Kragthorpe: Bryce Harper likes BYU baseball, thanks to prep teammate Tanner Chauncey – Salt Lake Tribune

During a recent interview, Chauncey welcomed having his history with Harper become the main subject. His own mother even likes telling Harper stories, almost as much as talking about her son. And while he managed to avoid comparing himself to Harper as they grew up together, Chauncey tries to model his friend’s baseball mentality.

“When he gets up to the batter’s box, it just feels like he’s going to get a hit,” Chauncey said. “You have to be confident in yourself. And he definitely is.”

For the record, Harper is a Cougar baseball fan — even if he once said in an interview, “I hate BYU,” trying to dispel the notion that all Mormons support the school.

Chauncey and Harper played together as 12-year-olds for the Southern Nevada Bulldogs traveling team with a roster that featured two other eventual first-round picks — Joey Gallo of Texas and Jake Hager of Tampa Bay — and several collegians. Harper was so big for his age that coaches always asked to see his birth certificate, and opposing players’ parents suggested their sons would catch up to his talent level as they grew. “We’d all just laugh,” said Julie Chauncey, who knew the truth: “He’s just that good.”

She credits coaches Scott Baker and Ron Harper (Bryce’s father) for teaching fundamentals and encouraging the Bulldogs to pursue other sports besides baseball. A grandson of former BYU basketball star Terry Tebbs, Chauncey loved basketball so much that he considered specializing in that sport, but he also stuck with baseball.

In their Las Vegas High days, Chauncey and Harper were said to have similar personalities — instead of resembling their older brothers, who themselves were a lot alike. As freshmen, Tanner (second base) and Bryce (catcher) joined their senior brothers in the starting lineup, as Tate Chauncey played shortstop and Bryan Harper pitched. “We were more the fiery, competitive guys, I guess, and they were more the calming influence,” Chauncey said.

Chauncey moved to shortstop as a sophomore, which became Harper’s last year of high school. The summer when he appeared on the Sports Illustrated cover in his Las Vegas Wildcats uniform as “Baseball’s Chosen One,” Harper completed graduation requirements and moved to the College of Southern Nevada, accelerating his pro baseball timetable.

Chauncey continued to excel in high school and performed well enough as a BYU freshman that two years later, the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in the 35th round — while he was in Brazil, serving an LDS Church mission. He returned to BYU and has thrived the past two seasons, undoubtedly positioning himself to be drafted again. He’s batting .358 from the No. 3 spot in the lineup this year, as a first baseman or designated hitter.

The Cougars began the season by sweeping a four-game series with Saint Louis in Las Vegas, where Chauncey went 10 of 17 at the plate in front of a few dozen relatives and friends, including Harper’s parents. Chauncey follows Harper’s exploits, recently taking a break from studying for final exams long enough to check his phone and see that the Nationals were tied with Miami in the seventh inning, with the bases loaded. Sure enough, Harper hit his second grand slam of the season.

In turn, Harper keeps up with the Cougars, based on his regular texts to Chauncey. “He likes the BYU baseball team, I’ll say that,” Chauncey said. “Some of the other things about BYU, he’s not a huge fan of.”

Chauncey enjoys being part of a fun-loving Cougar team that grew mustaches for the sake of superstition and unity — Harper has endorsed his friend’s facial hair as “dirty” — and he’s taking advantage of his academic opportunities as well. He’s majoring in analytical statistics, someday hoping to work in the front office of a pro sports franchise.

That’s an ambitious goal, but Bryce Harper may not be the only Harney Middle School graduate who succeeded in getting where he wanted to go.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribkurt

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