What’s next for Sean Matson and Tanner Smith? Former Harvard Baseball Players Look Toward Future in MLB
Two former Harvard baseball players — Sean Matson and Tanner Smith — have signed contracts with MLB teams before graduating college. The Crimson spoke to both to learn what it’s like to be a Harvard student preparing for a professional baseball career.
While their former teammates on the Harvard baseball team prepare for their next game, seniors Sean Matson and Tanner Smith have something else on their minds: preparing to play in Major League Baseball.
Unlike most other teams at Harvard, the baseball team regularly has players drafted — racking up 63 draftees over program history.
With Matson and Smith both signing professional contracts with their draft teams, their NCAA eligibility is terminated. However, as they close the chapter on their collegiate careers, they’ve been dedicating their time to their craft, training and keeping up with their skills as they await professional-level play.
Matson, who was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians, and Smith, who was picked up by the San Diego Padres, join the ranks of professional players who got their start with the Crimson.
In interviews with The Crimson, Matson and Smith expressed their excitement about what awaits in the MLB while reminiscing about the Harvard baseball memories they will “remember for years to come.”
From Harvard to the MLB
For both Matson and Smith, education and earning a Harvard degree still remains a priority despite their futures in professional baseball.
Still, Matson described how his life at Harvard changed after the draft, as his focus on baseball increased.
“A year ago at this time, I would be waking up, going to class, going to practice, coming home, making sure I was prepared every day to get ready for baseball and still do well in school,” Matson said. “And then now it’s more I wake up and the priority at all times is baseball.”
“Because now, with it being the career path I’ve chosen, the career path I’m going down, that’s the priority,” he added.
Despite knowing baseball will be his career, Matson explained how his education is still important. While he’s taking this semester off from school to train for the MLB, he plans to return to Harvard to complete his studies in the fall.
“I always get the question, if I’m done or if I’ve graduated,” Matson said. “I’m going back in the fall and the organization actually has been really great about that, giving me that leash to go back and finish school so that I can just focus on baseball, not worry about finishing my degree at the same time.”
Another Crimson baseball alum, Jay Driver ’24, is currently affiliated with the Guardians, giving the team experience helping a player through the transition from Harvard to the MLB.
“They’ve been super understanding, especially with Jay Driver being in the same organization, they get he was another Harvard baseball grad, and they get that I’m going to follow a similar path that he did, where he finished first semester and second semester that he needed just back to back,” he said. “They just know that finishing now is a pretty big deal, especially with the weight of a Harvard degree.”
Smith is also training this semester, spending his spring in Arizona with the Padres, but while he’s focused on baseball right now, he too said he will return to Cambridge in the fall.
He shared how his life training in Arizona has been different from his days at Harvard.
“It’s definitely a lot different than the home I created in Cambridge, with my teammates and coaches and staff,” he said. “So it’s been a big adjustment, but I’d say it’s definitely worth it. I’m having a blast out here, doing what I love, chasing what I want, and just having a great time overall.”
Smith stated that during his training, his life is “100% baseball.” But that doesn’t take away from his academic priorities.
“I planned for this so I did most of my classes freshman fall through senior fall,” he said, “That’s something I’ve always wanted to do is graduate college. And getting a degree from Harvard, you can’t really trade that for anything. So that’s something I’m looking forward to doing at some point in my life, which will probably come in this upcoming fall.”
Matson and Smith’s commitment to baseball and academics has been evident to Harvard baseball coach Bill Decker, who spoke about their work ethic both on the field and off.
“Both of them were in the athletic training room all the time, just trying to do the little things that it takes to be successful. From an academic standpoint, both very good students,” he said. “I think the important thing is that they handled both facets of being a student athlete as best they can, and they always represented the program, teammates in a first class way.”
‘Incredible Leaders and Role Models’
Even though Matson and Smith can no longer be part of the baseball team, their impact remains, with current players looking up to them as enduring examples of what it means to be a Harvard athlete.
“I think they’re both incredible leaders and role models, even without being on the team, [they are] showing guys that it is possible to get a Harvard education and pursue things at the next level,” said junior pitcher Callan Fang, who worked closely with the duo during his first two seasons with the team. “Beyond baseball, they’re some of my closest friends here, and I’m sure a lot of other people on the team could say that as well.”
Senior captain George Cooper, who came into the program with Matson and Smith in the spring of 2022, also said he looks up to the two players.
“Both Sean and Tanner were big lead by example guys. I don’t know if you could find a single other guy that worked as hard as they did in the weight room, on their craft, off the field,” said Cooper. “It was just undeniable how bad they wanted it, and it was really a cool thing to learn from and be pushed to be better, and they definitely had a big impact on me”
As Matson and Smith move on into their professional careers, their influence on Harvard baseball will continue.
“I just think they were great people,” Decker said. “They were just fun to be around. And they both handled themselves very well. They never took themselves too serious. And I mean that in a really positive way. They just did whatever they could to try to support. Being successful, but also being a good clubhouse guy, just being a good teammate.”
As an exciting MLB career awaits, Matson and Smith close the chapter of them playing as the Crimson.
“I definitely will always miss those really good times in the dorm or in the locker room or on the field with all of the people, because they were all big parts of my life. It’s something I’ll never forget,” Matson said as he reflected on what he will miss about his Harvard career.
As Smith looks towards the end of his Harvard baseball career as he shared he will most cherish the friendships he made through Harvard baseball.
“Just the camaraderie in the locker room. You can’t really beat that. You step on campus freshman year, you’re instantly met with 27 to 33 brothers that you spend every single day with, and I really wouldn't trade that for anything,” he said.
When asked what he wished for Matson and Smith as their MLB career awaits, Decker said, “Take it as far as you can go, stay with it as long as you can go. And stay healthy and make the most of your opportunities.”