Emmitt Byther was one of the best high school basketball players in the state last year. The former Old Town standout’s size and athleticism made him a matchup nightmare for opponents.

And now he’s living a dream as a new member of the University of Maine men’s basketball team.

Byther was originally set to attend Division III University of Southern Maine this fall. But plans changed, and the 6-foot-6 Byther has instead taken his high-intensity game to top level in Maine college basketball.

UMaine is the only Division I program in the state.

“As a Maine kid growing up here, everybody always dreams of playing here, wearing Maine across your chest.” Byther said Thursday before a team practice. “To have an opportunity to come here, it’s a no-brainer.”

Byther has strong UMaine ties, pointing out that his mother also went to the school and saying that he “grew up on this campus.” He played his high school ball just down the road in neighboring Old Town and was a member of the Bangor Daily News’ All-Maine Second Team in his senior season.

UMaine head coach Chris Markwood is “really excited to have Emmitt” as an addition to the Black Bears roster. The team had already recruited several other freshmen and picked others up in the transfer portal.

“Once we kind of finished our roster, our traditional roster, got done with the portal, we kind of identified that with this team, we needed to add one more body,” Markwood said. “We needed a bigger body that could kind of help in practice, but also develop hopefully into a player here.”

Markwood said the team had been keeping an eye on Byther and knew there was mutual interest.  

“It just kind of worked out, the timing of it,” the coach said.

Byther couldn’t pass on the opportunity to play at UMaine.

“If I didn’t take it, I’d obviously be mad at myself,” Byther said. “Because there would always be that thought that like, ‘What could have been?’”

While he may have seen more immediate playing time at a smaller USM program, Byther is embracing the challenge of competing at the Division I level and willing to work on “any way that I can help the team.”

Markwood said that the 6-foot-6, 225-pound Byther “moves really well for his size” and has inside-out skill.

“When you’re talking about recruiting in-state guys, there’s some physical trait that when you compete at the Division I level, you kind of have to have,” Markwood said. “You gotta have the Division I size, you gotta have Division I athleticism, and you gotta have a game to match. And I do think he has a great foundation in all those areas.”

Markwood said Byther still has developing to do at this level as the freshman makes the substantial transition from high school basketball, but is already off to a strong start and has a lot of upside to his game.

“He just comes with a great mentality, he picks things up really fast,” Markwood said.

Byther is focused on developing his overall game as acclimates to a new level of competition.

“The speed of the game has been a big adjustment, obviously,” Byther said. “I think I’m like the youngest one on the team right now. So playing against 22-year-olds, that’s a big jump compared to kids my age.”

He and other high-profile arrivals like Ace Flagg add to a younger, bigger UMaine team following up on one of its best seasons in decades. Last year’s squad made it all the way to the America East Conference championship game for the first time in 21 years.

“Last year they went to the conference championship,” Byther said. “We’re looking to go again, if not further. So it’s an amazing feeling just to be here, be part of a successful program right now.”