Taylor Tuttle '26 Recruiting Profile

I have been playing competitive basketball since 3rd grade and want to continue playing in college. Playing the game is fun. It has also taught me many valuable lessons and helped me build characters that make me an excellent student athlete and well-rounded individual. 

Playing a team sport taught me the importance of teamwork, trust, and responsibility. Not one player can carry a team to the championship, nor one player is responsible for a team's loss. I learned to work with my teammates, find out their abilities as players, be confident with their strengths and trust that they will do what they should do in a game, and I do my part to help the team both in offense and defense. I also learned to trust my coach, knowing that there is a plan for each of us as individual players but a bigger plan as a team, to succeed both on the court and off the court. We celebrate each win as a team, then quickly return to the gym to work on our skills; we review every loss as a team, discuss what we could have done differently, then head back to the gym to work on it. Playing basketball taught me to be humble yet self-assured at the same time, knowing that there is always room for improvement regardless of what the stats say and I work hard every day to improve upon that.

Being a student athlete with a rigorous academic schedule and a 4.6 GPA, I also learned to manage my time effectively. Playing on PUMA NXT National circuit means that I have out-of-state tournaments almost every weekend during school year. I did homework while traveling to and from the destinations, in between games and in the evenings. This is the necessary sacrifice I need to make as a student athlete to do well in school and in basketball. This experience has prepared me well to play at collegiate level, where discipline will be part of my college life. 

Having played on various teams allowed me to develop people skills, particularly listening skills and communication skills with players and coaches. These skills help me be a better player and teammate and contribute to the team success on and off the court. 

My passion for basketball extends beyond myself. When I am not playing in tournaments, I volunteered at a local non-profit basketball organization dedicated to teaching children and young adults with disabilities, both mentally and physically. I worked with individuals to teach them teamwork and sportsmanship using the game of basketball. Recently, I have also started coaching elementary school kids in my neighborhood how to play basketball. I love when they tell me how well they did in their games over the weekend and how many points they scored. It is a very rewarding experience for me to know that I can help another person discover his ability in the sport and improve his skills. 

Playing basketball has taught me to work hard, have trust in myself and others, be patient, persevere and so many more. I hope to continue sharing the game of basketball with others in college, helping the school build a strong basketball program that not only celebrates triumph on the court but also cherishes each other's characters every day.