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Hailey Franklin
Hailey Franklin
Hailey Franklin
Hailey Franklin
Hailey Franklin
Vanessa_Taylor

Vanessa Taylor

Head Coach Nicole Shelwick announced the hiring of Vanessa Taylor as Lander's newest assistant coach in August of 2024. Taylor is entering her first year as the women's basketball assistant. 

Taylor joins the Bearcats after serving two years as the women's basketball assistant coach at Queens University of Charlotte. Before her time at Queens, she spent five years at Coastal Carolina University as the Chanticleers' associate head women's basketball coach. 
 
With almost 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, 23 of which were as a head coach, Taylor's experience speaks for itself. During her tenure at Queens, Taylor contributed to the coaching of notable Royals in Nicole Gwynn, who averaged 16 points per game, and Jordyn Weaver (12 PPG, 8.4 RPG), who received recognition on the 2022-23 ASUN All-Freshman Team under coach Taylor's guidance. 
 
Before her time at Queens University, coach Taylor joined the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in May of 2017 as an assistant coach before being promoted to associate head coach heading into the 2018-19 season. In her five seasons with the Coastal Carolina women's basketball team, she helped build the program into a Sun Belt Conference contender, leading the Chanticleers to a pair of historic seasons. For the first time in program history, the team advanced to the Women's Basketball Invitational during the 2018-19 season, and they followed that up with a 2019-20 season that saw them go 25-4 overall and 15-5 in the Sun Belt. The 25 wins set a program record and established the most successful season in program history.   
 
Notable Chanticleers under coach Taylor include Sun Belt Player of Year DJ Williams, Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Naheria Hamilton, and Aja Blount. Williams completed her career with 1,582 points, while Blount scored 1,441 points. Hamilton also scored over 1,000 points in her career.  
 
Before joining Coastal Carolina's staff, Taylor served as the head women's basketball coach at North Carolina Central University from 2012 to 2017, at Johnson C. Smith from 2001 to 2012, and at Elizabeth City State University from 1994 to 2001. She accumulated 331 wins as a head coach, with her 215-112 9.657) record and the Golden Bulls standing out the most.  
  
Under Taylor, the Golden Bulls made five NCAA DII Women's Basketball Championship appearances (2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012). During the 2010-11 season, Taylor led the program to a 26-5 overall record, the best in school history, and was voted the CIAA Coach of the Year. Taylor also captured the CIAA Tournament Championship in 2009 and the CIAA Western Division Championship in 2006. 
  
Furthermore, Taylor led the Lady Vikings to the CIAA East Division Championship with a 22-5 overall record, and as a result, she was selected as the CIAA Coach of the Year at ECSU in 1997–1998 and again in 1999–2000.  
  
Taylor holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Tuskegee University. She resides in Greenwood, South Carolina, with her husband, Lonnie White, an American Tennis Association Hall of Famer and a Tennis teaching pro.