Benjy Taylor enters his sixth season as the head men’s basketball coach at Tuskegee University, the 17th head coach in the university’s history.
The 2023-24 season for Tuskegee men’s basketball was one marked by resilience and steady progress, culminating in a 13-15 overall record and a 12-8 mark in SIAC play. The Golden Tigers faced early struggles in non-conference action, starting 1-7 before finding their rhythm in conference play. Their ability to string together key wins helped them finish with a strong presence in the SIAC standings.
The 2022-23 season marked a significant breakthrough under Taylor’s leadership, as Tuskegee finished 20-9 overall and 15-5 in SIAC play, making them one of the top teams in the conference. The Golden Tigers excelled in road games, going 9-2 away from home, a testament to their mental toughness. Devin Booker (14.8 PPG), Gregg Boyd (13.0 PPG), and D’Anthony Pennington (8.8 PPG, 2.2 assists per game) formed a balanced offensive attack. The defense was elite, holding opponents to 64.1 points per game, the best scoring defense in the SIAC. The team reached the SIAC semifinals and earned a spot in the NCAA South Region Tournament, showing the program’s progress under Taylor.
Coach Taylor guided Tuskegee to a 15-14 overall record, with a 12-7 conference record during the 2021-22 season. The team had a balanced season, finishing 7-4 at home, 6-8 on the road, and 2-2 at neutral sites. Devin Booker was the team’s go-to player, leading the team with 16.6 points per game, while Deveraux Davis contributed 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. The team relied on a strong defensive identity, ranking among the best in the SIAC in steals (9.2 per game) and forced turnovers (17.8 per game). The Golden Tigers made a deep run in the SIAC Tournament but fell short in the later rounds?.
The 2020-21 campaign was a challenging one, as the Golden Tigers played only 12 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing 5-7 overall. The team went 1-1 in conference play while posting a 3-3 home record. The shortened season limited Tuskegee’s chances of developing chemistry, but it provided valuable experience for the roster?.
During the 2019-20 season, Benjy Taylor led the Tuskegee Golden Tigers to a 17-10 overall record, including a 14-5 mark in SIAC play. The team was particularly dominant at home, posting a 12-2 record, while struggling on the road (5-7). Tuskegee relied on standout performances from James Eads, who led the team with 19.1 points per game, and Myles Thomas, who added 17.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. The Golden Tigers were one of the top offensive teams in the SIAC, averaging 71.9 points per game while holding opponents to 69.2 points per game. Despite a strong regular season, the team fell short in the SIAC Tournament, ending their season with a first-round exit to Paine College?.
Taylor comes to Tuskegee after three seasons as an assistant coach for the CSU Bakersfield men’s basketball, where he helped assist the Runners to a 55-34 record during his tenure. In 2016-17, CSUB won the Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship and became the first-ever No. 8 seed to reach the NIT semifinals.
CSUB also finished No. 9 in the mid-major Top 25 with the highest RPI in program history at 59. The Runners were in the Top 10 of several defensive categories nationally, including a No. 1 ranking in transition defense and No. 2 in defensive points per possession. Meanwhile, the team earned its first-ever Defensive All-American selection (Jaylin Airington).
Before serving as an assistant coach at Southeast Missouri State for the 2015-16 season, Taylor was interim head coach at the Univesity of Hawaii during the 2014-15 season, where he led the Rainbow Warriors to a winning 22-13 record. Hawaii advanced to the Big West Conference Tournament final and recorded its second straight 20-plus win season – the program’s first back-to-back 20-win campaign in 17 years. This success, in part, led Taylor to be named the Hugh Durham Mid-Season Mid Major National Coach of the Year at the end of the season.
Prior to Hawai’i, Taylor was the head coach at Chicago State for three years. During his tenure, he helped the Cougars achieve new heights in its Division I era, including the program’s first winning season in more than 23 years. The 2008-09 squad finished with a 19-13 season ledger and also finished the season ranked third nationally in scoring and steals. For his efforts, he captured ‘Independent Division I Coach of the Year’ honors.
Taylor was an assistant coach at Tulane before his time at Chicago State, where in his second season, he helped the Green Wave compile a 17-13 overall record, including a top division finish, only one full season removed from the devastating after-effects of Hurricane Katrina.
After helping Pepperdine to an NIT appearance in 2001, Taylor landed his first head coaching stint at NCAA Division III North Central College in Naperville, Ill., where he guided the program for three seasons. It was Taylor’s second tour of duty in the state. Taylor was previously the associate head coach at Northern Illinois from 1995-2000, helping the Huskies reach the NCAA Tournament in 1996 after posting a 20-10 record. Taylor has also served as an assistant coach at Cornell (1991-92), The Citadel (1992-95) and Indiana State (2004-05).
As a student-athlete, Taylor was a four-year letter winner with the University of Richmond (1985-89). His teams registered an 85-38 (.691) record during his career with two NCAA Tournament appearances (1986, ’88) and one NIT Tournament bid (1989). The 1988 Spider team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with upsets of Indiana and Georgia Tech in the NCAA Tournament.
Taylor earned his bachelor’s degree with a double major in criminal justice and sociology and remained with the Spiders as a graduate assistant coach, earning a master’s degree in sports management. During his two years as a graduate assistant coach at Richmond, he helped his alma mater to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. In the first round of the 1991 NCAA Tourney, Richmond upset Syracuse, the first time a 15-seed defeated a two-seed in NCAA Tournament history.
