Every individual at Harvard has a different story of how they became a student at this university. Each unique path is part of what makes the Harvard community a special place. Within the student body, there is a very specific subset that chose to modify their experience in an extremely physically demanding way: varsity walk-ons.
Walk-ons are admitted to Harvard in many cases without any form of support from the athletics department; they choose to pile on the additional workload of pursuing Division I athletics after receiving their acceptance letter. While committed student-athletes enter Harvard with a secured roster spot, walk-ons must try out for the team, and they may be restricted from using team facilities until their position is secured.
Harvard historically has had varsity programs with large novice contingents, mainly the crew teams and women’s rugby. However, walk-ons are valuable members of most teams, including lacrosse, field hockey, basketball, soccer, and many other sports. Every team has a different tryout process and as a result, no two walk-ons have the same experience of formally making a varsity team.
For Eva Rankin ’26, her first time playing rugby was during preseason as a first-year. She played competitive soccer in high school and had originally planned to attend the U.S. Naval Academy to continue her soccer career. However, she broke her shin senior year of high school and felt burnt out. By the time she graduated high school, she had pivoted and enrolled at Harvard. After emailing the rugby coaches, Rankin accepted an invitation to preseason as a walk-on. As she told the Independent, “I’m alone in this University that I’m brand new to, in this sport that I’m brand new to, and my team that I’m brand new to.” By the end of preseason, Rankin had become a full-fledged member of the team and secured her roster spot.
On top of her decision to join a varsity program, Rankin is also a member of the Army ROTC program and had mandatory training in addition to her practice schedule. During the season, rugby has one of the highest time commitments with two practices each on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, in addition to more practice and games on the weekends. Rankin says that when the two commitments come into conflict, she has to “basically pick which is more important for that weekend.” Yet, it works in her favor that the heaviest day of ROTC training, Wednesday, is the one day that the rugby team does not practice during the season. Even with her extremely busy schedule, Rankin could not imagine her experience at Harvard without the rugby team. “Being on the team has been the most formative element of my Harvard experience,” she said.
Carly Bolton ’26 had a very similar experience with the sailing team; she had never sailed competitively until joining practices at the beginning of her sophomore year. During her first year at Harvard, she was involved with women’s club soccer and did not know there were sports teams on campus that were open to walk-ons. She told the Independent that she was looking for “a community that has the same competitiveness” that she possessed; after reaching out to sailing and crew, she heard back from the sailing coaches and was invited to practice. Over the next three weeks, Bolton was thrown out on the Charles three times a week and shown the ropes of being a team member.
Bolton credits skippers Mitchell Callahan ’26 and Justin Callahan ’26 with her ability to pick up the ropes so quickly. “They were very patient about teaching the steps because it’s a complicated sport which I didn’t know beforehand,” she explained. The Callahan twins have an accomplished sailing career but never made Bolton feel inferior for her novice status. “It’s really cool to be able to experience someone who has that type of intuition built into them that’s almost always accurate,” she said, discussing her time spent in the boat with Mitchell. Furthermore, Bolton’s experience has given her a deeper appreciation for all student-athletes at Harvard. “After coming on to the team and meeting a diverse group of people who kind of have this sense of leadership and commitment, it is very eye-opening,” she said. “You realize these are very different people from what the College portrays them as.”
Going into his senior year of high school, Payton Pitts ’27 did not expect to be on the Harvard basketball team; in fact, he was committed to the men’s basketball team at the University of Chicago. In the middle of his senior season, Pitts decommitted from UChicago and began the process of applying to 20 potential colleges for the upcoming fall. Through the chaos of the process, Pitts recalls that he “just sort of shifted the focus to my team, my high school team, and trying to make best out of what was given to me.” His time with AAU basketball helped him to establish communication with the Harvard coaches, and he entered his first year at Harvard with an invitation to attend practices at the start of the year.
Pitts’ time on the basketball team has been a fundamental part of his Harvard experience. From not knowing if his basketball career would be over to making the squad, he has learned so much from his teammates and coaches. Additionally, Pitts is grateful for the opportunities the team provides off the court. “Our coach really takes time away from the basketball court to expose us to things that we wouldn’t normally see,” he shared. Through the Breakfast Club and other opportunities, Pitts has had doors opened that he didn’t even know existed. Ultimately, Pitts is grateful for his experiences and proud of his younger self for persevering through adversity. In his words, “Not really knowing what the end result would be, but knowing that if I work hard enough, I could make it possible” made him the player he is today.
Finn Jensen ’26 had been playing lacrosse since he was ten years old, but he did not know until his senior year of high school if he would be continuing his career collegiately. After his initial conversations with Coach Byrne of Harvard men’s lacrosse, he decided to apply early action and pursue a preferred walk-on spot on the team. While he was not guaranteed admission, Jensen felt that “it would be a much better balance for me if I came here to play sports instead of going somewhere else and not playing.” After getting in, he began attending practice in the fall of his first year during his tryout period.
Through the length of his process, Jensen noted that Mike Binkowski ’23 played a huge role in keeping his head up. “It was hard to get frustrated or down when Mike’s always there, basically cheering you up for two months if you ever got kind of down low,” he explained. In the end, every experience that Jensen had during his two-month period made him feel like a full-fledged member of the squad when he was finally named to the roster.
Every student-athlete is faced with their own challenges and successes throughout their athletic careers. Walk-ons face the added challenge of fighting to continue their athletic career without a guarantee that they will successfully make the roster. The hard work and dedication they display are akin to any other student-athlete on this campus; their willingness to step into an unfamiliar environment when they do not technically belong is admirable. It serves as a lesson to every student on this campus that putting yourself in uncomfortable positions can lead to one of the most transformative experiences of college.
Kate Oliver ’26 (koliver@college.harvard.edu) thinks her teammate who walked onto the field hockey team is superhuman.