Bryce Aron Max Harper (born October 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals.
One of the most heavily touted draft prospects in recent history, Harper has been cited as a "five-tool player." He left Las Vegas High School after his sophomore year so that he could attend the College of Southern Nevada, where he won the 2010 Golden Spikes Award. The Nationals selected Harper as the first overall pick in the 2010 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with the Nationals on April 28, 2012, at 19 years old. Harper was selected for the 2012 All-Star Game, becoming the youngest position player (19 years, 268 days old on the day of the game) to play in an All-Star Game, and the second youngest overall (pitcher Dwight Gooden was 19 years, 237 days old when he played in the 1984 All-Star Game).
Harper won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award in 2012 and tied for the NL lead in home runs in 2015. He was named the NL Most Valuable Player for 2015 by unanimous decision of the Baseball Writers' Association of America; at age 23, he was the youngest MLB player to win the award. As a free agent during the 2018–19 offseason, he signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies, the richest contract in the history of North American sports at the time, which was eclipsed shortly thereafter by Mike Trout, and by several others later on. He won his second NL MVP award in 2021 with the Phillies. The next season, he helped lead the Phillies to their first postseason appearance in 11 years, and was instrumental in helping the team win its first pennant since 2009, winning the NLCS MVP in the process. Since April 2022, Harper transitioned from playing as an outfielder to a first baseman.
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Early life
Harper attended Las Vegas High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. In May 2009, Sports Illustrated featured Harper in a cover story, comparing him with LeBron James by similarly calling him his sport's "Chosen One". That same spring, he won Baseball America's high school player of the year award. Harper grew up a New York Yankees fan.
College career
Harper dropped out of high school after completing his sophomore year and earned his GED in October 2009, reclassifying and making him eligible earlier for the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft in June 2010.
For the 2010 college season, 17-year-old Harper enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada of the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), where he was a catcher. His older brother Bryan, who had been his teammate at Las Vegas High School, was one of the Southern Nevada Coyotes' starting pitchers, and the brothers often worked as a battery. An advantage for Harper in his eventual transition to his MLB career was that the SWAC, like MLB, uses wooden bats in conference play. In 66 games, he hit 31 home runs with 98 RBIs, hitting .443 with a .526 OBP, and a .987 SLG. Harper's 31 home runs in 2010 broke the school's previous record of 12, and he was named the 2010 SWAC Player of the Year.
In the Western district finals of the 2010 NJCAA World Series, Harper went 6-for-7 with five RBIs and hit for the cycle. The next day, in a doubleheader, he went 2-for-5 with a three-run double in the first game. In the second game, he went 6-for-6 with four home runs, a triple, and a double.
On June 2 that year, Harper was ejected from a National Junior College World Series game by home plate umpire Don Gilmore for disputing a called third strike. Harper drew a line in the dirt with his bat as he left the plate, presumably to show where he thought the pitch was. It was Harper's second ejection of the year and resulted in a two-game suspension. The suspension ended his amateur career, and Southern Nevada lost the game from which Harper was ejected. With Harper suspended, the team also lost their next game, which eliminated them from the tournament. Harper won the 2010 Golden Spikes Award, given to the best amateur baseball player in the nation.
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues
The Washington Nationals chose Harper with the first overall selection of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. Although Harper had previously and predominantly played catcher, the Nationals drafted him as an outfielder to extend his career and to accelerate his player development so that he could debut in MLB earlier.
At the signing deadline, Harper and the Nationals agreed to a five-year contract worth $9.9 million, including a $6.25 million signing bonus and eight semesters of college tuition. When asked about the signing, Nationals President Stan Kasten said, "The truth is, with a full minute to go, Mike and I both thought we were not going to have a deal." Asked what changed in that final minute, Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo replied, "It was both sides compromising and knowing that we were so close, it would be fruitless not to get a deal done." On August 26, 2010, Harper was introduced by the Nationals. He said he chose to wear No. 34 because "I always loved Mickey Mantle, three and four equals seven."
After batting .319 with a .407 OBP (and leading his team in hits, home runs, RBIs, and walks) in the Nationals' fall instructional league, Harper was selected to participate in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) as a member of the Scottsdale Scorpions taxi-squad, the second-youngest player in the history of the league (two days older than when Mets' prospect Fernando Martínez appeared in the league in 2006). He batted .343 and slugged .729. On November 20, Harper and the Scottsdale Scorpions won the 2010 AFL Championship.
After batting .399 in spring training, Harper began his minor league career when the Nationals optioned him to the Hagerstown Suns of the Class-A South Atlantic League. In April 2011, after a slow start in the minor leagues, Harper visited optometrist Dr. Keith Smithson, who reportedly told him, "I don't know how you ever hit before. You have some of the worst eyes I've ever seen." In his first 20 games after receiving contact lenses, Harper hit .480, collecting seven home runs, 10 doubles and 23 RBIs.
Harper was selected to represent the United States in the 2011 All-Star Futures Game during the 2011 All-Star Game weekend. He was promoted to the Harrisburg Senators of the Double-A Eastern League on July 4. Harper went 2-for-3 in his Double-A debut with two singles, a run, and a walk. On August 18, Harper injured his hamstring while running from second to third on an extra-base hit. The injury was severe enough for him to be carried off the field by his coaches. He was placed on the seven-day disabled list and the injury ended Harper's season.
Washington Nationals (2012–2018)
The Nationals promoted Harper to the major leagues on April 27, 2012, after Ryan Zimmerman was placed on the disabled list. Harper made his MLB debut with the Nationals the next day against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Harper grounded out to pitcher Chad Billingsley in his first major league at-bat. He recorded his first major league hit, a double, in his third at-bat against Billingsley and got his first RBI on a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth against Javy Guerra.
After being hit by a pitch by Cole Hamels in the first inning of a game against the Phillies on May 6, Harper eventually advanced to third, then stole home plate, becoming the first teenager to steal home plate since 1964. Hamels later admitted that he intentionally hit Harper and was suspended for five games by MLB. On May 14, Harper was 19 when he hit his first career Major League home run, connecting off of San Diego Padres pitcher Tim Stauffer. He was the youngest player to homer in the major leagues since Adrián Beltré did in 1998. He was named National League Rookie of the Month for May.
Harper earned his first walk-off hit on June 5 with an RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning against the New York Mets.
During a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 12, Harper hit a deep home run to center field that struck an advertising banner adjacent to the restaurant in the second tier of seats at the Rogers Centre, estimated to travel 438 feet. After the game, a reporter asked if Harper would take advantage of Ontario's lower drinking age (19, versus 21 in the U.S.) by drinking a celebratory beer with his teammates. Harper replied, "I'm not going to answer that. That's a clown question, bro." The comment quickly developed into an Internet meme, with the phrase itself repeated, in response to a question, by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Harper filed an application to trademark the phrase.
Harper was named a candidate in the All-Star Final Vote, with the winner being added to the All-Star Game roster. Harper finished third behind David Freese and Michael Bourn. However, Bourn would make the roster after Ian Desmond sustained an injury and Harper would become the youngest position player (and third-youngest player, behind Dwight Gooden and Bob Feller) to ever make an All-Star roster when it was announced Giancarlo Stanton would undergo knee surgery. "I don't have words to explain it right now. It's exciting to go. I'm excited to get there and be around all the top guys in the country, of course, and the top guys in baseball. I'm going to take it all in and try to enjoy it with my family and just be as mellow and as calm as I can," Harper stated. He went 0-for-1 with a strikeout and a walk.
Philadelphia Phillies (2019–present)
Initially the Nationals sought to offer Harper a new contract with the team; however he later rejected two offers, describing them as disappointing. Numerous reports had also linked Harper to possibly sign a $45 million annual contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Despite the offer from the Dodgers, Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on March 2, 2019. This deal set the record for the largest MLB contract until Mike Trout signed a 12-year, $430 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Angels. Harper chose to wear No. 3 with the club, as the number he wore with the Nationals (34) was being considered for retirement by the Phillies in honor of the late Roy Halladay. At his first press conference, Harper misspoke, saying, "We want to bring a title back to D.C." The Nationals went on to win the 2019 World Series in Harper's absence.
Harper's first hit as a member of the Phillies was a 465-foot home run to the second deck of the right field bleachers at Citizens Bank Park on March 30, 2019, off Jesse Biddle of the Atlanta Braves. On August 15, 2019, Harper hit a walk-off grand slam against the Chicago Cubs. On September 3, 2019, Harper would bat his 100th RBI of the season for the second consecutive year and was the first Philadelphia Phillies player since Ryan Howard in 2011 to hit for 100 RBIs or more in a season. However, the Phillies missed the playoffs, being eliminated officially on September 24 by losing to the eventual World Series champions and Harper's former team, the Washington Nationals.
In March 2020, the MLB season was suspended indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 15, Harper took to Instagram and suggested a potential 135-game season that would last from July through November. MLB eventually settled on a 60-game season that began on July 24. Harper hit .268/.420/.542 with 13 home runs and 33 RBIs and led the majors with 49 walks during the season.
In 2021, Harper batted .309/.429/.615 with 35 home runs and 84 RBIs in 141 games. His slugging percentage led the major leagues. He also led the National League with 78 extra-base hits and tied for the major league lead with 42 doubles. He won his second career National League MVP award. He is the second player in MLB history to win a league MVP with two different teams before the age of 30, joining Barry Bonds.
International career
Harper played for the United States U-18 baseball team in 2008, before he was drafted by the Nationals. In 2009, he represented the United States at the Pan American U-18 Baseball Championship, in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, where the team won gold.
On August 12, 2022, Harper announced that he would join the United States national baseball team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, joining fellow Phillies J. T. Realmuto and Trea Turner. However, Harper was unable to play due to rehabbing from Tommy John surgery in the offseason. Team USA would go on to finish as runners-up, losing to Japan in the championship game.
Harper later expressed his hope that MLB players would be allowed to participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles after it was announced in 2023 that baseball would return as a competition sport. "I'm going to be old at that point, so I don't know if they're going to want me on the team, but it's always a dream... I would love to put 'USA' on my chest and represent it at the highest level. I know the WBC, and everyone loves that and it's great for the game, but it's not the Olympics."
Harper represented the United States during the 2026 World Baseball Classic. In the championship game against Venezuela, Harper hit a game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning. However, Team USA would go on to lose the game 3–2, finishing as runners-up in the World Baseball Classic for the second time in a row. In the tournament, Harper had a .214 average, going 6–28 with 1 home run and 3 RBI.
Personal life
Harper resides in Knoxville, Tennessee, relocating there during the 2023/2024 offseason. His father, Ron, is an ironworker in Las Vegas and his mother is Sherilyn Harper. Harper attributes his work ethic to the lessons he learned from watching his father: "I wanted to come out and I wanted to work hard because he worked hard. He did it for over 25 years." Harper's older brother, Bryan, also played in the Washington Nationals organization. While playing on different teams within the Nationals organization, the Harper brothers spoke by phone "almost every day" during the baseball season, according to Bryce. When he was a youth in Las Vegas, he also played alongside Joey Gallo and Kris Bryant. He has said in interviews that Joe Mauer was his favorite player growing up.
Harper is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though serving a mission is strongly encouraged for male members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are between the ages of 18 and 26, it is not required. In a 2016 interview, he said, "Coming up to the draft and trying to make that decision, I always thought that my Heavenly Father upstairs always just wanted me to be a walking Book of Mormon, you could say... I knew that I could touch a lot of people's lives playing and trying to be the best Mormon that I can be on and off the field."
Harper and his girlfriend Kayla Varner were engaged in 2014, but their wedding that was set for January 2015 did not take place. In July 2016, Kayla announced the couple's reconciliation and re-engagement. They were married at the San Diego California Temple in December 2016. Their first child, a son, was born in Las Vegas on August 22, 2019, while Harper was with his wife on paternity leave. Their second child, a daughter, was born in November 2020. The Harpers' third child, a daughter was born in April 2024. In April 2025, Harper announced their fourth pregnancy by debuting a blue colored bat, handed to him by Trea Turner, revealing that baby is a boy. Harper’s fourth child was born on October 2, 2025.
In 2018, the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation and the District of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation renovated a baseball field in the Takoma neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and named it Bryce Harper Field. Harper is a fan of the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL. He dropped the puck before a game in their inaugural season and put the Golden Knights' logo on his bat during their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018. After his first son's birth, the Vegas Golden Knights gifted him a personalized jersey. Harper also grew up a fan of the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL but was converted into a Philadelphia Eagles fan after moving to Philadelphia.
Endorsements and other media appearances
Harper was featured in an episode of ESPN E:60. He was featured in a nonrevealing naked format in ESPN's The Magazine 2015 Body Issue. Harper has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on two occasions, the first in 2016 to play Catch Phrase with Fallon, Andy Samberg and Gigi Hadid, and the second in 2019 to play the video game MLB The Show 19, which featured him as the cover athlete. In 2016, Harper signed a 10-year extension with apparel company Under Armour, at the time the largest endorsement deal in history for a baseball player.
On July 9, 2026, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that in November 2024 a customer manager of FanDuel, Bryttanni Morgan, sent Terry Thompson, a Philadelphia sports fan who gambled on the platform at the time, a personal video message from Cameo recorded by Harper. In the video, Harper said he was reaching out at the request of "your host Bryttanni at FanDuel", addressed Thompson and his son by name, and thanked him for his support. The video bore a FanDuel watermark, although Harper is not wearing any FanDuel merchandise in it. Thompson at the time was a high-volume, addicted sports gambler who lost $1.5 million gambling with FanDuel, and the video was released as part of his lawsuit against FanDuel. The lawsuit does not name Harper. That same day, during media availability before the Phillies game against the Reds, Harper declined to comment on the FanDuel video. On July 13, Harper said he did not know the video message would be used by FanDuel; the request for the message was made on Cameo and he was instructed to read a provided script.
