Entering his fifth season in Bruins blue, Kyle Taylor has continued the strong tradition of the Salt Lake Community College Men's Basketball program.
In just four seasons, Taylor has posted an overall record of 113-16, earning four consecutive trips to the NJCAA Championships in Hutchinson, Kan. SLCC has earned three Region 18 titles in Taylor's tenure, also posting a trio of NJCAA Western District titles. The Bruins have also led the NJCAA in scoring in each of the past two seasons.
The Bruins went 29-5 during the 2022-23 season, posting a Region 18 championship and a berth into the NJCAA tournament. Salt Lake went 35-2 overall in the 2021-22 season, opening the season on a 28-game winning streak. The Bruins advanced all the way to the NJCAA title game in 2022, falling to Northwest Florida State College in the championship game.
He earned the Scenic West Athletic Conference regular-season title and a Region 18 title in the 2019-20 season, seeing a high national seed end in disappointment with the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor earned the 2020 Region 18 and NJCAA West District Coach-of-the-Year awards.
In total, Taylor has won three 'West District Coach-of-the-Year' awards. Salt Lake has had four assistants move on to assistant coaching positions at the NCAA Division-I level during his tenure: Ricardo Rush (Chattanooga), CJ Killin (Cal State Northridge), Rosbie Mutcherson (Utah Valley) and Nick Covington (Jacksonville State).
Not only has SLCC been successful as a team in Taylor's tenure, the Bruins have seen a great deal of individual success. To date, SLCC has had five NJCAA All-Americans (three First-Team members), 17 NJCAA Academic All-American players, and has had 36 players accept offers to NCAA Division I programs.
Taylor most recently worked as the Associate Head Coach at Idaho State University. During his tenure with the Bengals, he worked as the program's offensive coordinator and also helped with skill development. Taylor also worked as the program's recruiting coordinator. Prior to that, Taylor worked for Utah State University under former coach Tim Duryea as his special assistant.
His previous head coaching experience came at Covenant College, where he was also the Director of Athletics for the NCAA Division-III institution in Georgia. While at Covenant, he led the team to their first NCAA tourney appearance and a school-record 18 wins after the 2016 season. In his role as Athletic Director, Taylor managed the budget, assisted with fundraising efforts for the institution, and successfully navigated a transition from NAIA to NCAA membership.
Taylor's coaching experience started in California at Pepperdine University, working as a video coordinator. He also worked as an operations director at Cal State Northridge. The California native earned an undergraduate degree from UCLA and a graduate degree from Northwest Missouri State University.
Taylor and his wife, Shannon, are the parents of three children - Kade, Quinn, and Phillip.
