As a junior in high school, Taylor Baird was diagnosed with junctional ectopic tachycardia, a heart condition that caused her heartbeat to rapidly accelerate, sometimes to the point where she would faint.

Baird has undergone two heart surgeries to correct the condition, and is glad to report no complications since the second surgery.

This did not stop her from playing the game she loved. Baird, a clinical physiology major, guesses she started playing basketball around age seven.

“I’ve been playing ever since I can remember,” Baird said.

During her high school career, Baird also played for Barbara Berry, coach and founder of The Way to Win Basketball Club.

“Taylor has played with [The Way to Win] since she was in seventh grade,” Berry said, “she’s like family to me.”

Berry recalls how Baird has grown in many ways since she started playing for The Way to Win Basketball Club.

“She actually used to be shorter than me” Berry said.

Berry has been coaching for 38 years. She founded The Way to Win in 1998 and now coaches players from all areas of Washington State.

“[Baird] is a great rebounder, she can outrun most kids and she covers a lot of court [thanks to her size and speed],” Berry said.

The 6-foot-2 forward didn’t start her college basketball career with the Wildcats. After being recruited, Baird played her first two years with Southern Utah University, a NCAA Division I team. Within those two years, Baird forged some bonds she won’t soon forget, but decided to start looking for another university to call home.

“I don’t regret my time [at Southern Utah], but it was time for a change,” Baird said.

When Baird’s search came to CWU, she already had a few marks in the pro category. Ellensburg is only a few hours from Baird’s biggest motivators, her mom and grandparents in Snohomish, Washington. Baird also felt extremely welcomed by the team during her visit. She was also impressed with the coaching staff at CWU.

“Jeff Harada has done good things [at CWU],” Baird said.

Coach Harada has been with the Wildcats for three season and counting. When he met Baird during her visit he could tell she was ready for a new start, and hoped it would be with him and the Wildcats basketball program.

“We were really hoping for [Baird] to fill the void in the post in the three seniors we lost [last season],” Harada said.

Harada said his expectations of Baird and her expectations of herself are one in the same. They both want to see her number of points and rebounds reach double digits each game.

“I want to be the top rebounder on the team,” Baird said.

While Baird is now playing in a different division, she says not much is different between the two divisions so far.

“[CWU] is pretty similar to [Southern] Utah, but coming here I have a lot more experience,” Baird said.

That experience, she believes, is what allows her to play a leadership role at CWU, and Harada agrees.

Aside from her experience, Harada said Baird brings a fun, yet mature disposition to the team which  everyone can benefit from.

“It seems like she’s been a part of this team longer than she has,” Harada said.

Some of Baird’s favorite memories include her teammates, and one example is specifically a bonding retreat the entire team took to Suncadia before the season began.

Another ‘wow’ moment for Baird came during CWU’s game against University of Washington, because UW was her favorite collegiate team growing up.

When she’s not on the court, Baird enjoys reading, shopping, hanging out with her teammates and traveling. Baird has been all over the country with basketball teams, but has also traveled to places like Norway, Mexico and Canada.

“I want to go to London, England. My best friend from southern Utah is from there,” Baird said.

Whenever possible, Baird visits with her family in Snohomish. It’s not uncommon to find her family at home games.

In fact, Baird’s mom is bringing Thanksgiving dinner to her since she can’t make it home for the holiday, due to a tournament CWU is hosting Nov. 25-26.