Ethan Harris, a 6-foot-8 senior from Camas and one of the top recruits in the Northwest, says he will sign with Iowa, and he discusses the recruiting process, the lessons learned, and how grateful he is to have a family supporting him through every step on this journey
Paul Valencia
Clark County Today
It was a difficult decision, an agonizing one.
Oh, but it also was such a great decision to have to make.
Camas High School senior Ethan Harris, by most accounts the No. 1 college basketball recruit in the state, made his decision public Saturday, announcing he plans to sign with the University of Iowa.
“Every little thing goes into the decision at some level. If I’m going to choose a coaching staff, I want them to put me in positions where I can be me and the best version of me,” Harris said in the days leading up to his announcement. “The coaching staff that can propel me into something that I didn’t even think I was capable of.”
Clearly, Harris believes the Hawkeyes can do just that for him.
“I believe in what Coach McCollum is doing over there, and I want to be part of something great,” Harris told Clark County Today on Saturday, referring to Iowa coach Ben McCollum. “I chose Iowa because of the people there, and the great team culture.”
Harris called McCollum on Saturday morning to tell him the news.
Ethan Harris the recruit might seem like one incredible basketball talent. Oh, he is a talent. But this journey is being made with, and as, a team, as a family.
He credits his teammates at Camas. He thanks the fans who have attended Papermaker games through the years. He appreciates all the incredible support from his family — older sister Addison who plays college basketball now, younger brother Garner who loves lacrosse, and his parents Jason and Carla, both former Division I basketball players who shower love on their children.
Carla who posted on social media in the days leading up to this moment:
“Out of Ethan’s 4 final schools, as a mom it’s reassuring he’s narrowed it down to truly great people. He can’t go wrong, there really are no bad choices,” she wrote.
Ethan picked Iowa over Gonzaga, Washington, and Boise State.
No bad choices. But a decision had to be made.
“I’ve grown a ton, just through meeting so many different people,” Ethan said of this years-long recruiting process. “I’m going out of my way. If I see somebody, I’ll go introduce myself, tell them a little about me. You have to go make things happen.”
Harris was not necessarily the “can’t-miss” talent. He was solid and had all kinds of potential going into high school, but he had to work on his skills to become this recruit.
By the end of his sophomore season at Camas, though, it was clear. He was becoming that guy.
Then he crushed it during the AAU campaign. His name was being mentioned more and more.
Early in his junior season at Camas, he was named first team all tournament at the prestigious Les Schwab Invitational.
Harris stepped to the national stage. Which is how one of his final four teams turned out to be more than 1,400 miles away in Iowa.
Still, he’s just a 6-foot-8 teenager from Camas who loves his family, his school, his town.
While the decision has been challenging, the recruiting process has been a blessing to Harris.
“When you show up (to a gym), you have to show up with 110 percent effort every single time,” Harris said.
That has made him a better player.
There are no days off with this philosophy: “You never know who’s watching. It’s been a blast. It’s been nothing short of amazing.”
The experiences of the recruiting trail will not soon be forgotten.
He was on a flight from one basketball event to another, when he had an interesting encounter. It turned out, the women’s basketball coach from Iowa was on the flight. She went into recruit mode, talking up Iowa, detailing all the advantages of the campus, the state.
Months later, Harris said he thinks the meeting was coincidental. Then again, in the crazy world of recruiting, he noted that it was possible that it was not an accident.
Hmmm.
Stories from the recruiting trail continued.
“We’ve gone to some schools where they’ve brought in NBA players, high-level NBA players, just to say hi and give a little talk about why I should go there,” Harris said.
At another school, the Harris family ran into a former AAU teammate of Ethan’s older sister Addison.
“Once you get to the higher-ups of basketball, the world of basketball itself becomes so small,” Ethan said.
He also has learned that the recruiting process is more than just finding the best basketball fit.
“It’s also the people I’m around,” Harris said. “I understand I’m going to be around that team, that group, those coaches, 24/7.”
A family atmosphere is important because family is so important to Harris.
“My parents have done a great job of supporting me. Even if I quit basketball, they’d be like, ‘OK, let’s go skiing,’” Harris said. “Their philosophy is, ‘You do what you want, and we’ll help you be successful at that.’”
Carla and Jason met as basketball players and students at the University of Portland.
Ethan is grateful that he does not have overbearing sports parents.
“You see those parents who are yelling from the stands. I’m on the court going, ‘I’m glad those aren’t my parents,’” Ethan said.
Ethan’s younger brother Garner, a sophomore, is into lacrosse and tennis, playing different sports with his friends. Addison is heading into her sophomore year at Montana State. The Bobcats were Big Sky Conference champions and participants in the NCAA tournament as she played a key role in her freshman season.
Ethan said he learned a lot from Addison’s recruitment. He saw how she dealt with the decisions. In a way, he said, Addison gave him a map to navigate the process.
Then there is the money that is part of any recruitment of a Division I athlete these days. Once again, Ethan Harris appreciates the stable leadership from home. The money that he will earn once he signs is a blessing, especially for a 17-year-old.
The Harris family has a plan.
“My parents have done a great job of helping me deal with it,” he said, understanding this a large responsibility for someone in his position.
“My parents are going to store it away for when I actually need it in the future. They’re giving me enough to live off of in college. They almost want me to have that experience of being hungry, of wanting more, to almost have that survival instinct,” Ethan said.
Basketball recruits can sign with their schools as early as November.
Then it will be time for Harris to focus on his final year with the Camas Papermakers.
Addison and her teammates won a state title for the girls program in 2024. (Carla helped Battle Ground win a state championship when she was in high school.) The Camas boys team has never finished better than sixth place at state.
Oh yes, there is sibling rivalry going on right now.
“I walk by her picture every day, in the athletic hallway,” Ethan said. “You got her holding up the net.
… I’m going to get my (picture) planted right over her!”
The 2025-26 Papermakers, on paper, have an excellent team. Harris expects a great run, and not just for him and his teammates.
“It’s for the parents who have been to every single one of our games, to the grandparents who come to every single one of our games,” he said, referring to the Camas community. “The people who have changed me as a human being.”
Not only does he think this could be the best team in program history on the court, he said he believes it will be his favorite team off the court.
“I think this year is going to be something special,” Harris said.
One of the top recruits in the Northwest has made his decision on college. For the next few months, though, for Ethan Harris, it’s all about Camas, Papermakers, and making history.
After graduating from Camas, Ethan Harris will take flight with the Hawkeyes.
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