After Missing Out Last Year, Johns Hopkins QB Bay Harvey Happy To Be Playing Postseason Football

December 19, 2025February 13, 2026 Luke Jackson Bay Harvey, Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins football

Johns Hopkins football plays Wisconsin-River Falls in the NCAA Division III Tournament at 1 p.m. on Dec. 20, the second straight year the Blue Jays have made a trip to the national semifinals.

This year Hopkins will be doing it with graduate quarterback Bay Harvey, who missed last year’s tournament due to a lower-body injury suffered early in the season. As such, James Rinello filled in and led the Blue Jays on a memorable run that ended with a loss to Mount Union.

Harvey tried to return late last season, but it wasn’t in the cards.

“It’s definitely a humbling experience,” Harvey said on Glenn Clark Radio Dec. 18. “Up until that point in my career, I had never really been seriously hurt — at most maybe a slight ankle sprain but it didn’t really hold me out of action. Also gaining an appreciation for what other players have gone through with much more serious injuries. It really gives you perspective on just battling through that kind of thing.”

Harvey burst on the Division III football scene in 2023 not only due to his production but his backstory. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound quarterback was born in Rhode Island but was mostly raised in Switzerland before coming back to the United States to pursue a football career.

Now, Harvey is in the midst of another big year at Hopkins, having thrown for 3,091 yards and 31 touchdowns and run for 621 yards and 12 scores.

“I feel very good,” Harvey said. “I have tremendous confidence in our offense and our defense, our coaches. It’s always hard to compare teams year to year, but this has to be one of the best teams I’ve ever been a part of. I’m just glad I can be along for the ride.”

The Blue Jays are 12-1 overall on the season, defeating Springfield, Salisbury and Susquehanna in three postseason games to earn a trip to River Falls. Harvey threw for 630 yards, ran for 226 yards and accounted for 14 touchdowns in those three wins.

Temperatures are expected to be in the 20s in River Falls on Dec. 20.

“I think actually practicing in the morning as we do is definitely very helpful,” Harvey said. “We get these cool temperatures in Baltimore in the mornings that are 15, 20 degrees. That’s definitely great preparation.”

Should they beat River Falls, the Blue Jays will face the winner of John Carroll and North Central (Ill.) in the Division III championship on Jan. 4. Harvey wants to finish the job this season to honor the program’s “culture of excellence” set forth by former coaches Jim Margraff and Greg Chimera and current coach Dan Wodicka.

It would also be a cool way for Harvey to end his college career.

“I think from a personal side of things, it would be tremendous,” Harvey said. “From being a kid in Switzerland, I’ve dreamed of playing on a big stage in college football. I don’t think I was thinking of the D-III national championship in Canton at the time, but here I am.”

For more from Harvey, listen to the full interview here: