LATROBE — He stands 6-foot-6, weighs 270 pounds and is the perfect sixth man on a basketball court.

Bobby Swartwout is enjoying life at Saint Vincent College.

“He’s an incredible athlete for his size,” Bearcats coach D.P. Harris said. “Bobby can run the floor, dominate inside ... We’ve played him at the 3,4 and 5 positions on the floor.

“We wouldn’t be where we are without him, that’s for sure.”

Where they are is 9-1 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference standings — bidding for their fourth consecutive PAC title — and 13-4 overall.

Swartwout, a Butler graduate and now a senior at Saint Vincent, has not been on board for the entire four-year ride. He first attended West Virginia Wesleyan for baseball, then transferred to California (Pa.) for the same sport.

After two years of struggling to get on the field at Cal, Swartwout came over to Saint Vincent as a junior last year and returned to basketball.

“Switching back to basketball was harder than I thought it’d be,” Swartwout admitted. “My shot was good, but I wasn’t consistent with it. I was missing a lot of lay-ups ... My game just wasn’t smooth enough.”

Swartwout averaged just 4.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 13 minutes per game last year as the Bearcats posted a 22-7 record.

He scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 28 minutes of action in an 81-76 loss to Bethany over the weekend.

“I wish I had come here straight out of high school,” he said. “Being part of four straight conference titles would have been a cool thing.”

Harris wished he had Swartwout all along as well.

“We would have conditioned him to be a perimeter player by now,” the coach said. “Bobby’s got a nice shot and he can handle the ball. He would have been a great match-up problem.

“But I like what we’re getting out of him right now. He’s battling a hand injury and he’s still producing. And he’s become a great leader at this school, on and off the court, in the short time he’s been here.”

Swartwout is averaging 20 minutes, 8.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in this his final season. Despite starting only four games all year, he is leading Saint Vincent in rebounding.

In 14 minutes of action against Thiel last week, Swartwout grabbed eight rebounds. He scored 17 points in 27 minutes against Westminster, snared eight rebounds in 20 minutes against Grove City.

“He’s got great hands and he knows how to position that body in there,” Harris said. “Bobby is a monster on the boards.”

When Swartwout does play the 3-spot — he’s drained six treys this season — the Bearcats have three big men on the floor at the same time “and we can wear people down that way,” Swartwout said. “I’m one of three guys we rotate into the post most of the time.”

He describes his role on the team succinctly.

“Go in and do whatever is necessary to help us win,” Swartwout said. “Score, grab rebounds, play great defense, whatever.

“I’m playing with some great talent here. Jaylon Bell and Pat Jones are all-conference caliber guys. We have an athletic team that can play fast. It’s fun.”

One thing Saint Vincent has never done is win an NCAA Division III Tournament game.

“That’s the next hurdle,” Harris said. “We won NAIA Tournament games, but nothing since we bumped up.”

“We need to make that happen,” Swartwout declared. “This team is capable of going on a deep run.”

Swartwout is majoring in business management and will graduate from Saint Vincent in December.

He plans to coach basketball down the road.

“I’ll be coaching at some point, for sure,” Swartwout said. “Getting a job and all that comes first, but I won’t be done with the game. I love it too much.”