By John Frierson
Staff Writer

When BK Harris fired a shot in the 76th minute of the Georgia soccer team’s regular-season finale at then-No. 25 Mississippi State on Oct 26, scoring the game’s only goal, she had plenty of reasons to celebrate.

It was the graduate transfer’s first goal as a Bulldog; it helped No. 17-ranked Georgia earn the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in this week’s SEC Tournament; and it was another reminder of why she kept working and pursuing her soccer dreams even when her knees seemed to be telling her to stop playing.

“It was just incredible,” said Harris, who has started seven games for the Bulldogs and has a goal and two assists this season. “I love the feeling of the celebration afterwards. I mean, the hugs, the smiles, everything — I just love feeling that moment.”

The moment took some work, too. Her first shot was deflected by State goalkeeper Jenny Harrison, but when the ball came back toward Harris, she fired her second attempt into the back of the net. If there’s one thing you can say about Harris, who has had surgery once on her left knee and twice on her right, it’s that she’s persistent.

Harris, from New Albany, Ohio, committed to USC as a sophomore in high school, back when Georgia head coach Keidane McAlpine was leading the Trojans. That was right around the time that Harris suffered a major injury in her left knee. As a senior in high school, she tore her ACL in her right knee.

Later, as a freshman at USC, she tore her ACL in her right knee again. After sitting out the 2021-22 seasons, Harris played in eight matches for the Trojans in 2023. Last season, she started 17 matches and played in 21 on a USC team that went 18-1-4 and won the Big 10 title. 

“For a lot of those years, I was really just battling injury, and I just wanted to play so bad. That also adds into why I’m so grateful to be doing what I’m doing now,” Harris said.

After graduating from USC, Harris entered the transfer portal with the goal of reuniting with McAlpine at Georgia.

“Keidane brought me to Georgia, for sure. I wanted to play for him. It was like my dream to play for him,” Harris said.

McAlpine took the Georgia job after the 2021 season, when Harris was out with a knee injury, so she never got to play for him with the Trojans. Now, her head coach is thrilled to have her playing for the Bulldogs.

“It was a massive moment,” McAlpine said of Harris’ game-winner against Mississippi State. “It was part of the reason we brought her in. She’s coming off a team that won the Big 10, and she understands some of those moments. She understands what that means, and she’s got a unique ability to be in pressure situations but play with composure. And for this team, that’s been huge.”

As the Bulldogs have battled a load of injuries to key players throughout the season, Harris’ versatility has also been incredibly valuable. Listed as a defender, she’s started games all over the field.

“As we kind of rotate people, she can play the role, whatever that role is, and she’s been great at it,” McAlpine said. “There is nothing like being hurt so much that you miss the game. So you understand the moments that you have, you’re a little bit more present in there, and so for her to come out there and have another moment, it’s been awesome.”

After three major knee injuries, you might think that your body is telling you that it’s time to stop playing. Harris wasn’t listening.

“I don’t know that I ever had a thought that I wasn’t going to play again,” she said. “No matter what I had to go through in (physical therapy), no matter what I was feeling, it never really crossed my mind that I wasn’t going to step back out on the field, because I just love it so much.”

Now, Harris and the Bulldogs are preparing to take on sixth-seeded Kentucky on Tuesday (3 p.m. EST) in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in Pensacola, Fla. Georgia beat the Wildcats 1-0 earlier this season in Athens.

“This is my favorite time of the season,” Harris said. “I love tournament time. It’s obviously a lot of pressure, but I feel like this team’s ready for the pressure, and we’re excited.”

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.