Jake Toolson – BYU Basketball

“Growing up it was always my dream to play at BYU. I loved the cougs and would dream of the day where I would be wearing the blue and white jersey. After high school, I had the opportunity to see my dream come true, and play on the BYU basketball team. As my dream became reality I quickly realized that it wasn’t exactly what I pictured when I was a kid. Adjusting to college and life on my own was really difficult for me. I was faced with some mental health challenges and ultimately decided that it would be best to take a step back from basketball to allow myself some time to figure some things out. I decided to transfer to UVU and play for Coach Pope. I had an amazing experience at UVU and will always be grateful for it.

Having the opportunity to come back to BYU and finish my career where it started has been truly incredible. I chose to come back to BYU to play for Coach Pope and be a part of a team that was hungry and wanted to accomplish great things. This season has been the greatest year of my life. This team proved over and over again that it does not matter what adversity you are faced with, it is all about responding with fight and finding a way to make something special happen. I will always be grateful that I had the chance to come back and finish what I started. As my college career has come to an end, it has been a great time to reflect on all of the memories. I am grateful for the adversity that I have faced because it has allowed me to grow as a person. The most rewarding part of the whole journey is to look back and see how far I’ve come and to look back on the moments that I will never forget. I’m glad that everything came full circle and I finished my career as a coug, making the dream that I had as a kid come true.”