After driving nearly 2,000 miles and for over 24 hours, W.F. West baseball alum Max Taylor has found his new — but hopefully temporary — home.
A standout outfielder and leadoff batter for the Bearcats, Taylor has made his way halfway across the country to Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Nebraska, where he will continue his baseball career this spring.
Following an ankle sprain that took him out for most of last spring’s COVID-shortened season, Taylor’s just excited to keep pursuing his dream.
The outfielder played in just eight games, but hit .308 with eight hits, nine runs, three stolen bases, and earned first team all-league.
Taylor chose the JUCO school in Nebraska because he said they consistently send players to Division I schools across the country, and that’s the goal for Taylor.
“It’s really exciting, proving to people that it can be done,” Taylor said. “You can go to a new place and succeed, which is the goal I'm planning on succeeding.”
Taylor said that some of his teammates in the past inspired him to take the community college route, where after one or two years of hard work at a smaller school they were able to make the jump to great DI programs.
When Taylor was looking through schools, Southeast stood out for its commitment to sending guys off to greener pastures.
“I was getting recruited for a while,” he said. “My baseball coach, he found this school for me and I thought it was a good fit. Definitely the best baseball program. They have kids going DI every year.”
But now the work begins. Before Taylor has any shot at going to a bigger four-year school, he has to earn a starting job in the lineup and in the outfield. Having just moved into his new home, that’s the first goal as he continues to pursue his baseball dreams.
But to have even made it this far, with his friends and family behind him, Taylor’s not taking this change for granted.
“It’s definitely a blessing,” Taylor said. “Especially coming from a smaller town, it’s really exciting to play at the next level.”
