Chris Jans‘ group of assistant coaches once again includes a trio of individuals.
The Aggies’ fifth-year head men’s basketball coach announced Tuesday that Dominique Taylor has agreed to join Jans’ staff as an assistant coach for the 2021-22 season and beyond.
“We are thrilled that Dominique has decided to join our men’s basketball staff,” Jans commented. “Coach Taylor is respected by his peers for his skill set, engaging personality, and work ethic. These characteristics will allow him to make an immediate impact with the current Aggies in our program and future ones as well.”
Since the 2017-18 season, Taylor had been serving as an assistant men’s basketball coach at MEAC institution Bethune-Cookman University. In Taylor’s four seasons as a part of the Wildcats’ coaching staff, the program recorded a 48-45 overall mark which included a 31-17 showing in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) showdowns. Through his last few months at Bethune-Cookman, Taylor owned the title of interim head coach after Ryan Ridder accepted the head coaching position at UT-Martin in late March of 2021.
Taylor helped tutor a trio of MEAC major award winners in 2017-18 Player of the Year Brandon Tabb, 2017-18 Defensive Player of the Year Soufiyane Diakite and 2018-19 Defensive Player of the Year Cletrell Pope. With that pair headlining the roster, Bethune-Cookman captured a share of the MEAC regular season title for just the second time in the history of the program.
Taylor moved to Bethune-Cookman following one season as the head men’s basketball coach at Southeastern Illinois Community College. His sole season as the Falcons’ head coach occurred after one year as an assistant coach at Chipola College in Marianna, Fla. Through that year (2015-16), Taylor helped guide the program to a mark of 17-13.
Before joining Chipola’s coaching staff, Taylor linked up with current Tennessee-Martin head coach Ryan Ridder as an assistant coach at Daytona State. Alongside Ridder, Taylor turned Daytona State around in their first season (2013-14), taking a program that had gone only 6-25 the previous season and turning it into a 24-6 powerhouse that won the Mid-Florida Conference title. That year, the Falcons finished the campaign ranked 10th in the NJCAA and all of theoor sophomore student-athletes graduated with their associate’s degrees.
The first NCAA Division I coaching opportunity afforded to Taylor came in 2011-12 when he began a two-year stint at South Alabama as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Jaguars. The Jaguars finished near the top of the Sun Belt Conference during Taylor’s tenure with the team earning consecutive runner-up finishes in the league standings. Taylor had the distinct honor to mentor Sun Belt Player of the Year and NCAA All-American Augustine Rubit of Houston, Texas. The Jaguars saw success on the recruiting trail as well, garnering consecutive top-ranked recruiting classes in the Sun Belt during Taylor’s stint in Mobile, Ala.
Taylor got his start as a coach in the junior college ranks, specifically at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kan., where he served on the men’s basketball coaching staff for two seasons beginning in 2009-10. He helped lead the Panthers to a 20-win season in 2009-10 and coached six players that went on to NCAA Division I schools, including Antione Lundy, a 2009-10 NJCAA All-American.
The 2009-10 Panthers were the top rebounding team in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference, including Lundy’s league-leading 13.7 average, and finished tied for third in the KJCCC Eastern Division with a 12-6 mark.
Taylor served as recruiting coordinator and assisted with all aspects of the program, including on-the-court coaching, practice planning, academic progress, travel planning and scheduling. He also was involved with team public relations, fundraising and promotional activities.
In addition to his coaching duties at NCCC, Taylor was an adjunct faculty member where he taught undergraduate courses in personal training and coaching basketball.
As a player, Taylor suited up for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the Southland Conference. From 2005-08, Taylor was a staple in the Islanders’ lineup and helped lead the team to a trio of 20+ win seasons. With him on their side, the Islanders enjoyed their finest season in program history during the 2006-07 campaign. That year, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi captured the Southland’s regular season title before winning the Southland Conference Tournament and earning the program’s first (and so far its only) bid to the NCAA Tournament.
