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Inside the 'Final Four' family dynamic of new Mizzou commit Keenan Harris

Every Friday since he was 5 years old, Keenan Harris got to choose the music on the drive home.

He earned it.

Harris finished another week of school, and his mother, Keena Smith, rewarded him with playing his favorite hype songs. But once he started high school, there was one song Harris wanted his mother to no longer play: "All I Do Is Win" by DJ Khaled featuring T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross.

Yet even with that song no longer in rotation three years later, Harris and Smith saw the encapsulation of all their sacrifices become the first big win in Harris' next chapter. Harris, a Class of 2026 linebacker at St. Louis (Mo.) University High, committed to in-state Missouri on Friday.

"Keenan has had a few teammates do big events for their commitment, but for him, it was important for it to be him and his mom," SLUH coach Adam Cruz said. "We'll have a big celebration later, but today was about those two and how cool it is that they've made it to this point."

Those car rides only tell part of Harris' bond with his mother, a single parent who has raised three sons.

Harris has two older brothers, Nicholas Randle and Jonel Harris. Randle returned home a year and a half ago after serving in the air force. Jonel, who currently lives in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, attended Southeast Missouri State, but he won't be far from his younger brother much sooner.

"But unbeknownst to us, he's decided to move to Columbia," Smith said. "This is before we even got to where Keenan is going."

Randle missed out on Keenan's late elementary and middle school years, but since his military discharge, he's been inseparable with his youngest sibling, rekindling a close relationship put on pause years ago.

"The boys have a really strong dynamic," Smith said. "We call ourselves the 'Final Four,' but we're just really close and really supportive of each other's goals and whatever they desire in life. Keenan is the baby boy. We call it like the glue that holds us together."

When Smith had Keenan, she immediately felt something different. The two share a nearly identical first name, and while Smith has held both of her two other boys close as well, she knew Keenan was going to be special to her.

"I don't know it was something just special about him, my last one," Smith said. "This one is my mini me. This one right here is going to be Keenan."

Smith has seen father figures appear in every corner of Keenan's life. From her own father, brother, two older sons and all the coaches involved in molding her son's personal life and playing career, she felt an outside impact from many that have crossed paths in their journey.

"God has blessed him with a ray of different individuals to step in their role," Smith said. "I feel like God has blessed those individuals to play that role in his life. He's just been blessed with positive male role models that just have guided him through this process. So my village is the makeup (for a father figure)."

Driven by his humble nature, Keenan always wanted his mother focused on his older brothers before him. Whenever he saw his mother heading to the store to get him something, Keenan always asked her to do the same for Randle and Jonel.

"I'm just so grateful to be his mom, and I know that though I'm sad, I'm happy at the same time," Smith said through tears, "that he's getting ready to go on this next journey, and that I know that he has the foundation to be great. ... I'm so looking forward to the next phase, but I'm just taking his senior year just a little bit slower this time."

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