Ian Harkes

Harkes played high school soccer at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., and for the youth academy of D.C. United. While in D.C. United's academy, he served as the club captain for the U-18 and U-16 academy teams. During his junior and senior years at Gonzaga College High School, Harkes served as the varsity captain. He earned the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player in both 2011 and 2012. His success with D.C. United's Academy setup and at Gonzaga High earned him several accolades. In 2011, Harkes was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in D.C. In 2012, he was selected as an NSCAA First Team High School All-American, and was selected to play in the High School All-American Game that year. In addition, he was named to the WCAC First Team, was named an All-Met by The Washington Post, and was selected twice to the NSCAA First Team All-South High School Region.

Collegiate

Ahead of the 2013 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, Harkes signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Wake Forest University. On August 30, 2013, he made his Wake Forest debut starting and playing 74 minutes in a 1–0 loss against Coastal Carolina. He earned his first collegiate points a week later, dishing out two assists against Boston College on September 7, 2013. He ended the 2013 campaign with 21 starts, a goal and seven assists. He was the only player on Wake Forest in 2013 to start and play in every match. Harkes was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team at the end of the…

D.C. United

On January 16, 2017, it was reported that Harkes had signed a homegrown contract with D.C. United of Major League Soccer. Before deciding to sign with United, he wanted to explore options with second-flight clubs in England: he undertook a week long trial at Derby County – one of his father's former sides – but was not offered a contract by the club. Harkes was then offered another short trial by Fulham which he declined instead choosing to return to the US. The club made the official announcement one week later, on January 23. On March 12, 2017, Harkes made his professional debut, playing a full 90 minutes in a 0–4 loss at New York City FC. He scored his first goal for United on June 13, 2017, in a U.S. Open Cup match against amateur side Christos FC. A few weeks later, he scored his first MLS goal in a 2–4 loss against FC Dallas. During his second year with United, Harkes lost his starting role to Júnior Moreno and Russell Canouse, making only eight appearances during the 2018 season. He was released by D.C. United at the end of their 2018 season.

Dundee United

Scottish Championship

In January 2019, Harkes signed a two-year contract with Scottish Championship side Dundee United, noting that his Dundee-born grandfather had been a supporter of the club growing up. Four days later, Harkes made his Dundee United debut, coming on in the 70th minute of a 2018–19 Scottish Cup fourth round fixture against Montrose and scoring in the 92nd…

Harkes has played for the United States men's national under-20 soccer team. On January 8, 2018, he received a call-up for the United States men's national soccer team for a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is also eligible internationally for England through being born in Derby and Scotland via his Dundonian grandparentage.

Harkes is the son of former U.S. international, John Harkes. He is also the son of Cindi Harkes, who played collegiate soccer for Virginia and professionally in the USL W-League for the Maryland Pride and for Sheffield Wednesday Ladies. He has two younger sisters, Lauren and Lily. In high school, Ian Harkes was a member of the National Honor Society. He is of Scottish descent through his paternal grandparents. Harkes' wife, Sarah Teegarden, also plays soccer. She signed for Scottish Women's Premier League team Celtic in January 2020.