The north state's softball talent continues to turn heads at the collegiate ranks.

Red Bluff High senior Haley Harris has verbally agreed to accept a scholarship to play softball for University of California at Riverside, an NCAA Division I school in the Big West Conference.

Harris' offer comes in a third straight year that an area high school softball player has accepted a scholarship before playing their senior season. Anderson's Cheridan Hawkins, now at Oregon, did it in 2011 and West Valley's Molly McWilliams (Nevada) did it in 2010.

For Harris to have her school of choice locked up before taking the diamond in her final year as a high school athlete eases the pressure of her senior year.

"It's definitely relieving," Harris said. "That's what I was mostly stressed about not knowing where I was going."

UC Riverside so far has been the only school that offered Harris a scholarship, though, she received interest from plenty of other D-I and D-II schools before deciding to be a Highlander.

"They have a beautiful campus," Harris said. "The coaches are different; they're down to earth. Not only will they make me better on the field but with life lessons too."

Harris has been a varsity star for the Spartans the past three years, being selected as a first-team All-Record Searchlight and first-team All-Northern Section pick every season. She is coming off her best season where she hit .462 with four home runs, 55 hits, 40 RBIs and 42 runs.

"One of her best attributes is how competitive she is and how she's not satisfied at any level," Red Bluff softball coach J Howell said.

"It's been her goal as a freshman to get a scholarship to play in college and it's one thing for a kid to say that but it's another thing to put in the long hours of hard work that she has done to do that," Howell said. "It shows her determination, commitment and drive to accomplish something that she's wanted to do since she was a freshman."

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Red Bluff's Harris commits to UC Riverside softball