‘This is an Amazing Opportunity’
May 10, 2024 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
She put her name into the transfer portal one day in late March. One hour after she received her transfer confirmation e-mail, officially granting her the opportunity to play women's basketball at a new school, Kennedy Taylor was on the phone with her mother, Josia, who was at their home in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.
Kennedy, a 6-foot-3 forward, who began her career at Colorado before playing two seasons at Missouri State, couldn't prepare herself for what happened next.
Kansas State assistant coach Ebony Haliburton was calling her phone.
"Mom, Coach Haliburton from Kansas State is calling me!" Kennedy said.
"You better answer that phone!" Josia replied.
Less than one minute later, Haliburton offered Taylor a scholarship.
"I answered the phone, and it was so surreal," Taylor recalls. "I was so excited. Coach Haliburton was like, 'I just want to offer you a scholarship right here on the spot.'"
Taylor shared the news with her family via FaceTime.
"It was my mom, dad and brother," she says. "My dad was in the gym with my uncle, so he heard the news, too. Dad was cheering and my uncle was cheering. I'm pretty sure people looked around in the gym wondering what was going on."
What was going on was that Taylor, a senior with one year of eligibility, was continuing her basketball career — in the state of Kansas and on a top-25 team that could use her size and presence to complement All-American Ayoka Lee in the paint.
"This is an amazing opportunity," Taylor says. "I went on an unofficial visit to K-State four and a half years ago and thought it was amazing. To be able to come back and finish my college career at K-State is amazing. When I was in sixth grade, I wrote a letter to my future self, and in the letter, I wrote, 'I hope you get a scholarship for either track or basketball.' I got that scholarship. It's a full-circle moment.
"I'm really excited to be able to come back home and play in front of family and friends."
What does Taylor bring to the table on the basketball court?
"I like to be physical, honestly," Taylor says. "I thrive on contact and prefer to be physical. I go for offensive and defense rebounds. I want the defense to play defense pretty much. If we can get extra possessions and make the defense tired, that sounds pretty good to me.
"I look for my teammates. I'm a pretty good passer. I like to find the open person who can get the best shot. I have a pretty good basketball IQ."
K-State head coach Jeff Mittie announced the addition of Taylor on April 5. The announcement came after Taylor earned 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Sixth Player of the Year and was named a 2024 All-MVC Third Team recipient. As a junior, she averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. She had a season-high 22 points and 11 rebounds against Drake in the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference championship game.
Taylor also earned 2023 All-MVC Third Team honors and was named to the 2023 MVC All-Newcomer Team after averaging 12.3 points and 8.5 rebounds her sophomore season. She ranked 13th nationally and first in the MVC with 4.0 offensive boards per contest. She had a career-high 25 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in a game against UIC her sophomore season.
Taylor played in eight games as a freshman at Colorado.
"My freshman year I thought I wanted to be away from home and build myself up and land on my two feet and it didn't work out for me," she says. "I got homesick constantly. I wasn't a good fit for the program. They had a bunch of veterans returning, and I felt like I got buried on the bench. But I was grateful for the opportunity because I was able to learn a lot about college basketball even just by watching it. That was a really good experience seeing what was going on so I could prepare myself better.
"I put my name in the transfer portal, but everything seemed so far from home. It was between Missouri State and New Mexico State. Missouri State was exciting because I already knew some people there. It was 2 ½ hours from home, which wasn't bad."
But after two years at Missouri State, she simply sought something more.
"This last year I felt like I wasn't getting the development that I wanted and was just kind of doing the same stuff I did the first year I was there, so I didn't feel like I was evolving my game the way I wanted to," she says. "Missouri State did a great job, but I felt like there was something missing and I needed something more."
She fell in love with K-State on her visit to Manhattan. She says that she hesitated sliding on a K-State jersey for a photo shoot because "they were just so pretty sitting there."
"When I got there, I didn't even know which jersey to put on because I was just in awe," she says. "I looked at myself in the mirror and thought, 'This is reality. This is real.' I thought I was dreaming. I did pinch myself because I hoped it wasn't just a dream.
"I can't wait to put on the jersey and go play a game in front of the crowd at Bramlage."
Taylor, who knew Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn from their day of playing against each other in AAU basketball, has followed K-State from afar.
"I tuned into any game I could," she says. "My mom and I watched the game against Iowa. Beating Caitlin Clark is amazing. I visualized myself on the floor with them. To me, it was cool being able to see how everyone clicked with each other and moves together on the court and plays as one. That's really important. You have to trust each other and play for each other."
Taylor hopes to help the Wildcats go far in 2024-25.
"I want us to get past the second round, and honestly, I want us to try to get to the Elite Eight," she says. "To me, that's amazing. If we can take it all the way, let's go. To me, I feel like I'd like to see if we can win the whole thing. Being a national champion sounds amazing. That's something I want to accomplish."
Already, Taylor has accomplished something big.
She has reached her dream.
And she's just getting started.
She put her name into the transfer portal one day in late March. One hour after she received her transfer confirmation e-mail, officially granting her the opportunity to play women's basketball at a new school, Kennedy Taylor was on the phone with her mother, Josia, who was at their home in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.
Kennedy, a 6-foot-3 forward, who began her career at Colorado before playing two seasons at Missouri State, couldn't prepare herself for what happened next.
Kansas State assistant coach Ebony Haliburton was calling her phone.
"Mom, Coach Haliburton from Kansas State is calling me!" Kennedy said.
"You better answer that phone!" Josia replied.
Less than one minute later, Haliburton offered Taylor a scholarship.
"I answered the phone, and it was so surreal," Taylor recalls. "I was so excited. Coach Haliburton was like, 'I just want to offer you a scholarship right here on the spot.'"
Taylor shared the news with her family via FaceTime.
"It was my mom, dad and brother," she says. "My dad was in the gym with my uncle, so he heard the news, too. Dad was cheering and my uncle was cheering. I'm pretty sure people looked around in the gym wondering what was going on."
What was going on was that Taylor, a senior with one year of eligibility, was continuing her basketball career — in the state of Kansas and on a top-25 team that could use her size and presence to complement All-American Ayoka Lee in the paint.
"This is an amazing opportunity," Taylor says. "I went on an unofficial visit to K-State four and a half years ago and thought it was amazing. To be able to come back and finish my college career at K-State is amazing. When I was in sixth grade, I wrote a letter to my future self, and in the letter, I wrote, 'I hope you get a scholarship for either track or basketball.' I got that scholarship. It's a full-circle moment.
"I'm really excited to be able to come back home and play in front of family and friends."
What does Taylor bring to the table on the basketball court?
"I like to be physical, honestly," Taylor says. "I thrive on contact and prefer to be physical. I go for offensive and defense rebounds. I want the defense to play defense pretty much. If we can get extra possessions and make the defense tired, that sounds pretty good to me.
"I look for my teammates. I'm a pretty good passer. I like to find the open person who can get the best shot. I have a pretty good basketball IQ."
K-State head coach Jeff Mittie announced the addition of Taylor on April 5. The announcement came after Taylor earned 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Sixth Player of the Year and was named a 2024 All-MVC Third Team recipient. As a junior, she averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. She had a season-high 22 points and 11 rebounds against Drake in the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference championship game.
Taylor also earned 2023 All-MVC Third Team honors and was named to the 2023 MVC All-Newcomer Team after averaging 12.3 points and 8.5 rebounds her sophomore season. She ranked 13th nationally and first in the MVC with 4.0 offensive boards per contest. She had a career-high 25 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in a game against UIC her sophomore season.
Taylor played in eight games as a freshman at Colorado.
"My freshman year I thought I wanted to be away from home and build myself up and land on my two feet and it didn't work out for me," she says. "I got homesick constantly. I wasn't a good fit for the program. They had a bunch of veterans returning, and I felt like I got buried on the bench. But I was grateful for the opportunity because I was able to learn a lot about college basketball even just by watching it. That was a really good experience seeing what was going on so I could prepare myself better.
"I put my name in the transfer portal, but everything seemed so far from home. It was between Missouri State and New Mexico State. Missouri State was exciting because I already knew some people there. It was 2 ½ hours from home, which wasn't bad."
But after two years at Missouri State, she simply sought something more.
"This last year I felt like I wasn't getting the development that I wanted and was just kind of doing the same stuff I did the first year I was there, so I didn't feel like I was evolving my game the way I wanted to," she says. "Missouri State did a great job, but I felt like there was something missing and I needed something more."
She fell in love with K-State on her visit to Manhattan. She says that she hesitated sliding on a K-State jersey for a photo shoot because "they were just so pretty sitting there."
"When I got there, I didn't even know which jersey to put on because I was just in awe," she says. "I looked at myself in the mirror and thought, 'This is reality. This is real.' I thought I was dreaming. I did pinch myself because I hoped it wasn't just a dream.
"I can't wait to put on the jersey and go play a game in front of the crowd at Bramlage."
Taylor, who knew Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn from their day of playing against each other in AAU basketball, has followed K-State from afar.
"I tuned into any game I could," she says. "My mom and I watched the game against Iowa. Beating Caitlin Clark is amazing. I visualized myself on the floor with them. To me, it was cool being able to see how everyone clicked with each other and moves together on the court and plays as one. That's really important. You have to trust each other and play for each other."
Taylor hopes to help the Wildcats go far in 2024-25.
"I want us to get past the second round, and honestly, I want us to try to get to the Elite Eight," she says. "To me, that's amazing. If we can take it all the way, let's go. To me, I feel like I'd like to see if we can win the whole thing. Being a national champion sounds amazing. That's something I want to accomplish."
Already, Taylor has accomplished something big.
She has reached her dream.
And she's just getting started.
Players Mentioned
G
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