During the 2026 SUNY Niagara season, MLB scouts started showing up to the Thunderwolves games to watch sophomore Dalton Harper. The scouts came in droves to watch the Cheektowaga native and his teammates.
It coincided with the team getting deeper and deeper into the postseason and the pressure rising more and more for Harper. But SUNY Niagara head coach Matt Clingersmith did not let the pressure get to Harper. He made sure that he stayed locked in and did not try to push too much.
“There’s always that pressure, especially when you’re in a small school like us, and there’s 50, 60 people in the stands, everybody knows that the Atlanta Braves or the Texas Rangers are there watching,” Clingersmith said. “They come down and make it known at BP. I told him, ‘Don’t change anything — be who you are. You’re already Superman, don’t try to be Batman.’ I said, ‘Be who you are.’ ”
Now, Harper is an MLB Draft pick by the Atlanta Braves. He was selected by the Braves in the 16th round with the 472nd overall pick.
During the pre-draft process, Harper heard from scouts that he could go anywhere from the 8th round to the 20th round, which meant his weekend was spent waiting. He saw other players going and other catchers being taken and was sitting with his family waiting to see what organization would take a chance on him. He had to deal with the nerves of waiting to see where or if he would get drafted.
However, when he was drafted, he felt a sense of immense relief. The wait was over and he knew that he was officially drafted.
“I think it was a relief, but it was also an excitement because it was a relief in the fact that the hard work is starting to show and pay off and it’s a dream come true,” Harper said. “But it’s also excitement because I know my bigger dream and my bigger goal is to be in the major leagues … So until that first part of the process was done, you can’t achieve the other goals.”
After helping SUNY Niagara win the program’s first-ever National Championship on May 27, Harper did not have very much time to rest and recover. He went to pre-draft workouts with the Braves, the Texas Rangers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Diego Padres, and the Los Angeles of Anaheim.
After working out for the MLB squads, he started his summer playing for the Traverse City Pit Spitters in the Northwoods League before coming home to watch the draft with his family. After the draft, he went to the New Era store and bought Atlanta Braves hats to celebrate the occasion.
When Harper was drafted, he became the 11th player from SUNY Niagara to be drafted and the first player since one of his best friends, Matt Barr, went to the Minnesota Twins in 2025. Throughout the pre-draft process and even during the draft, the two friends were talking about what it was like and Barr was giving Harper advice.
The two talked about what Barr’s experiences have been like playing in the minor leagues of the Twins system this year.
This season, Harper was one of five catchers that the Braves drafted. Despite that, Harper is not worried about the competition.
“I do not (worry about it) for the reason, you have to be the best in the organization no matter what and competition is always out there and you can’t be afraid of competition,” Harper said. “You have to embrace it and I’m going to work on my craft and try and be my best self.”
Harper’s sophomore season is what garnered attention from scouts and it is what got him drafted. This season, Harper hit .556 with 17 home runs, 91 RBIs and five stolen bases. His play led to him being named the NJCAA Division III Player of the Year, the NJCAA Division III World Series MVP and the All-Region III Division III Defensive Player of the Year.
While he is obviously a very talented ballplayer, Harper knows that the biggest learning curve will come in learning how to be a professional athlete. He wants to learn from his more experienced teammates and coaches about what it takes to succeed at the professional level. He laughingly also remarked that he will have to work hard to learn Spanish to communicate with some of his new teammates.
When he was asked about what parts of Harper’s game will translate the quickest to the next level, Clingersmith did not have to think about an answer.
“Receiving and pitch calling,” Clingersmith said. “Mostly in those levels, they call their own (pitches), so receiving and pitch calling, he’s already done that. Where I think even some of the kids that were drafted ahead of him, most college coaches call pitches, use pitch com, use some type of thing, never miss a sign. … We treated him like a pro ball already and he called every pitch for us.”
While Harper has not officially signed yet and does not know where he will be heading to start his professional baseball career, one place he might go is to the Braves Florida Coast League team at the rookie level of the minor leagues. It is the level that Clingersmith believes Harper will be sent to as a way to get his feet wet at the next level.
“I don’t have expectations really,” Harper said. “I just have the mindset of attacking every day with a growth mindset and wanting to get 1% better every day.”