Walk-ons are necessary to every team. They grow with the team, playing the sport that they love, sacrificing time to live out that dream a little longer.

Senior Taylor Berry is that walk-on story. Berry comes from a family of athletes. Her mom, Stacey Berry, played basketball at Tulane from 1983-1987, where she was named the first All-American in any women’s sports in Tulane’s history. Fast forward a couple decades, and that talent was passed down from one generation to the next.

Throughout high school, Berry received multiple athletic and academic honors. In her junior year, she helped lead her team to the Class 5A state championship, recorded over 2,000 career points and was the District 9 5A MVP. A bonus to that, she was the valedictorian of her class at Mount Carmel High School.

It was the combined skill of athletics and academics that led her to Alabama.

“When I was going through the recruiting process and making a decision for the school, and when I came on my visit here, [coach] Kristy Curry just talked about how they were headed in such a positive direction along with making a lot of changes, and I was going to be a part of something really special,” Berry said.

Berry loved the confidence Curry brought with the team, the direction it was headed and the positive impact it was planning to have in the future.

However, being a chemical engineering major is a lot of work, and seeing the balance between basketball and the classroom is crucial to Berry’s success.

“It’s definitely time management,” Berry said. “It’s knowing when I should focus on basketball and when to step away and focus on academics to make sure my grades are high and stay on top of everything. If I start to lose focus, then I start to slack off in basketball or school. It’s just a lot to handle.”

Over the years Berry has earned more playing time. Freshman year she saw action in eight games, 11 her sophomore year and 12 during her junior campaign. Coming into this season, she was just one of three seniors on the Crimson Tide women’s basketball team, a young team with six freshmen.

“Her energy and work ethic every day, in the classroom, court and community is incredible,” Curry said. “She represents everything we want student-athletes to be about with her energy and effort every day. She brings an awful lot to our program in all areas.”

That work ethic, that attitude every day and her dedication in the classroom and on the court paid off last year.

After the first fall practice, the team gathered center court, each reading letters. Her letter was different. It announced she had earned a full athletic scholarship. The moment was hers, and she soaked it up. It’s one she’ll never let go.

“It is the most incredible memory I probably have,” Berry said. “I will remember that for the rest of my life. I’ll tell my kids about it one day. I’ve never earned something so meaningful in my life.”

Some moments live forever, and this was one of those moments. The story of walk-ons is a unique, feel-good type of story, and it proves that hard work pays off. For the most part, walk-ons play because they love the game, and they aren’t ready to call it quits yet. For Berry, it’s helping her grow as an individual well beyond basketball.

“I think the whole goal in all that we do in coaching is for them to grow, personally and professionally,” assistant coach Brooks Donald Williams said. “Coach [Curry] calls it a 40-year plan, it’s not just a four-year plan. I don’t think there’s any question. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Taylor is going to be a huge success in everything that she does professionally and personally.”

Alabama sits at 2-1 after finishing a two-game road stretch. The Crimson Tide starts a three-game home stretch against Clemson, who is also 2-1. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on Nov. 19.