Vince Taylor enters his second season as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Tennessee State in 2026-27, working primarily with the Tigers’ forwards and centers. A Lexington, Kentucky, native, Taylor brings extensive collegiate and professional coaching experience, a strong recruiting background and a record of developing frontcourt players to head coach Nolan Smith’s staff.
Taylor helped Tennessee State achieve a historic season in 2025-26 as the Tigers finished 23-10 overall and 15-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play. TSU established a program record for victories in the NCAA Division I era, earned a share of its first OVC regular-season championship since 1994-95 and captured its first conference tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth since 1994.
The Tigers defeated Morehead State, 93-67, in the OVC Tournament championship game, setting championship-game records for points scored and margin of victory. Tennessee State advanced to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 15 seed in the Midwest Region and faced No. 2 seed Iowa State in St. Louis.
Taylor’s work with the frontcourt helped develop a productive interior rotation led by Jalen Pitre and Antoine Lorick III. Pitre started all 33 games and led the Tigers with 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 62.3 percent from the field. Lorick averaged 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds, shot 52.5 percent and led the team with 47 blocked shots. Together, the pair provided rebounding, efficient scoring and rim protection throughout the championship season.
“Coach Taylor has more experience in every situation you can possibly think of — Duke player, [New York] Knickerbocker player, UCF, Louisville, Texas Tech, Pittsburgh, Timberwolves, Wyoming,” Smith said upon Taylor’s hiring. “Coach is an amazing human being. It was important for me to go find guys that wear that hat first, and Coach is one of those special human beings in this business.
Before joining Tennessee State, Taylor spent seven seasons at UCF from 2017-24. He helped guide the Knights to their first at-large NCAA Tournament berth, the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory and a second-round matchup against Duke in 2019. UCF won 24 games that season and appeared in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2011. Taylor also worked closely with center Tacko Fall, who went on to sign with the Boston Celtics.
Taylor served as an assistant coach at Texas Tech under Tubby Smith from 2013-16, focusing on frontcourt development and earning recognition on Hoop Scoop’s Top 60 Assistant Coaches list for his recruiting success. Before Texas Tech, he spent six seasons at Minnesota from 2007-13, helping the Golden Gophers sign 10 top-150 recruits and reach multiple NCAA Tournaments.
At Louisville, Taylor worked under Hall of Fame coaches Denny Crum and Rick Pitino from 1998-2005. He helped assemble the Cardinals’ top-five recruiting class in 2001 and recruited future NBA first-round selections Reece Gaines and Francisco Garcia. Louisville reached the 2005 Final Four with a roster shaped in part by Taylor’s recruiting efforts.
Taylor also spent two seasons with the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves from 2005-07, working in player development and opponent scouting. His collegiate coaching experience includes additional stops at Pittsburgh and Wyoming.
As a player, Taylor starred at Duke, earning All-ACC and honorable mention All-America recognition in 1982 after leading the conference in scoring at 20.3 points per game. He finished his collegiate career with 1,455 points and once held the school record for consecutive games played with 120.
The New York Knicks selected Taylor in the second round of the 1982 NBA Draft. He played one NBA season before continuing a professional career in Europe, including two years as a player and assistant coach in Belgium.
A McDonald’s High School All-American at Tates Creek High School, Taylor earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke in 1982 and was named to the President’s List for his academic and leadership achievements.
