Archbishop Carroll’s Taylor Wilson commits to West Point challenge

Renie Shields wasn’t surprised when Taylor Wilson decided to commit to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The longtime Archbishop Carroll coach saw Wilson’s decision as another example of Wilson’s drive to get better. After coaching the 6-foot forward for three seasons, Shields knew that Wilson responded well to challenges.

“She has the discipline and the drive, and [it’s] not shocking that she picked a program like Army because in the Army, you know you have to be disciplined and you have to be driven,” Shields said. “When she puts her mind to something, she really does work toward that goal.

“Every day at West Point is going to be a challenge, and I think that’s something she’s looking forward to.”

While Shields had seen Wilson’s commitment and work ethic on display for all of her time at Carroll, this past season sticks out. As a junior, Wilson transformed from a talented underclassman to a complete difference-maker with the ability to impact the game several ways.

That summer, while playing under coach John McFadden with the Comets AAU program, Wilson worked to improve her ballhandling, her ability to get to the rim, and her perimeter defense. That hard work paid off with a season that saw her earn first-team All-Philadelphia Catholic League honors, averaging 14.5 points and nearly 5 rebounds per game to help Carroll to a perfect regular season and the second round of the PIAA Class 6A state tournament.

Before that breakout campaign, Wilson’s recruitment was limited to interest from a few programs in the Ivy and Patriot Leagues, and she had yet to draw her first offer. In January, Wilson received her first offer, from the University of New Hampshire. A few months later, she added a pair of offers, from Cornell and the College of Charleston.

Wilson’s top priority in her recruitment was finding a high-academic program. In addition to Ivy and Patriot League schools, she had looked into the Naval Academy. After looking at Navy, Wilson wasn’t sure that attending a service academy was the right fit for her.

That changed last month after visiting West Point.

“I went up for a visit in June, and I got the offer there, and I really liked it,” Wilson said. “I kind of surprised myself, and I definitely wanted to learn more about it.”

Said Wilson’s mother, Jen: “You could see it in her eyes. From the minute we stepped on the campus, she lit up … We left, and as soon as she got in the car, she said, ‘I really liked it,’ and she didn’t stop talking about it the whole way home.”

A key part of Wilson’s recruiting journey with Army included conversations with current and former cadets that had gone through the experience. Many of Wilson’s questions about Army revolved around the five-year service requirement after graduation. On her visit, she not only had the chance to meet with coaches and administrators, but also cadets and mentors.

Even after Wilson’s visit was over, her exposure to life at West Point wasn’t. Following her visit, Wilson and her family stopped at the Jason Garrett Starfish Football Camp, which provides campers who meet certain academic standards the chance to work with NFL players and coaches.

Garrett, the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, played college football at Princeton with Wilson’s father, Dave. The two remained friends, and the Wilsons volunteer at the camp each year. This past year, there happened to be a few West Point graduates there as coaches. That gave Wilson the chance to continue learning about Army.

It was after hearing the experiences of others, specifically around the opportunities in the service, that Wilson started to see a service academy as the path for her future. Three days after her visit, she committed to West Point.

“I wasn’t really sure about what the service [and] the five years after entailed and what it was all about,” Wilson said. “After hearing about it and seeing what it would be like, I thought it was something that I really enjoyed, and I wanted to give it a try.

“The opportunities I would get after I graduated, I wasn’t really aware of all the different jobs that I could do. I could do really anything I want … I knew it would be such a good experience for me personally, and I really do like the challenge that it brings.”

A major part of Wilson’s experience at Army will be leadership, and this season, she’ll have the chance to practice those skills at Carroll. The Patriots graduated a pair of senior leaders in Maggie Grant and Grace O’Neill, who will play this season at Villanova and Drexel, respectively.

Grant’s and O’Neill’s departures from the program leave Wilson as a primary leader for a team that will look to improve upon its PCL runner-up finish from a year ago. Shields is confident that Wilson will settle into her own style of leadership.

“Taylor, as a leader, is really going to benefit because she had really good leaders ahead of her,” Shields said. “But I think she’ll find her own niche on how she can be her best self and be the best leader for our team.”

Wilson is looking forward to the opportunity to start building leadership skills this season and knows that they’ll help smooth her transition to Army.

“I’m really lucky that I’m going to get a lot of practice with it this year because leadership’s a huge part of the military and being at West Point,” Wilson said. “It’s one of the big, main things that they focus on there. So, being able to practice that and help the team is really important to me.”

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