CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University baseball will welcome seven incoming first-year student-athletes as a part of its Class of 2026 for the 2023 season, Bill Decker, The Joseph J. O'Donnell '67 Head Coach for Harvard Baseball announced on Wednesday.
 
The class includes two student-athletes each from the states of Pennsylvania and California alongside one player apiece from Connecticut, New York, and Ohio. The group gives the Crimson balance across the diamond with a mix of infielders, outfielders, and pitchers. All seven student-athletes served as captains for their high school baseball teams.
 
Harvard's Class of 2026 features infielder/right-handed pitcher Gio Colasante (Staten Island, N.Y.), left-handed pitcher Brian Dowling (Avon, Conn.), outfielder/right-handed pitcher Callan Fang (Yardley, Pa.), infielder Jordan Kang (Los Angeles, Calif.), infielder Justin King (Oakwood, Ohio), infielder Max Lane (Newport Beach, Calif.), and right-handed pitcher/infielder Jack Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
 
Gio Colasante
Position: Infielder/Right-Handed Pitcher
Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 210 lbs. | B/T: R/R
Hometown: Staten Island, N.Y.
High School: Poly Prep Country Day School
Before Harvard: Participated at East Coast Pro and PG National Showcase … Gained Team MVP honors in 2022 … Helped team win the 2022 NYSAIS State Championship … Hit .413 with five home runs as a senior … Posted a 0.00 ERA over 15.0 innings as a junior … Won school's Scull Plaque – presented to a senior for excellence in scholarship and athletics … Served team as a captain as a junior and senior … Earned four varsity letters … Competed on the travel level for MVP BEAST … Also played basketball … Son of Gifty and Lorenzo Colasante.
 
Brian Dowling
Position: Left-Handed Pitcher
Height: 6-foot-6 | Weight: 215 lbs. | B/T: L/L
Hometown: Avon, Conn.
High School: Avon Old Farms
Before Harvard: Earned All-Founders League honors in 2022 … Made the League Championship in the inaugural playoff season of 2022 … Helped team win every series it played in 2021 … Won the Tim Straus Award for improvement in athletics in 2022 … Served team as captain as a senior … Earned four varsity letters in baseball … Competed on the travel level for Baseball U CT from 2019-21 … Also competed in basketball, football, and cross country … Gained basketball team's Coaches Award in 2021 and 2022 … Head of School List and a Cum Laude Society student … Gained the Order of Old Farms – the school's highest service award … A Head Monitor, Admissions Ambassador, Big Brother mentor, and peer tutor … Garnered the Harvard Book Prize in 2021 … Son of Amy and Rob Dowling; Rob, played football and baseball at Trinity from 1991-95 … Uncle, Patrick Dowling, played baseball at Dartmouth from 2001-04.
 
Callan Fang
Position: Outfielder/Right-Handed Pitcher
Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 185 lbs. | B/T: L/R
Hometown: Yardley, Pa.
High School: Pennsbury
Before Harvard: Gained First Team All-Suburban One League as a designated hitter as a junior and a senior … Took home Second Team All-Suburban One League as a pitcher as a senior … Helped team win Suburban One League title in 2019 and 2022 … Served team as a captain as a senior … Earned four varsity letters … Competed on the travel level for Philly Bandits and Baseball U PA Philly … Also played soccer … Selected as a Kiwanis-Herald Scholar Athlete … Served community through Interfaith Food Alliance, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, and as a Woodside Church Vacation Bible School Counselor … Participated in Future Business Leaders of America, Chess Team, and Young Engineers … Son of Sharon and Jeff Fang; Jeff played baseball at Johns Hopkins and is a member of the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame … Uncle Sam Horng attended Harvard Medical School, graduating in 2011.
 
Jordan Kang
Position: Infielder
Height: 5-foot-10 | Weight: 185 lbs. | B/T: R/R
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
High School: Harvard-Westlake School
Before Harvard: Earned First Team All-Mission League in 2021 … Gained All-Area Team from The Los Angeles Daily News in 2021 … Helped team win CIF Southern Section DI state title in 2021 … Ranked as high as the No. 9 third baseman and No. 65 prospect in California via Perfect Game; ranked in the top 500 nationally … Hit .383 with 36 hits and a team-high 27 RBIs in 32 games in 2021 … Served team as a captain as a senior … Earned four varsity letters … Played for USA Baseball on the 14U Select Team in 2018 … Competed on the travel level for Pacific Baseball Academy (2018-19), SoCal Giants (2019), and the SoCal Renegades (2021-22) … Won a USA Baseball national title with Pacific Baseball Academy in 2018 … Set the Harvard-Westlake School back squat record at 420 lbs. as a sophomore … Dean's List student … Older brother, Brendan, is a member of the University of Chicago football Class of 2024.
 
Justin King
Position: Infielder
Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 205 lbs. | B/T: R/R
Hometown: Oakwood, Ohio
High School: Oakwood
Before Harvard: Earned All-Southwestern Buckeye League honors in 2021 … Gained the Most Improved Player award in 2021 … Hit .387 as a senior, ranking third in the SWBL in home runs and seventh in on-base percentage (.519) … Served team as a captain in 2021 … Competed on the club level for Bo Jackson Elite and ECNE Expos … Earned three varsity letters … Son of Melissa and Jayson King; Melissa played field hockey at Framingham State and Jayson played baseball at Framingham State … Sister, Katie, played field hockey at Southern New Hampshire University.
 
Max Lane
Position: Infielder
Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 190 lbs. | B/T: R/R
Hometown: Newport Beach, Calif.
High School: Corona del Mar
Before Harvard: Earned Sunset League Offensive Player of the Year honors … Gained First Team All-Sunset League … Helped team win Sunset League in 2021 and 2022 … Served team as a captain as a senior … Competed on the travel level for OC Premier … Also played football; captained team as a senior … Gained Second Team All-Sunset League in football … Helped football team win 2019 CIF and state titles in Division III … Graduated as class valedictorian … A Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Athletic and Academic Scholar … Won the Pinnacle Scholarship Award for Excellence in Academics and Athletics … Served as President of the Entrepreneur Club … Son of Felicia and Danny Lane; Danny played minor league baseball in the Montreal Expos farm system.
 
Jack Smith
Position: Right-Handed Pitcher/Infielder
Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 220 lbs. | B/T: R/R
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
High School: Mount Lebanon
Before Harvard: Selected as the Pittsburgh Almanac 2021-22 High School Athlete of the Year … Gained First Team Western PA 6A All-Conference honors at third base … Earned spots on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette All-Area Team in 2022 and on the Pittsburgh Tribune Review Terrific Ten … Helped team win Pennsylvania District 7 (WPIAL) championship; tallied 14 strikeouts in the title game; Posted 79 strikeouts over 42 innings on the year … Served team as a captain as a senior … Earned four varsity letters … Competed on the travel level for Steel City Wildcats (2018-22) and for the U.S. Elite U17 National Team (2020) … Also played football and basketball … Helped football team to a 6A undefeated season with state and district titles … Earned First Team Western PA 6A All-Conference honors as a linebacker … Cum Laude Society and National Honor Society student … Link Crew Leader … Plays the piano … Son of Georgia and Patrick Smith … Great grandfather "Greenfield" Jimmy Smith played in the MLB from 1914-22, winning the World Series with the New York Giants in 1917 and Cincinnati Reds in 1919 … Grandfather James Smith, Jr. played baseball at Penn from 1946-49 and for the Chicago White Sox … Great uncle Billy Conn was the light-heavyweight boxing champion of the world from 1938-41 … Cousin Leah Smith won a gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle and bronze medal in the 400m freestyle at the 2016 Olympic Games.