Desert Hills desperately needed Harmon Skeen in its final region game of the 2025 season. The Thunder had just brutally lost 14-2 at home against Snow Canyon, which knocked them out of outright Region 9 title contention.
However, Desert Hills still had a chance to win a share of the title, but it had to beat Snow Canyon on the road.
With that pressure in mind, Skeen laced his shoes and hopped into his white Nissan Frontier pickup truck to head to the game.
Not even a minute later, he was T-boned, and his truck was totaled.
“I was actually working at home,” said his dad, Scott Skeen. “I watched him get ready to go and said goodbye and said good luck, and probably a minute later I got a phone call, and he says, ‘Dad, I got in a crash.’
“Your heart skips a beat a little bit. Harmon and the other person weren’t injured, so that was very fortunate.”
Scott Skeen rushed to the scene and waited for the police to arrive and make a police report. After it was all taken care of, Harmon Skeen just thought of his teammates. He just wanted to get to the game.
“It was stressful, but I kind of just pushed it to the side because it’s not the most important thing to think about right then,” he said. “Cars are going to come and go, but I’ve got a game to play and business to take care of.”
Scott Skeen was understandably worried about his son and how the crash might affect his mentality.
Still, Harmon Skeen had a friend drive him to the game. Once he got there, he delivered.
In that game, he hit a home run, tallied six RBI and scored three more runs in a dominant 11-1 win for the shared region title.
That’s the kind of thing he did all year for the Thunder. His power at the plate and mental fortitude are what made Harmon Skeen such a force throughout his high school career.
Harmon Skeen’s skill with a bat is unusual. He has great mechanics and the strength to match. This year, he tallied 44 RBIs, 49 runs and led the state with 16 home runs.
Oh, and he did all that while hitting .451 and holding a .600 on-base percentage.
Harmon Keen’s talent at the plate set him apart and made him the 2026 Deseret News Mr. Baseball recipient.
“This year, I felt like I needed to do whatever I could for my team,” Harmon Skeen said. “So, it was just to put it all out there, no regrets. No matter what, how it goes down, just do your best.”
While his strong suit is certainly his offense, Harmon Skeen is no slouch defensively. He had a dominant, but unfortunately short, stint on the mound.
In 19 innings pitched, he threw 19 strikeouts, gave up only two total runs, and had a perfect 4-0 record. However, a UCL tear in his elbow cut his time pitching short.
Despite all the accolades and being signed with Air Force, there was a time that Harmon Skeen nearly dropped baseball from his list of sports.
He was 12 years old, and he abruptly told his dad he didn’t want to play anymore.
“We’d been at a tryout, and he had an opportunity to join a team, and he just said, ‘I don’t think I want to play baseball anymore,’” said Scott Skeen. “I was shocked. I thought he was joking, but he was serious.
“We were just patient. We gave him his time, and if he decided not to play anymore, we were okay with that because forcing your kid to do something they don’t want to do is not a good idea.”
A move from California to Utah had Harmon Skeen worried, but meeting the right people in southern Utah brought him back to the game.
“I think the biggest part of me making that decision was the culture change when we moved from California to Utah,” Harmon Skeen said. “I didn’t know if it would really feel the same playing here with people I didn’t know.
“It was kind of a big decision to step away, and I didn’t know if I was ever going to try to play again. But, pieces just came together. Great people who wanted to help me come back into the game and be able to develop and catch up on the years I missed.”
When asked if he was glad he came back, he said, “Absolutely, 100%.”
Past Deseret News Mr. Baseball winners
- 2025 — CJ Mascaro, American Fork
- 2024 — Austin Park, Juab
- 2023 — Tyler Ball, Skyridge
- 2022 — Luke Anderson, Snow Canyon
- 2021 — Fisher Ingersoll, American Fork
- 2019 — Brock Watkins, Pleasant Grove
- 2018 — Tyson Fisher, Dixie
- 2017 — Seth Corry, Lone Peak
- 2016 — Payton Henry, Pleasant Grove
- 2015 — Easton Walker, Pleasant Grove
- 2014 — Colton Shaver, Jordan
- 2013 — Riley Ottesen, American Fork
- 2012 — Dallas Carroll, Taylorsville
- 2011 — Kayden Porter, Spanish Fork
- 2010 — Marcus Littlewood, Pine View
- 2009 — Marcus Littlewood, Pine View
- 2008 — Joe Pond, Judge Memorial