Men's Basketball

Jason Taylor just completed his fourth year as an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech, and his second as associate head coach. On Sunday, Mar. 3, 2019, he was named acting head coach following the resignation of former head coach Steve Payne. 

Since joining the Tech staff prior to the 2015-16 campaign, Taylor's mark on the team's offensive production has been evident, producing the three highest scoring averages by a team led by head coach Steve Payne. During the 2017-18 season, the Golden Eagles averaged 73.3 points, a small uptick from the 2016-17 campaign when the team averaged 72.4 points per game.

He assisted in Tech's fantastic 2015-16 campaign as the Golden Eagles soared to a 19-12 overall record and 11-5 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play while returning to the postseason for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign with a bid in the inaugural Vegas 16 Tournament.

The Clarkrange, Tenn. native helped blueprint one of the better offensive units to don the purple and gold in the Hooper Eblen Center in his first season in Cookeville, acting essentially as an offensive coordinator for a team that improved its scoring from a meager 70.6 points per game in 2014-15 to 77.9 points per game.

The 2015-16 TTU basketball team finished with 2,416 points, the fifth-most in program history. The team also knocked down an incredible 266 3-pointers, the second-most in school history. The team's 36.4 3-point percentage was the programs fifth best mark ever while the team's free throw shooting was on par with the best in program history. The Tech squad finished with 566 made shots from the charity stripe and a 74.3 percentage at the line, both ranking third all-time in school history.

Taylor brought his own share of experience and success after spending 12 seasons at Anderson University in a variety of roles. Most recently, he served as the Trojan’s head coach, beginning his historic run at the helm of the program back in 2006. In nine seasons as the lead man, Taylor became Anderson’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach, accumulating a 157-113 record.

In just five years, he led the Trojans out of the cellar in the South Atlantic Conference to an NCAA DII Tournament Southeast Regional Championship and Top 25 national ranking. Anderson made four NCAA trips in his final six seasons, including three consecutive bids to the post-season tournament. The team also posted a 6-4 record in the tournament over the past six years.

Over his tenure, particularly in the final five seasons, Taylor turned the Trojans into the class of the SAC, leading the team to a 109-69 mark in league play, including a very impressive 68-30 record his final five years in charge. Home court advantage was clearly evident during his reign, as Anderson put together a 76-22 home record over his final seven seasons.

Taylor’s players enjoyed much success both on and off the court, represented by seven 1,000-point scorers to play for him at Anderson, including the program’s top five scorers of all time. Off the court, 30 of his 31 players who finished their eligibility graduated. His teams were also very active off the court throughout the community.

Prior to taking over as the head coach of the Trojans, Taylor served for three years as both an assistant coach for Anderson, as well as the head coach of the JV program. For two years before arriving at Anderson University, he acted as both an assistant coach and adjunct professor of physical education at Roane State Community College.

Familiar with the Ohio Valley Conference, Taylor was a member of Jacksonville State’s first winning team at the Division I level, posting a 17-11 mark his junior season after transferring from Roane State. He played his freshman season of ball at Aquinas College before redshirting the next year at Roane State. He played his redshirt sophomore season for the Raiders, earning his associate’s of sciences in 1998-99. Taylor then made the move to the Gamecocks, walking away from the university with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education K-12 in 2000-01.

Taylor currently resides in Clarkrange, Tenn.