Both Taylor men’s and No. 18 women’s golf have opened the year with fresh starts and high expectations.
One side craves to return to championship form, while the other looks to take an experienced roster back to the pinnacle of the Crossroads League.
Taylor women’s golf ended their 2024-25 season with a stunning come-from-behind conference title before reaching the NAIA National Tournament for the eighth-straight full season (The 2019-20 golf season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic).
In the conference championship, Taylor found themselves down by 11 strokes before the third and final round, but a stellar push to the finish left Taylor as the last team standing, one stroke ahead of second-place Indiana Wesleyan.
Senior Shayne Lim was one of the key pieces to that conference-winning side, and is set to be a force once again in her final year at Taylor.
“Time has just flown by in the four years that I’m here,” Lim said. “I’m so grateful for my time here and everyone that I’ve met so far … I’ve gained so much experience and grow a lot.”
Lim is a two-time NAIA All-American and has been named to the All-Crossroads League team every year of her collegiate career, including winning CL Player of the Year in 2023. Now, as a senior, she has fully embraced a leadership role.
Lim is one of three All-CL honorees on this year’s team, including sophomore Eleanor Schuitema and fellow senior Margarita Garrido.
Ranked No. 18 in the preseason poll, Taylor sits just under rivals No. 4 Marian and No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan, but if last year was any proof, that’s not a worry for the Trojans.
“I feel like the whole team, we have so much depth,” Lim said. “I always believe that if we put our mind to it and have faith, we can make it work.”
On the men’s side, experience is the story of the season. The 2024-25 season featured a rare event in collegiate athletics. The Trojans fielded no seniors on the roster. That means all ten men have returned for the 25-26 season.
Senior Kyle Kasitz returns to the starting lineup, along with fellow seniors Matthew Albright, Will Schuitema and Griffen Van Ermen.
Kasitz started his season off with a bang, leading Taylor to a team win at the Lawrence Tech Collegiate Kickoff and tying Northwestern Ohio sophomore Jaden Pass for first place at the event. The event, intended to be played over three days, was cut short due to rain, meaning the first two rounds were all that mattered.
Despite opening the year unranked, Taylor finished four strokes clear of Northwestern Ohio, ranked No. 25 in the nation in the preseason poll.
“We’re all in the mindset that we have to work hard for this and we didn’t really know how we were going to pan out, but after that Lawrence Tech tournament, beating those teams…we have something good here,” Kasitz said.
Both teams will be coached by Steve Toon, a first-year collegiate head coach who spent the last six seasons with Heritage Christian High School in Indianapolis, reaching the IHSAA State Tournament Regionals ten times between their men’s and women’s teams.
Both Lim and Kasitz hold positive opinions of their new coach after just a few weeks, describing him as an optimistic, player-first presence in the locker room as both teams continue to gel under new leadership.
“I talked to him on the phone before I got here, and he (Toon) is a great guy,” Kasitz said. “He really wants to run a competitive team…and give everyone a fair chance to make the lineup.”
The men’s team takes on the Battle at Blackthorn on Sept. 22 to 23, while the women’s team competes as a full team for the first time at the Folds of Honor Qualifier from Sept. 15 to 17.
