Taylor_Kelly_2023

Taylor Kelly



Taylor Kelly joined the Corban University athletic department as the head men’s basketball coach in the summer of 2020, prior to that, he served as an assistant coach at Vanguard University.

The Corban men’s basketball program has continued to grow year-after-year under Kelly’s watchful eye, with multiple All-Conference awards being received in three-straight winning seasons. Most recently, Kelly led the Warriors to a 20-11 overall record in the 2022-23 season, where they tied for third place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) regular season standings and returned to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

During his six years at Vanguard, Kelly served a pivotal role in the Lions’ success in the ever-competitive Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). His duties included coordinating recruiting efforts, developing the program’s guards, overseeing opponent scouting reports, and assisting with in-game coaching and strategy.

In his time there, Kelly recruited and developed nine All-Conference honorees, a trio of NAIA All-Americans, a GSAC-leading scorer, and the Vanguard career record holder for three-point field goals. Recently, Kelly helped propel the Lions to the best start in the team’s history (18-0) in 2018-19, eventually resulting in the squad earning a No. 3 seed in the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Tournament.

Prior to his coaching career, Kelly enjoyed a sparkling playing career of his own at Vanguard, competing at the school for three years after transferring in from NCAA Division I Fresno State University.

He was a two-year captain for the Lions and sits in the top-five in the program’s record books for career three-pointers made and single-season three-point field goal percentage. Kelly was named the Vanguard University Male Athlete of the Year as a senior.

A standout example off the court, as well, Kelly was an NAIA Scholar-Athlete, a three-time GSAC Scholar-Athlete, and the recipient of the Vanguard Champions of Character award.
Kelly and his wife Kayla recently welcomed their first child, a son named Duke, into the world in May of 2020.