournament to be played Feb. 21-23 in Shawnee, Okla. “OIT will be there,” he said.
He found his passion, and is pursuing it – one of life’s greatest joys.
Steve Matthies is the Herald and News sports editor emeritus. He has covered Oregon Tech athletics for more than 34 years.