Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Notre Dame on February 13, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
Baseball
vs. Notre Dame
Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Where Are They Now – Tim Harikkala
4/5/2020 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
Tim Harikkala's path to the Major Leagues began inconspicuously. His graduating class at Lake Worth High had only 26 students, and he had no offers to play college baseball.
But Harikkala's love for the sport kept drawing him toward it.
"It was just always something I enjoyed playing, for some reason," Harikkala said. "Baseball is something I loved to do."
In 1990, Harikkala tried to extend his playing career by walking on at Palm Beach Community College (now Palm Beach State). But his initial efforts proved futile. That year and the next Harikkala was cut after tryouts.
Undeterred, Harikkala transferred to FAU in 1992 and tried out. He made the Owls' junior varsity team that season, earning his biggest opportunity yet midyear: a promotion to the varsity squad.
Harikkala didn't play a lot of varsity ball – "20 or 30 innings as a reliever," he said – but pro scouts liked what they saw, nonetheless. The Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners expressed interest in the 6-2 pitcher after the season.
"Still, I had no thoughts of playing professionally," Harikkala said. "No clue."
That June, the Mariners gave Harikkala more than a clue. They drafted the righty in the 34th round of the 1992 MLB Draft and offered him a signing bonus worth "a couple thousand dollars."
Harikkala, who throughout his life never considered an MLB career, suddenly weighed the prospects of returning to FAU and improving his draft stock or signing immediately. Then he decided, "Hey, I love playing and that was a chance to play every day, so I figured I'd give it a try [with the Mariners] and see what happens."
What happened was history: Harikkala became the first FAU alum to appear in a Major League game (on May 27, 1995 with Seattle). He eventually played six Major League seasons with four teams: the Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies.
Harikkala also excelled overseas, playing in countries such as Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Korea and Canada.
"I didn't go in with the mentality of trying to be drafted or thinking professional baseball, it was just kind of something...that door opened, and I went through it," said Harikkala, push who played pro baseball through his age-38 season in 2010. "And I kind of rode it as long as I could."
After Harikkala's playing career, he began coaching high school baseball in Appleton, Wisconsin – the hometown of his wife, Jill, who he met as a member of the A-ball Appleton Foxes in the early '90s. Harikkala "always loved the game and just wanted to stay involved with it" through coaching. He chose the high school level, in part, because it required less travel than college and the pros.
Harikkala became an assistant at West High in 2010 and stayed with the school four seasons. Shortly into his time there, though, he encountered a player who reminded him of himself: Danny Jansen, who the Toronto Blue Jays selected in the 16th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.
As a Major Leaguer, Harikkala succeeded with a mentality that "wasn't a fear of failure. It was what do I need to do be successful?" Harikkala saw the same mentality in Jansen, making him think "he's well on his way to establishing himself in the big leagues for a long time."
"Right now, translating from high school to pro ball and the major leagues, he probably still needs some improvement, but the biggest thing is the mentality – he has that," Harikkala recalls telling scouts about Jansen. "He wants to get better and he's looking for ways to improve, which is kind of the way it worked for me. I figured out what I needed to do to get in successfully, and I saw that in him a little bit."
Harikkala left West for an assistant job at nearby Xavier High in 2016, becoming the school's head coach in '17. But while he was excited about the promotion it wouldn't be easy. Being a head coach, Harikkala learned, required more than baseball knowledge. He was suddenly responsible for overseeing his players' grades, scheduling games, arranging buses, gathering a staff and more.
"As an assistant coach, all you're worried about is showing up that day and helping out as much as you can coaching-wise. It's more about the teaching side," Harikkala said. "But as a head coach, there's more administrative duties along with that."
That learning curve doesn't account for the factors Harikkala can't control: weather and roster size. Baseball seasons in the Midwest are often shortened by snowstorms (last year, one suspended his team's season three weeks). And Harikkala's team has only 26 players, barely enough to field both JV and varsity squads.
Despite those challenges Harikkala is seeing growth from his team: "We haven't been great. We're getting better."
The same description applied to Harikkala the player, one who went from two-time JUCO cut to Major Leaguer through his unadulterated love of baseball. Now Harikkala is translating that love into developing the program at Xavier and he hopes for a similar leap.
But Harikkala's love for the sport kept drawing him toward it.
"It was just always something I enjoyed playing, for some reason," Harikkala said. "Baseball is something I loved to do."
In 1990, Harikkala tried to extend his playing career by walking on at Palm Beach Community College (now Palm Beach State). But his initial efforts proved futile. That year and the next Harikkala was cut after tryouts.
Undeterred, Harikkala transferred to FAU in 1992 and tried out. He made the Owls' junior varsity team that season, earning his biggest opportunity yet midyear: a promotion to the varsity squad.
Harikkala didn't play a lot of varsity ball – "20 or 30 innings as a reliever," he said – but pro scouts liked what they saw, nonetheless. The Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners expressed interest in the 6-2 pitcher after the season.
"Still, I had no thoughts of playing professionally," Harikkala said. "No clue."
That June, the Mariners gave Harikkala more than a clue. They drafted the righty in the 34th round of the 1992 MLB Draft and offered him a signing bonus worth "a couple thousand dollars."
Harikkala, who throughout his life never considered an MLB career, suddenly weighed the prospects of returning to FAU and improving his draft stock or signing immediately. Then he decided, "Hey, I love playing and that was a chance to play every day, so I figured I'd give it a try [with the Mariners] and see what happens."
What happened was history: Harikkala became the first FAU alum to appear in a Major League game (on May 27, 1995 with Seattle). He eventually played six Major League seasons with four teams: the Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies.
Harikkala also excelled overseas, playing in countries such as Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Korea and Canada.
"I didn't go in with the mentality of trying to be drafted or thinking professional baseball, it was just kind of something...that door opened, and I went through it," said Harikkala, push who played pro baseball through his age-38 season in 2010. "And I kind of rode it as long as I could."
After Harikkala's playing career, he began coaching high school baseball in Appleton, Wisconsin – the hometown of his wife, Jill, who he met as a member of the A-ball Appleton Foxes in the early '90s. Harikkala "always loved the game and just wanted to stay involved with it" through coaching. He chose the high school level, in part, because it required less travel than college and the pros.
Harikkala became an assistant at West High in 2010 and stayed with the school four seasons. Shortly into his time there, though, he encountered a player who reminded him of himself: Danny Jansen, who the Toronto Blue Jays selected in the 16th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.
As a Major Leaguer, Harikkala succeeded with a mentality that "wasn't a fear of failure. It was what do I need to do be successful?" Harikkala saw the same mentality in Jansen, making him think "he's well on his way to establishing himself in the big leagues for a long time."
"Right now, translating from high school to pro ball and the major leagues, he probably still needs some improvement, but the biggest thing is the mentality – he has that," Harikkala recalls telling scouts about Jansen. "He wants to get better and he's looking for ways to improve, which is kind of the way it worked for me. I figured out what I needed to do to get in successfully, and I saw that in him a little bit."
Harikkala left West for an assistant job at nearby Xavier High in 2016, becoming the school's head coach in '17. But while he was excited about the promotion it wouldn't be easy. Being a head coach, Harikkala learned, required more than baseball knowledge. He was suddenly responsible for overseeing his players' grades, scheduling games, arranging buses, gathering a staff and more.
"As an assistant coach, all you're worried about is showing up that day and helping out as much as you can coaching-wise. It's more about the teaching side," Harikkala said. "But as a head coach, there's more administrative duties along with that."
That learning curve doesn't account for the factors Harikkala can't control: weather and roster size. Baseball seasons in the Midwest are often shortened by snowstorms (last year, one suspended his team's season three weeks). And Harikkala's team has only 26 players, barely enough to field both JV and varsity squads.
Despite those challenges Harikkala is seeing growth from his team: "We haven't been great. We're getting better."
The same description applied to Harikkala the player, one who went from two-time JUCO cut to Major Leaguer through his unadulterated love of baseball. Now Harikkala is translating that love into developing the program at Xavier and he hopes for a similar leap.
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 Hoops Show #1
Wednesday, December 03
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 #13
Friday, November 07
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 #12
Friday, October 31
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 #11
Thursday, October 23