Bio

Coach John Taylor enters the 2023-24 season with a total of 615 career wins as a head coach. He became the Marauder men’s basketball head coach in the 2010-11 season, and for the first 10 games was both men’s and women’s head coach.

In that season, just as in 2011-12 he guided the Marauders to another 20 win season, and made playoffs.

In 2011-12 he did what only one other coach in California has ever done - coached a team to the state final four for both the men’s and women’s.  His Marauder women’s team played in the final four in 2007.

In 2013-14, Taylor led AVC to the best regular season record in southern California and the program’s 20th conference title - the Western State South.

He was again that year named Western State South Coach of the Year, the fifth time in his career he has been so named - the other three was in 1996 with the LA Valley women and in 2003 and 2004 Marauder women. 

In 2016-17 his teams made the State quarterfinals for the second straight season, and the second straight as the lowest seeded conference team.

His teams have now made playoffs 22 straight seasons, and have won 20 or more wins in 15 straight.

In the final game of the 2014-15 regular season, Taylor won his 500th career game as a head coach.

In his 10 plus seasons as women’s coach, Taylor’s accomplishments also included both state and school prominence.

In 2008 he added “Giant Killer” to his already impressive resume.

Taylor led the No. 17 seeded Marauders to a 73-63 win over the No. 1 Orange Coast Pirates -- the first women’s  team seeded lower than 16th to pull the upset against the top seeded team in state history.  Intriguingly, Taylor almost accomplished the feat against Ventura when he coached LA Valley in 1998.  The Monarchs lost by a point on a buzzer beater after six seconds were put on the clock after time expired.

In 2008-09, a win over the top team added to other accomplishments that included becoming the first Marauder women’s basketball coach to get 200 wins on the way to the team’s seventh Foothill Conference championship -- their fifth in the last seven years. He also won his 350th career game as a head coach.

In the 2004-2005 season, Taylor put together the best team AVC has ever had.

The Marauders’ theme for the season --  “History Made” -- was appropriate.  AVC ended with a school record 31 wins on the season.  At second in the state, they had their highest ranking ever.  They also had their highest seeding ever.  In 2004-05 AVC won 10, 20 and  30 games faster than any Marauder team in history.  AVC opened the season with a school record seven straight wins.  These seven included AVC’s first-ever tournament championship (SD Mesa), AVC’s first tournament MVP (Shalonie Hutchinson) and AVC’s second tournament win (Glendale).  AVC won their third tournament of the season by winning the Clear Channel Holiday Tournament, marking the first home tournament win.
All this surpassed a 2002-03 team that crafted a school record 25 wins, which included a 17-game winning streak and undefeated Foothill Conference championship team.  Taylor won his 200th community college game as a head coach during the 2002-03 season, and was named the Foothill Conference Coach of the Year.

The 2007-08 season was the Marauders’ sixth straight 20-win season a record, and marked the eighth straight playoff appearance for AVC.

In 2006-07, Taylor not only became the winningest women’s basketball coach in AVC history, beating El Camino for win 143, but also picked up win 300 in his overall career -- against Chaffey at home.
The 2004-05 Marauder team became the first to play in the state semifinals, also a first for Taylor.  Another first for Taylor was being named the State Coach of the Year.

Taylor was hired in 2002 as a full-time physical education faculty member after coaching two 19-win seasons, including two trips to the playoffs, and the inauguration of the Clear Channel AVC Holiday Tournament.

In 2007, Taylor finished his tenure as President of the California Community College Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Taylor came to the Marauders after spending seven seasons as the head coach of the LA Valley women’s basketball team.  He crafted a 144-93 record with the Monarchs, and led them to an Elite Eight berth in the state playoffs in 1999, losing to the eventual state champion.  The year before, LA Valley dumped the Marauders out of the playoffs, 70-65, in the first round, then lost by a point to the eventual state champion Ventura.

In fact, Taylor’s teams have played in the playoffs 22 straight seasons, including a school record 10 seasons with the AVC women, and three times the Monarchs played for a chance to play in the Elite Eight, making it once.

The Monarchs won the 1995-96 Western State Conference championship, and was runner-up three times.  Taylor was named WSC Coach of the Year in that championship season.  The worst Monarch conference finish was fourth.

Taylor spent five seasons as the Monarchs’ assistant coach under Doug Michelson, before taking over as head coach.  In those seasons, LA Valley played in the state championship game twice, and reached the Elite Eight four times.

Taylor graduated from LA Polytechnic High School, where he started as a point guard as a junior and senior.  As a senior he was named All-East Valley League as he scored 12.5 points and dished off seven assists per game for the Parrots, helping lead Poly to the EVL title and the AAA quarterfinals.  That season he was the Hart Invitational MVP, and was named to the LA Times All-Valley team.  He was also named All-EVL in tennis as a junior and senior.

He then played a season at point guard for Michelson at LA Pierce College.  Taylor has a bachelor’s in physical education from Cal State Northridge, and his master’s from Chapman University in education.