Follow Head Coach Dedrique Taylor on Twitter @CSFCoachTaylor

COACHING MEMBERSHIPS
NCAA DI Men's Basketball Ethics Coalition
Advancement of Blacks in Sports - Voter Registration Committee
Black Coaches United
Coaches 4 Change
National Association of Basketball Coaches

Former Arizona State associate head men's basketball coach and long-time college assistant Dedrique Taylor was appointed the 11th men's basketball head coach in Cal State Fullerton history, Athletic Director Jim Donovan announced on April 3, 2013. The 2022-23 season marked his 10th season at the helm of the program.

Coach Taylor's 2022-23 team culminated the season with its second consecutive Big West Tournament Championship Game appearance, following a six game winning streak to end the regular season and tournament wins over Hawai'i and UC Irvine. Though Fullerton narrowly fell to UC Santa Barbara, the title game appearnace was the Titans' fourth in the last five Big West Tournaments. Coach Taylor led the 2022-23 squad to 20 wins for the third time in his tenure, as well as 10+ conference wins for the fifth time, as the team finished 20-13 overall and 12-6 in Big West action. Guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. earned First-Team All-Big West accolades, while Max Jones was named an Honorable Mention and Tory San Antonio The Big West Defensive Player of the Year.  

During the 2021-22 season, Taylor did what no other Cal State Fullerton head coach has accomplished during their tenure, leading the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances. Taylor is the first coach in program history to lead the Titans to the NCAA Tournament on two separate occasions. Furthermore, he is the first coach to have two 20+ win seasons and is the first coach to have 10+ conference wins in four different seasons. Taylor led the team to a Big West Tournament Championship win over rivals Long Beach State to secure a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The 2020-21 season was also shortened due to COVID-19 but the Titans completed the season with a 6-10 overall record and 5-7 in Big West play. The team qualified for the Big West Tournament in Las Vegas as the No. 7 seed. Guard Tray Maddox Jr. earned Second-Team All-Big West accolades.

Prior to entering his eighth season at Cal State Fullerton, Taylor was honored as one of the Big West’s Top Head Coaches of the Century by BustingBrackets.com. During his tenure he has led the Titans to one NCAA Tournament appearance and, for the first time, back-to-back Big West Tournament Championship game appearances. Taylor has coached and developed 24 student-athletes that have gone on to play professionally. Of those players, 16 of them have earned All-Big West honors. In addition, under Taylor’s mentorship, former Titans assistant coaches Danny Sprinkle (Montana State) and John Smith (Cal Poly) became the first ever pair of mid-major assistant coaches from the same school to be appointed as head coaches in the same season.

The 2019-20 Titans had their season cut short just prior to the start of the Big West Tournament due to COVID-19. Taylor guided Jackson Rowe and Brandon Kamga to claim Second-Team All-Big West honors while Kamga was also named Big West Newcomer of the Year. On December 28, 2019 the Titans pulled out a 77-74 victory over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. The win over the Bruins was just the second in Cal State Fullerton history.

2019-20 graduating seniors Rowe (France), Davon Clare (Portugal) and Austen Awosika (Austria) each signed professional contracts to play in their respective country's top leagues.

In 2018-19, the Titans made it to the Big West Tournament Final for the second straight year, the first time that has been accomplished in program history, but were unable to secure the trophy and return to the NCAA Tournament. Fullerton did earn its third consecutive postseason berth, also a program first, as it hosted CSU Bakersfield in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The Titans went 16-18 on the year and 10-6 in Big West Conference action to take third place in the standings.

Taylor led the 2017-18 squad to a Big West Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007-08 and only the third time in program history. The year prior, he led the 2016-17 team to the postseason for the first time in program history since the 2011-12 season. The Titans hosted Weber State in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, also marking the first time in school history that the team hosted a postseason game.

During Taylor’s tenure with the Titans, guard Michael Williams was named the Big West Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2014, Khalil Ahmad was voted the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year following the 2015-16 season after setting numerous Cal State Fullerton rookie records, Jackson Rowe was named the 2017 Big West Freshman of the Year after averaging 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Kyle Allman, Jr. was named 2018 Big West Tournament MVP while he also earned All-District and first-team All-Big West honors twice.  Brandon Kamga was named the Big West Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2020 while averaging 18.4 points which ranked second in scoring in Big West Conference play. E.J. Anosike was named Big West Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2022 along with being named conference tournament MVP, NABC All-District 9 Second Team and Lou Henson All-American.

In addition, Kennedy Esume was named Fullerton’s Big West Male Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2016, just the second time since 1992 a student-athlete from the men’s basketball program has been bestowed the honor.

Furthermore, Taylor became the fifth Titan head coach to win his first game at Cal State Fullerton when the Titans defeated Montana State, 84-55, in Bozeman, Mont., on Nov. 9, 2013.

Named as one of the top 25 assistant coaches in the nation by CollegeInsider.com in 2010, Taylor spent the seven seasons (2007-13) helping rebuild the Sun Devils' program, leading ASU to four 20-win seasons, including a trip to the NCAA Second Round in 2008-09 with a 25-10 overall record -- the most victories for the program since 1974-75 and the second of three-straight 20-win seasons for Arizona State, something that hadn't happened since 1961-62. He was elevated to the position of associate head coach in the spring of 2010.

“I am really excited for Coach Taylor to become a head coach in the Southern California area. In my time while being recruited to and at Arizona State, he was very important to my development as a player, and he will do a great job in connecting with each player. He is a good friend of my family, and I am excited to follow the Titan program. Cal State Fullerton has hired an excellent coach for its players, both now and in the future.” -- James Harden Arizona State Guard (2007-09)

A native Californian, Taylor joined the Sun Devils' program after spending two seasons as Nevada, helping the Wolf Pack to a 27-6 overall record and a third-straight NCAA Tournament in 2005-06. While in Reno, he coached a pair of forwards to All-Western Athletic Conference honors, including two-time WAC Player of the Year Nick Fazekas, and helped Nevada to 52 wins in his two seasons.

Prior to that, Taylor also spent two seasons as an assistant at Portland State (2002-04) and one season apiece at Loyola Marymount (2001-02) and Big West Conference rival UC Davis (2000-01).

As a player, Taylor began his career at Kings River Community College (now Reedley College) out of Pomona High School in 1993-94, helping his team reach the "Elite Eight" and "Final Four" in the California Junior College state playoffs. He then transferred to Armstrong Atlantic State in Savannah, Georgia, for the 1994-95 season, helping the Pirates to the most wins in school history to that point and a trip to the NCAA Division II "Sweet 16."

He finished his career at UC Davis, playing two seasons (1996-97), and helping the Aggies to a 43-16 overall record and a pair of trips to the second round of the NCAA Regional Tournament. He graduated from UC Davis with a degree in sociology and organizational studies in 1997 and earned a master's degree in sports administration from the United States Sports Academy in 2000.

 

DEDRIQUE TAYLOR YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING CAREER
Year	School	Position	Overall	Pct.	Conference	Finish	Postseason
2000-01	UC Davis	Assistant	18-9	.667	15-7	--	--
2001-02	Loyola Marymount	Assistant	9-20	.310	2-12	t7th	--
2002-03	Portland State	Assistant	5-22	.185	3-11	8th	--
2003-04	Portland State	Assistant	11-16	.407	5-9	8th	--
2004-05	Nevada	Assistant	25-7	.781	16-2	1st	NCAA 2nd Rd.
2005-06	Nevada	Assistant	27-6	.818	13-3	1st	NCAA 1st Rd.
2006-07	Arizona State	Assistant	8-22	.266	2-16	10th	--
2007-08	Arizona State	Assistant	21-13	.618	9-9	t5th	NIT Quarterfinals
2008-09	Arizona State	Assistant	25-10	.714	11-7	t3rd	NCAA 2nd Rd.
2009-10	Arizona State	Assistant	22-11	.667	12-6	2nd	NIT 1st Rd.
2010-11	Arizona State	Assoc. HC	12-19	.387	4-14	10th	--
2011-12	Arizona State	Assoc. HC	10-21	.387	6-12	10th	--
2012-13	Arizona State	Assoc. HC	22-13	.629	10-10	t6th	NIT 2nd Rd.
2013-14	Cal State Fullerton	Head Coach	11-20	.355	6-10	t6th	--
2014-15	Cal State Fullerton	Head Coach	9-22	.290	1-15	9th	--
2015-16	Cal State Fullerton	Head Coach	10-20	.333	3-13	9th	--
2016-17	Cal State Fullerton	Head Coach	17-15	.531	10-6	3rd	CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
2017-18	Cal State Fullerton	Head Coach	20-12	.625	10-6	4th	NCAA 1st Rd.
2018-19	Cal State Fullerton	Head Coach	16-18	.471	10-6	3rd	CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
2019-20	Cal State Fullerton	Head Coach	11-20	.355	6-10	7th	season canceled prior to start of Big West Tournament
2020-21	Cal State Fullerton	Head Coach	6-10	.375	5-7	7th	--
2021-22	Cal State Fullerton	Head Coach	21-11	.656	11-4	2nd	NCAA 1st Rd.
2022-23	Cal State Fullerton	Head Coach	20-13	.606	12-6	4th	--
TOTALS	23 years	--	356-337	.514	182-201	--	--
Head Coach	10 years	--	141-161	.467	74-83	--	--

 

VIDEOS
Introductory Press Conference Highlights (April 3, 2013 -- Titan Gym -- Fullerton, Calif.)