Growing up in Darien, Connecticut, Tyler and Trevor Herget were far from Provo but still close to BYU. Being the sons of former Cougar student-athletes, it was only natural that the school was held in high regard.
Tyler has become a mainstay for the BYU volleyball team. This year, the senior starting setter has been able to pass the ball to his younger brother, Trevor, who has brought energy off the bench for the Cougars as a true freshman outside hitter.
“It’s very special,” Trevor said of playing with Tyler. “I’ve never been able to play with him. So it’s a great opportunity to play with him at such a high level as well. So I’m just trying to take it one day at a time — make as many memories as possible, and cherish it.”
That special opportunity almost never came to fruition, though, as the brothers ultimately had to overcome multiple hurdles to reach the court together.
Trevor committed to BYU out of high school before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But Tyler began his career at Penn State after returning from his mission, before ultimately transferring to BYU.
When asked if Trevor’s commitment to BYU had any impact on him deciding to transfer to the school, Tyler said, “I think it probably did. … Everyone wants to come and play for BYU when they’re a little kid. And that was the big dream that I had and it didn’t work out. And while I was at Penn State, I thought, maybe I (could) try again. … So then I reached out to (BYU coach) Shawn (Olmstead) again.”
Olmstead is glad he did, after nearly missing on the Cougars’ starting setter altogether.
“We didn’t really recruit Tyler,” Olmstead said. “In the meantime, we (got) Trevor to commit, and … we see Tyler go in the transfer portal, and my first reaction is … that we’re going to have to tell Tyler … that we just don’t have a spot for him. And I did everything to tell him (that).”
In addition to Olmstead’s roster being filled, the senior Herget missed some application deadlines, ultimately leading the Cougars’ coach to believe Tyler wouldn’t be at BYU until the middle of the school year. But as fate would have it, he still transferred to the Provo school in time for the fall semester.
“We have no idea to this day (how he did that),” Olmstead said. “BYU does not know how. But he got in, on his own. I didn’t do anything.”
The surprises didn’t end there, though. Olmstead ultimately allowed Tyler to have a weeklong tryout with the team, but made him no promises. However, it took little time before the BYU coach decided he’d seen enough.
“(It) didn’t even feel like he was a stranger to the guys, and he’d never met them,” Olmstead said of Tyler. “I brought him up literally after the first day and said, ‘Hey, never mind all that stuff. You’re on the team.’”
After playing two years in Provo, Tyler has been joined by Trevor fresh off his mission this season.
“You don’t see kids come off the mission looking like they just (came) out of a big-time weight program … playing volleyball like you didn’t expect,” Olmstead said of Trevor. “He’s every bit … ready to be out there and play even more and we know that. And so it’s nice to have that depth. He’s very confident.”
However, the coaching staff still considered redshirting Trevor — a decision that would have kept the brothers from getting the once-in-a-lifetime chance of playing together.
“There’s a lot of upside to redshirt a kid like that,” Olmstead said. “(Then) there was kind of a moment, they didn’t say anything to me (but) I thought, ‘Hey, Trevor’s ready. … This could be a beautiful opportunity to play with his brother.’”
It’s been just that for the Connecticut natives who found their way to Provo and beat the odds to play this season together. And BYU is right where they belong.
“This is a special place to be,” Trevor said. “Right when I came here, it just felt like home.”
The brothers live together for now, though that won’t last much longer as Tyler will soon be getting married. But while it lasts, the Hergets are making the most of it, enjoying the special time they get to spend together on and off the court.
