With a reputation of winning and 18 years of head coaching experience, Vanessa Taylor was announced as the eighth head women’s basketball coach at North Carolina Central University on April 18, 2012.
Taylor hung up her blue and gold for maroon and gray after 11 seasons as head coach at Johnson C. Smith University and seven seasons as head coach at Elizabeth City State University. During that time, her teams posted 14 consecutive winning seasons, including six campaigns with 20-plus victories. She was selected as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year on three occasions (1998, 2000, 2011).
She guided JCSU to its first CIAA tournament title in 2009, while finishing as conference tournament runners-up on five occasions (2003, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2012). Under Taylor’s leadership, the Golden Bulls made five NCAA tournament appearances (2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012) and garnered top 25 national rankings in four seasons (2004-05, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12).
Taylor left JCSU as the all-time winningest women’s basketball coach in school history with a record of 215-112, along with a career record of 298-207.
During the 2011-12 campaign, the Moutltrie, Georgia, native finished with an overall record of 22-7 and 14-2 in the conference. Prior to the Golden Bulls NCAA tournament appearance, the squad was ranked No. 2 among Division II schools in the Atlantic Region.
Along with the team’s accomplishments, Taylor was selected as the CIAA Conference Head Coach of the Week on five separate occasions throughout the 2011-12 season. No other coach in the conference has earned more than one weekly honor that season.
At the conclusion of her 10th season at JSCU (2010-11), Taylor’s squad was named among the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 poll at No. 22 on her career-best 26-5 season. On the season, the Golden Bulls were listed in the top 25 in five separate weeks. In the fourth NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional tournament appearance, JCSU defeated Glenville State (74-69) in the quarterfinals to mark the first ever regional tournament win for the Golden Bulls’ program.
Prior to joining the JCSU program, Taylor tallied seven seasons as the head coach at Elizabeth City State (1994-2001) and two seasons as an assistant coach at Hampton University (1992-94).
Under her direction at ECSU, the Lady Vikings won the regular-season Eastern Division championship in 2000 and 2001. She was selected as the 1998 and 2000 CIAA Coach of the Year with the Lady Vikings.
In her two seasons at Hampton, Taylor helped guide the Lady Pirates to the 1994 CIAA Tournament Championship and a regional playoff appearance.
She is the daughter of Joe Van Taylor and the late Mattie Taylor, a former high school coach for 30-plus years, whom she credits everything she has learned.
High School
Colquitt County High School
College
Tuskegee University, July 1991 (B.S. Psychology)
Graduate Degree
Hampton University, 1992-94 (Courses Taken in Agency Counseling)
Coaching Experience
Head Coaching College Record: 331-320 (23 seasons)
North Carolina Central University
2012-17 / Record: 33-113
2016-17 8-21
2015-16 5-23
2014-15 7-22
2013-14 11-19
2012-13 2-28
Johnson C. Smith University
2001-12 / Record: 215-112 (.657)
2011-12 22-7
2010-11 26-5 (Best Record in School History/CIAA Coach of the Year)
2009-10 18-10
2008-09 20-11 (CIAA Tournament Champions)
2007-08 21-10
2006-07 16-14
2005-06 20-11 (CIAA Western Division Champions)
2004-05 19-10
2003-04 16-13
2002-03 18-12
2001-02 19-9
Elizabeth City State University
1994-2001 / Record: 83-95 (.466)
2000-01 13-12
1999-2000 22-5 (CIAA Coach of the Year)
1998-99 14-12
1997-98 13-13 (CIAA Coach of the Year)
1996-97 9-18
1995-96 4-20
1994-95 8-15
Coaching Honors
• 2012 CIAA Tournament Runner-Up
• 2011 CIAA Coach of the Year
• 2011 CIAA Tournament Runner-Up
• 2011 CIAA Southern Division Champions
• 2011 NCAA South Atlantic Region Runner-Up
• 2011 Best Record in School History (26-5)
• 2009 CIAA Tournament Champions
• 2008 CIAA Tournament Runner-Up
• 2006 CIAA Tournament Runner-Up
• 2006 CIAA Western Champions
• 2006 Inducted into High School Hall of Fame (Colquitt County High School)
• 2003 CIAA Tournament Runner-Up
• 2000 CIAA Coach of Year
• Five NCAA Division II playoff appearances (2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012)
