Photo by Gerald Castillo
Sticking around: Harrell to return for final season
Mason Harrell’s decision to return to Texas State wasn’t too difficult for him to make.
The Bobcats’ 2021-22 season came to a close after a 67-63 overtime loss to North Texas in the first round of the NIT on March 15. Harrell finished the year averaging 11.7 points, 3.1 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game, landing on the All-Sun Belt Second Team and collecting his second conference regular season title.
Texas State was bound to see some departures after the season with a senior-heavy squad. Fifth-year seniors Shelby Adams and Isiah Small had both exhausted their eligibility. Senior guard Caleb Asberry entered the transfer portal on March 22 and has since received offers from Loyola-Chicago, UAB and Wichita State. Harrell considered leaving, too.
“When the season ended, I had about two weeks just to kind of decide what I wanted to do and everything,” Harrell said. “And in that two weeks, I was just kind of communicating with the agencies that have been contacting me throughout the season and stuff like that, just trying to figure out what my best option would be.”
The agencies let Midwest City, Okla., native know his only opportunities to go pro at this point in his career would be overseas.
He could’ve jumped in the transfer portal like Asberry to move up to a bigger program. He also could’ve done something similar to Small, who entered the transfer portal in 2021 just to see what schools were interested before later withdrawing his name and returning to the maroon and gold.
But Harell was never heavily recruited in high school as a 5-foot-9 guard and he didn’t want to give other teams a second chance after he’d already proven he belongs at the NCAA Division I level.
“It was either between (going pro) or coming back to school. I knew that from the start, I knew I didn’t want to go into the transfer portal or anything like that,” Harrell said. “It’s just kind of who I am, just go and rock with the people who want me. And Texas State’s always wanted me and they were only one of the few schools who really pursued me in high school. So I just wanted to come back and show my appreciation.”
— Twelve (@MasonHarrell12) April 8, 2022
Harrell announced his decision to return for his fifth and final season on social media on April 7. He’ll potentially be the oldest player on the Bobcats’ roster. He’ll also be the only player remaining from the 2019-20 team that went 21-11 overall and was set to play in the Sun Belt semifinals in New Orleans before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the season down.
It’s a “super weird” feeling for Harrell, who arrived in San Marcos as a true freshman in 2018. But it’s a role he’s ready to accept.
“Just to be here and do this the whole time, you get to learn everything and just learn the community, the people,” Harrell said. “Of course, you get to just go into the gym every day and just play basketball. And it’s really been fun.”
The point guard’s already made program history, becoming the only Bobcat to score over 1,000 points and dish out over 300 assists in his career. But he’s still got items left on his bucket list to cross off — winning the Sun Belt tournament and playing in the Big Dance chief among them.
He’ll get another shot at both goals when he suits up for Texas State one last time in 2022-23.
“I’m excited for my final year just to come back and just do everything again and just — this time, maybe — take it a step further with everything,” Harrell said.
