Tim Taylor, a decorated assistant coach from the Atlantic Coast Conference, was announced on April 28, 2020 as the new head coach of the Navy women’s basketball program by Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. He begins his fifth year on the bench for the Mids in 2024-25.
In his first year at the helm of the Midshipmen in 2020-21, Taylor guided the team through a 12-game season that was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming off a 2019-20 campaign in which the squad won just 23.3 percent of its games (7-23), Taylor turned the tides in Annapolis and saw Navy nearly double its win percentage to 41.7 percent (5-7) and earn victories in five of its last seven games. Under his tutelage, Jennifer Coleman and Sophie Gatzounas gave the program multiple All-Patriot League honorees for the first time since 2018 as Coleman was selected to the conference’s second team, while Gatzounas played her way onto the third team. As a guard, Coleman averaged a double-double with 17.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.
Taylor and the Mids had a season filled with highlights during the 2021-22 campaign. After knocking off Army in the regular season at home by one point on a Lindsay Llewellyn jumper with four seconds, Navy had a memorable postseason run with a 60-55 first round win over Colgate to a miraculous 50-49 upset win over top-seeded Holy Cross on the road in the quarterfinals on the strength of nine points by Jennifer Coleman in the final 63 seconds, including a banked-in buzzer-beating trey for the walk-off win.
Under Taylor’s guidance, Coleman cemented her name in the lore of Navy Women’s Basketball as she became the first player in program history to ever be named a Division I AP All-American as she was selected to the honorable mention list after averaging 22.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.8 steals. Coleman broke Navy’s single-season program record for total points, total rebounds, defensive rebounds and minutes played. Nationally, she finished fourth in Division I in defensive rebounds per game (8.7 dr/g), eighth in points per game and ninth in double-doubles (21). Additionally, Coleman became the 22nd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau and did it in the fifth-fewest games (67). After completing her career at Navy, Coleman was invited to training camp with the Washington Mystics.
Welcoming his first full recruiting class to Annapolis, the 2022-23 campaign was filled with glimpses of an extremely bright future. Bringing in eight freshmen, Navy’s Class of 2026 contributed 44.0 percent of the scoring, 48.0 percent of the rebounding, 45.5 percent of the assists and 44.4 of the minutes during the 2022-23 season. Trotting out three freshmen in the starting lineup of the season opener at William & Mary, Navy registered 26 points against the Tribe in the opening stanza. The Mids would later start four plebes in three other games during non-conference play. This class’ success was recognized by the Patriot League with seven total Rookie of the Week awards during 2022-23, including a stretch of five straight weeks to open the season and five individual awards for Maren Louridas. Under Taylor’s tutelage, Louridas was named to the 2022-23 Patriot League All-Rookie Team.
Navy’s junior class also took major steps forward during Taylor’s third year with the team as Sydne Watts averaged 12.7 points per game, including a 33-point output against Idaho and Morganne Andrews grabbed 10 or more rebounds in nine different games, including 17 and 19 in back-to-back matchups versus American.
The Mids took a tremendous step forward in 2023-24, as the went 14-17 with a 9-9 mark in conference that tied them for fifth in Patriot League, one game out of second and two out of first. That 13-win turnaround tied for fifth-best in NCAA DI for the season. Fans of Navy knew early on that the 2023-24 had potential from the first game of the season as two freshman, Zanai Barnett-Gay and Kyah Smith were joined in the starting lineup by two other underclassmen in sophomores Maren Louridas and Kate Samson. In a theme, that occurred throughout the year, Barnett-Gay and Smith dominated as in 27 of the 31 games, one of the freshmen led the Mids in scoring. This success paid off in both players being selected to the Patriot League All-Rookie Team, a first for the program since 2000-01. In Barnett-Gay’s case, she became the first Mid since 2011 to be selected as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year and the first-ever freshman Mid to earn a spot on the All-PL First Team after setting the program’s freshman scoring record with 546 points. Her 18.2 points per game scoring average ranked 54th nationally and fifth among all DI freshmen scorers. Additionally, she ranked 12th nationally with a 3.0 steals per game ratio.
As a team, in 2023-24, Navy showed growth during the season as the Mids’ scoring defense went from 287th in the nation (70.1 ppg) to 167th (63.7 ppg) by the end of the year. Navy’s attention to detail on both sides of the ball showed up in more national rankings as it ranked 65th in turnover margin (+2.68 per game), 99th in turnovers forced per game (17.16) and 100th in steals per game (8.6). The previous year, the Mids were 345th in turnovers forced (11.67) and 349th in steals per game (4.3). In a sign of things to come, Navy went 8-4 in its final 12 games of 2023-24 and came within five minutes of knocking off the second-seeded Colgate Raiders in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament.
Most recently an assistant on staff at the University of North Carolina during the 2019-20 campaign, Taylor has honed his craft with 12 seasons of great Division I success and experience, with the majority coming at the University of Virginia. After breaking into the collegiate coaching arena with a two-year stint on staff at Furman University which culminated with a 2000 Southern Conference Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, Taylor began his work in the ACC at Virginia. From his initial postseason trip with Furman, Taylor played significant roles on Cavalier teams that competed in six more NCAA Tournaments, in addition to WNIT berths in 2011 and 2017.
"Support within the basketball community for Coach Taylor's candidacy to lead our women's program was as positive and enthusiastic as I can recall on behalf of any applicant for a position within the NAAA," said Gladchuk. "He has established an extraordinary reputation as a highly accomplished professional in every aspect of coaching and education. All steps in his career reflect motivational leadership, building trusted relationships, the highest levels of integrity, and a well-established road map to success. His influence on players, parents, alumni, friends, and his students has been all encompassing and speaks to a very respected and inspirational story. Tim is a perfect fit to lead our women and our program into the future. He will be a terrific addition to our highly accomplished coaching staff at Navy. We are thrilled to welcome our new Head Coach and his family to Annapolis."
"I am thankful and humbled to be presented this opportunity by Athletic Director
Chet Gladchuk," remarked Taylor. "I am immensely excited to be a part of the Naval Academy and be entrusted with leading the women's basketball program. The Naval Academy is one of the most prestigious institutions in the country and a place that embodies honor and excellence. It will be a privilege to lead the young women in our program on and off the court and to lay a foundation for future success.
"I have been blessed to work for some tremendous people and mentors throughout my career. First and foremost, I want to thank God and my, wife Tonya as well as my family for always being there to support me. I am grateful to Sherry Carter, Debbie Ryan, Joanne Boyle and Courtney Banghart for their support and guidance through the years as well as Craig Littlepage, Carla Williams, Bubba Cunningham and Tony Bennett for their mentorship. Each of these people have impacted my journey and beliefs in immeasurable ways."
Starting as an assistant coach at Furman for the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons, Taylor served as recruiting coordinator for the Paladins and was honored for bringing in a pair of top-40 classes. He quickly turned that success into a spot on the bench prior to the 2000-01 season at Virginia with the legendary Debbie Ryan, a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. His Cavalier teams continued winning with three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament and four trips in five years. As an assistant at Virginia he was in charge of recruiting, scheduling, budgeting and player development.
After five years away from the collegiate game, Taylor returned to Virginia prior to the 2009-10 campaign, as an associate head coach for the Cavaliers. That season, Virginia won 21 games and earned a fifth seed in the Dayton Region of the NCAA Tournament. As an associate head coach, Taylor was recognized as one of the top assistants in the country by attending the prestigious Nike Villa 7 program. As a recruiting coordinator he signed multiple top-15 recruiting classes, including the ACC Player of the Year and Virginia's all-time leading scorer, Monica Wright.
"The Naval Academy hit this one out of the park with the selection of Tim Taylor to lead their women's basketball program," said Ryan. "Tim is an exceptional coach who excels as a tactician, fundamental teacher of the game and develops players well beyond what seems possible for each individual. Tim, more importantly, is an outstanding human being who will develop the women to be great teammates, servant leaders and people who will represent the mission of the Naval Academy on its highest level. Tim has a passion for people and he understands the culture of a successful team. He will mold his young women into a cohesive, united group who can overcome any obstacle through work hard and sacrifice to achieve the teams goals. The Academy could not have found a better person for the job and the women's basketball program will be very grateful for his selection."
Following a WNIT bid by Virginia in 2011, Taylor moved off the sidelines and into administration as the principal of William Wetsel Middle School in Madison, Virginia from 2012 to 2016. As principal, he oversaw the development of a school-wide remediation program that increased test scores across all subjects by at least 20 percent and over 60 percent in math over his four years.
Taylor came back to Charlottesville and re-joined head coach Joanne Boyle's staff prior to the 2016-17 season. In his two years with the Cavaliers, the program reached a pair of postseason events, the 2017 WNIT and the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Following Boyle's retirement from UVA, Taylor stayed in Virginia and continued working with the Team Loaded basketball program. In total, he had a role with AAU program from 2015 to 2019.
"Tim is a high energy, passionate and caring individual that absolutely loves the game of basketball," remarked Boyle. "In my twenty-five years of coaching he stands out as one of the best teachers and mentors of the game. He will pour his heart and soul into his players, staff, and every aspect of the program and will represent the Naval Academy with the utmost valor, pride and integrity.
"Tim was an integral part of our success at Virginia my last two seasons. He brought an infectious and upbeat energy that was consistent every day. He will build a strong foundation for Navy Women's Basketball and create unity and trust amongst everyone involved. Tim will be a lifelong teacher/mentor for all of the young women who choose to be a part of such a wonderful program."
Taylor continued testing himself in the ACC as he joined Courtney Banghart's staff at the University of North Carolina. While with the Tar Heels, Taylor helped a trio of his athletes earn All-ACC accolades this past season as both Janelle Bailey and Taylor Koenen garnered All-ACC nods with Malu Tshitenge being named to the All-ACC Freshman Team. On the recruiting trail, UNC's freshmen class was ranked 11
th in the nation.
"As a program, we celebrate Tim as he takes on this new chapter in his life," said Banghart. "Tim has served for a long tenure in the sport of women's basketball and has waited patiently for a chance to take over his own program. He cares most about building meaningful relationships while making an impact and leaving a legacy in those lives that he touches. He is enormously proud to be able to represent one of the more special institutions in our country."
In addition to coaching in the collegiate and AAU ranks, Taylor has found success at the high school level as he helped lead the Orange County High School men's team to a 40-12 record over the 2006 and 2007 seasons and the program's first-ever berth in the Virginia State Tournament. After a stint with Orange County he took over a Madison County team for the 2008 and 2009 seasons and went 43-11, including 28 straight wins at one juncture. His Madison County club reached the 2009 Virginia State Final Four. Taylor's first high school basketball head coaching position was from 1995 to 1998 when he led Woodbridge High School's girl's program to a 51-21 record and three straight district championships. Overall, his high school coaching record was 134-44.
"Tim has a great mind for the game and his ability to recruit and develop student-athletes will make him a terrific head coach," remarked Tony Bennett, the 2019 NCAA Division I Championship-winning head coach of the men's basketball team at Virginia. "I believe Tim will be an excellent ambassador for the Naval Academy because he is a man of character with high standards and values. He has helped build great women's basketball programs his entire career. If I had a daughter who played basketball, Tim Taylor would definitely be someone I'd want her to play for."
Taylor is a 1989 graduate of James Madison University with a degree in political science. He later earned his master's degree in educational administration in 2012. He and his wife Tonya are the proud parents of three adult children, a daughter Jordan and sons Dalton and Jackson.
