BUTLER TWP — Bobby Swartwout has found a new home — and is going back to an old sport.

The 2011 Butler graduate is transferring to St. Vincent College in Latrobe and plans to play for the Bearcats basketball team. He signed with West Virginia Wesleyan for baseball out of high school before making a transfer to California (Pa.) University the following year.

Swartwout had only one at-bat with the Vulcans this past spring.

“It’s hard to find the right place, but now I feel like I’m in the right place at the right time,” Swartwout said. “I’m grateful to God and my family for helping me see my way through this process.

“I’ve really missed basketball. I still love baseball and I’ll play it during the summer. But basketball is my first love. I feel healthy and ready to contribute.”

The 6-foot-6 Swartwout averaged 15.8 points and nine rebounds per game his senior year at Butler, helping the Golden Tornado to a second successive WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal berth.

“Bobby probably had the most unique skill set of any player I’ve coached at Butler,” Tornado boys basketball coach Matt Clement said. “He learned how to use his body inside, yet he was an excellent ball handler as well.

“When teams paid extra attention to (point guard) Nate (Snodgrass), Bobby could handle the ball for us.”

Swartwout scored 1,059 points at Butler. He plans to major in business at St. Vincent.

Playing baseball for the Bearcats is also a possibility.

“The baseball coach talked to me about that, but I haven’t decided yet,” Swartwout said.

He is joining a Division III basketball team that finished 22-7 overall last year, 12-4 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. The Bearcats graduated stellar big man Dillon Smith, who averaged 19.5 and 10.2 rebounds per game.

Front-court players returning to St. Vincent next season are 6-8 Grant Latus from Mt. Lebanon and 6-5 Sean Kett from Miami, Fla. Kett averaged 10.5 points per game last year.

Coach D.J. Harris is 193-83 in 10 years at St. Vincent and took the team to the Division III national tournament in 2013.

“There’s a lot of big guys on the team and he (Harris) told me I’d see action at the 3, 4 and 5 positions,” Swartwout said. “But I’m going to have to earn my minutes and that’s the way I want it.

“Even if I don’t start, it’s OK if I get a chance to play and contribute.”

Clement said Swartwout has the basketball ability to play at that level.

“Skill set? No problem. In fact, he could be an animal there,” Clement said. “Getting himself back into shape to play college basketball will be the big thing.”

Swartwout has been playing basketball at the YMCA and in collegiate intramurals.

“I never totally left the game,” he said. “I feel like my skills are still there. I just need to refine them.”

Swartwout will have three years of basketball eligibility at St. Vincent.

“All I want to do is play hard, have fun and win championships,” he said. “Those were my goals in high school and those are my goals now.

“I only have a few more years to do this and I want to make them count.”

Clement is confident he will.

“Bobby’s got the personality to fit in and he’s hungry,” Clement said. “By the time he’s a senior, he’ll be an old senior and that may really play to his benefit.”