Comeback Player of the Year Cam Quigley honors Reed Harter, Chandler Bakley with return to diamond

Cam Quigley's road back to the baseball field was driven by the memories of his former teammates, Reed Harter and Chandler Bakley.

In January 2026, Harter and Bakley died as the result of a car crash along Interstate 90. Quigley and Wyatt Kayser were also passengers and sustained serious, non-life-threatening injuries.

Quigley sustained a serious hand injury, putting his 2026 amateur baseball season in jeopardy. But after two surgeries and months of rehab, Quigley found his way back onto the baseball field, earning this year’s Mark Mehlhaf Comeback Player of the Year Award while honoring his two friends and former teammates on the field. 

“To be very honest with you, this year that award means a little more than anything just because of the circumstances that led to the award,” Quigley said. “It’s a testament to what those guys mean to me.”

Quigley’s injury occurred on his right throwing hand, with the second surgery reattaching his fourth finger. 

“I was very lucky to keep it, and have function in it,” said Quigley, who plays amateur baseball for the Hartford/Humboldt Gamecocks. “I didn’t think we were going to be able to. We put a long needle pin on top of it, and reset it. So, kind of reattached it from that middle knuckle up. That pin stayed in there for about six weeks.”

Then, Quigley began the road to recovery. After wearing a brace for four months, Quigley began working on his grip strength and simple tasks like writing again. 

To those who have watched Quigley's journey, the Comeback Player of the Year award represents far more than returning from an injury.

“It says a lot about Cam,” Hartford/Humboldt Gamecocks manager Chad Morrison said. “It could have went two directions. He could have shut it down and said, ‘I don’t want to do this,’ and maybe dwell on some stuff. But he took it as a way that I think his buddies would want him to play.”

Quigley returned sooner than anticipated and has remained a steady contributor for the Gamecocks in their quest for another deep state tourney run. Determined to get back on the field, Quigley began rehabbing three to four times a day in February and beat expectations by returning to action in June, a month ahead of schedule.

“If I couldn't have been able to be around baseball this season, that would have been terrible mentally, physically—all that stuff,” Quigley said. “Baseball, I love that game and I would do anything for it. I have so many of my close friends and who I consider family now through the game of baseball.”

That included Harter and Bakley, a pair of Quigley’s former Dakota Wesleyan University baseball teammates. The former Winner/Colome Pheasants were widely respected for their play and character.

This season, multiple amateur baseball teams honor Harter and Bakley, with helmet decals, T-shirts and special recognitions at multiple ballparks. The Gamecocks are among the teams honoring Harter and Bakley. 

“Everything we are doing this year is for them,” Quigley said. “Those two are guiding and doing the right things up there and making sure that people keep playing because they would hate it if we didn't keep playing and doing our daily things and loving amateur baseball as much as they did.”

That includes Quigley, who has played multiple positions this season for the Gamecocks, who are 13-9 entering the state tournament. Quigley has played in all 22 games, with a .365 batting average on 27 hits and has driven in 16 runs. 

Those numbers represent far more than a successful comeback—they reflect Quigley's determination to return to the game he loves while honoring the memory of his former teammates.

“To be able to put himself in a position to do that is truly coming back from some big-time adversity,” Morrison said. "I know he's not just playing for himself. He's playing for his buddies and for the love of the game. I think the world of Cam, and I don't know if we would be quite in the same position without him.”