Taylor Wells signs to play at Mount Mercy University
By FRED KRONER
Taylor Wells has been writing her own story now for nearly four years.
It’s not a written version where words appear on a computer screen, but instead the version that comes from living life on a daily basis while pursuing goals.
Ironically, one of those goals for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School senior is to become a writer. That is a long-term goal.
First, Wells is making significant progress on her short-term goals.
In the fall of 2018, high school freshman Wells didn’t think the prospects were bright for her to become a collegiate athlete.
“I never really saw myself playing basketball after high school,” said Wells, who has grown into a 6-foot-3 center.
She played the sport that was in season: volleyball in the fall, basketball in the winter, and softball in the spring.
“After my freshman year of basketball, I really had fallen in love with the sport,” Wells said. “I never wanted to stop playing after that.
“The taller and better I got, I started to enjoy the sport more and more. Softball and volleyball became my fun sports. It was fun just to do something in the off-season from basketball with my friends and just enjoy playing together.”
Her parents were on board with the idea of focusing on basketball and suggested she join a travel team.
“I had always thought that travel sports were for the best of the best athletes who were going to get college scholarships,” Wells said. “I didn’t see myself as being good enough to become a college athlete at that time because I hadn’t trained for years like other girls had and I just thought the sport was fun.”
The desire to continue playing basketball after the high school season ended was too strong to ignore. Wells tried out for a travel team (Illinois Pizazz), and made the cut.
She was in the beginning chapters of writing her story of a successful journey.
“I played through the spring and the summer (in 2019),” Wells said. “It was at the beginning of my sophomore season when I had real thoughts about playing at the collegiate level.
“After talking with my parents and my former coach, Kevin Taylor, about possibly pursuing the recruiting process, I decided that I wanted to play basketball after high school and made it my goal to make it happen.”
Her vision became reality due to her dedication and work ethic. SJ-O’s first-year girls’ basketball head coach, Drew Arteaga, noticed what Wells has done to put herself in position to continue with the game she loves.
“Taylor is a standup kid that truly reflects the kids we want representing our program both on and off the floor,” Arteaga said. “Taylor is extremely unselfish and will do anything to see someone else smile.
“Taylor is extremely passionate about the game of basketball and I believe has the potential to have an incredible senior season.”
Stories that wind up with happy endings – Wells recently signed a letter of intent to play collegiately at Mount Mercy University, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – seldom take place without a series of obstacles to navigate.
Wells’ story is no exception.
“The recruiting process during COVID-19 had its ups and downs,” Wells said. “Right after COVID hit the U.S., my travel team coach was having us record ourselves shooting baskets and doing drills at home.
“She would use that film to send out to college coaches, since we weren’t able to play games or practice with each other.”
The plan paid dividends. More than 20 universities expressed interest in Wells. She eventually made visits to seven schools, besides Mount Mercy: Benedictine College, Carl Sandburg College, Eureka College, Lincoln Land Community College, Parkland College, Wartburg College and Wisconsin Lutheran College.
“My main focus when it came to making my decision about what college to attend came down to academics,” Wells said. “I wanted to make sure that the school I chose would give me the best opportunity to become employed after graduating college.
“Mount Mercy had a lot to offer me academically, which automatically put them at the top of my list. During my visit at Mount Mercy, I was able to scrimmage against and with some of the girls on the team. They were very welcoming and encouraging. They are all also great athletes.
“The campus is beautiful and has a lot of really cool features. Mount Mercy is also located in a big city, so there’s a lot to do. The academics, coaching staff and athletes, and the location of the school is why I chose Mount Mercy.”
She recognizes that her transition to college will be more than adapting to a quicker pace of the game with more physicality.
“I know next year will have some ups and downs when it comes to being away from my family for the first time,” Wells said. “I am very excited to leave Illinois.
“I want to spend my college years away from home so I can develop some independence from my family as I continue to grow into an adult. However, I am going to miss my family dearly. Anyone who knows me knows just how much my family really means to me.
“It’s gonna hurt to not see them every day and that they won’t be able to make every basketball game, but I feel like it’s time for me to start this new chapter of my life away from home.
“I feel like I’ll be able to learn valuable life lessons. While the four-hour-plus drive seems like a lot, I’m still close enough to my family to be able to visit often.”
For now, Wells will enjoy being one of seven senior veterans on this year’s SJ-O team – which is off to a 3-1 start – knowing that a year from now, she’ll be the newbie.
“My freshman year of college will be my learning year,” she said. “I feel like once I get into the groove of what my program expects of me, I’ll be ready to do my best to contribute on the court.
“This year and next year at Mount Mercy, we will have two senior posts graduating. My coaches want to develop my skills even further so then I’ll be prepared for my sophomore year when our other posts have graduated.
“It’s going to be a very big role to fill but I’m very excited to see what will happen in the coming years.”
Arteaga likes the way Wells goes about perfecting her basketball skills.
“Taylor comes into practice every night with the mindset to get better,” Arteaga said. “She has bought into everything we are asking her to do and keeps getting better day after day.
“Taylor’s size causes teams trouble on both ends of the floor and gives us a favorable matchup in the post. Taylor’s length allows her to help protect the rim and clean up rebounds on the defensive end of the floor.
“Offensively, Taylor is making great progress with her footwork and ability to finish around the basket, which is going to be so important for us at this level and for her at the next level.”
At each stage of her development, Wells credits her coaches for preparing her to be recruited. For the past two years, she has played for the Heart of Illinois travel team.
“My coach (Riley Gardner) was really tough on me, but I always knew she had my best interest at heart,” Wells said. “She knew I wanted to play at the collegiate level, so she made me work as hard as I could to be noticed by coaches.
“She also helped with my recruiting process by talking to college coaches. I made great friends from both of my travel teams and continued to grow as a player every year.
“My travel teams made me so better in the off-season from high school. I’m so thankful that my parents allowed me the opportunity to play travel ball.”
During the COVID-mandated sports shutdown of 2020 in Illinois, Wells was able to stay sharp, thanks to her travel team.
“Even though I had to travel to different states because Illinois was on lockdown, it was all worth it to be back on the court and be seen by college coaches,” Wells said. “I was able to play travel games in front of coaches, talk to coaches in-person, and go on in-person college visits.”
Wells was well-schooled in the fundamentals at an early age. Before she joined the AAU circuit, she was introduced to travel ball with other young players who would later become her teammates.
“I started on a Spartan travel team with players from PVO (Prairieview Ogden) and St. Joe Grade School the summer before my fifth-grade year,” said Wells, who was a team member four years.
“It was a team to help develop our skills and get to play with girls that we would be playing with together in high school. That was great because we have played together so long that we know how each other plays.”
Her high school coaches picked up where the youth coaches left off.
“My coaches at SJO have been a huge help in improving my skill set over the years,” Wells said. “They all wanted the best for me and tried to make me a better player every single day.
“Whether it was working on improving my ballhandling or making me a tough opponent down low, they all made me work as hard as possible so I would see progress being made.
“I have been very fortunate to have such a great coaching staff that not only wanted the best for me, but they also had great experience, which made them even better coaches.”
Since she earned a starting spot with the Spartans, Wells has been just as driven as when she was working her way up the ladder.
“When it comes to how I played my sophomore year to now, I feel like a completely different player,” Wells said. “Being an underclassman on varsity can be really challenging. I had to work really hard to earn playing time on the floor because I was still lacking in certain areas skill wise.
“Now, I still have to work hard to maintain my starting position. However, I have improved vastly with my skills in two years. I’m also a much smarter player than I was my sophomore year.
“All the work put in during the off-season and advice from my coaches has helped me learn how to play smarter.”
The recent November day Wells signed her letter of intent filled her with a range of feelings.
“The one emotional aspect of my signing was realizing just how fast the day had come,” she said. “It still feels like yesterday I just started high school.
“It’s crazy to think how fast the rest of the year will fly by and in just a few months, I’ll be on my way to college. This will be the last season playing with the girls I’ve played with since fourth grade.”
While basketball will be a prominent part of Wells’ life the next four years, it’s not likely that she will play beyond college. That’s when she hopes to pursue other passions.
She plans to double-major in English and Communications, with a minor in Creative Writing.
“While I know that sounds like a lot to handle, I want my degree to specialize in my dream career, while also putting myself in the best position to be hired for a job,” Wells said. “My dream career would be to become an author.
“I love reading, but I love writing stories even more. While I know that I don’t have the greatest chances of landing my dream job, I have other career options that I would just be as happy with. I would also love to work for a publishing company as a proofreader or editor, or I would also like to do sportswriting. My hope for 10 years in the future is to at least be working for a publishing company or doing sportswriting.”
That’s the part of the story that is still being written, but the person doing the compilation for the script has shown repeatedly she can handle a wide array of challenges. It has the makings of a best-seller.
