The Monmouth College men’s basketball team is enjoying a 14-4 start and a perfect 9-0 in Midwest Conference play. But this didn’t happen overnight.
Go back four years, when seniors Jason Huber and Kyle Taylor first arrived on campus and took their first steps as Scots. Now, the two are seniors helping lead Monmouth through one of the best starts in program history.
Even though they have been part of the same program for four years, their journeys on the court have looked far different. Huber’s path required patience as he grew into his role. Taylor was asked to get up to speed quickly and bring consistency night in and night out.
Huber’s college career didn’t take off right away. As a freshman, minutes were hard to come by. That gave him a chance to put in extra work and learn from the older players. Huber kept his head down and continued to grind. Now that work is paying off.
“You just find ways to help the team win,” Huber said. “Freshman year, I wasn’t good enough to play, so you watch the guys ahead of you and see what they do. You learn from them and go out there and do whatever it takes to win games.”
Photo courtesy of Monmouth College Athletics
Taylor’s path looked different from the start. He was asked to contribute early and adjust to the college level quickly. The journey brought plenty of challenges, but consistency became his standard. Night in and night out, Taylor learned what it took to be reliable on the floor. That growth has turned him into someone the Scots can rely on as a senior.
“I’ve tried to mature as a player as the years have gone on. My role has been different on each team,” Taylor said. “I’m just trying to help my teammates and put them in the best position possible. I feel a lot of trust from Jason, other teammates, and Coach Skrivseth, and he’s put a lot of trust in me since day one. I don’t take that for granted.”
Photo courtesy of Monmouth College Athletics
For Huber, the decision to come to Monmouth was about finding the right fit and believing in the direction of the program.
“I went on a visit here and just felt that home feel,” Huber said. “I felt like I was wanted at Monmouth. Coach [Skrivseth] was really focused on building a team to compete and win conference championships. I believed in the vision, and we’ve been able to do that, especially last year and then hopefully again this year.”
After two seasons of hovering just above .500, Monmouth broke through in a big way last year. With key additions and a core group of returners that continued to grow, the Scots put together a 20-6 season and captured the Midwest Conference regular-season title. Earning Monmouth the top seed and bringing the conference tournament to their home floor, marking a major step forward for the program.
Hopes of holding up the Midwest Conference trophy filled Glennie Gym as the Scots matched up with Lake Forest in the first round of the Midwest Conference Tournament, a team Monmouth had swept earlier in the season. That same fortune didn’t follow, as the Scots were knocked out in the opening round on their home floor. The loss was a tough one, especially for an upperclassmen group that had spent years building toward that moment.
“That hurt,” Taylor said. “We worked very hard for that moment, and we just came up short. But that’s probably my favorite thing about sports. There’s always something on the other side that you can redeem yourself for.”
This season, the Scots have made it clear they haven’t forgotten that feeling. Monmouth is off to a scorching 14-4 start and a perfect 9-0 mark in conference play, with seniors Jason Huber and Kyle Taylor playing key roles in that run.
With all of their goals still in front of them this season, Huber and Taylor know the job isn’t finished. But after four years of growth, patience, and learning how to win as a team, this senior group has continued to put Monmouth basketball on the map. For two players who took different paths to get here, the goal now is the same: finish what they started.
