Joshua Taylor enters his foruth season at the helm of the Mizzou Volleyball program. Taylor had the interim tag removed and was named the seventh head coach in the program’s 46-year history, announced on Nov. 14, 2019, by Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk. Taylor was named the Tigers’ interim head coach on July 18, 2019, following Wayne and Susan Kreklow’s retirement from the program in the summer of 2018 after a highly-successful 19-year run. Taylor agreed to a five-year contract as Mizzou Volleyball head coach, extending him through the 2024 campaign.
In his second season, Taylor navigated Mizzou through the pandemic-altered season to finish 15-7 in SEC play and third in the league standings. The Tigers returned to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive time and 17th appearance overall. Mizzou posted a dominant sweep of South Dakota in the opening round, advancing for the seventh-straight NCAA appearance. Taylor guided three Tigers to All-SEC honors as Kylie Deberg, Anna Dixon and Andrea Fuentes all earned honors. Deberg went on to earn AVCA second-team All-America recognition, marking the 11th straight season a Tiger has garnered the nation’s top recognition.
In his first year at the helm, Taylor guided Mizzou to a 22-8 (13-5 SEC) record and a trip to the program's 16th all-time NCAA Tournament. He earned his first career postseason win following a dominant sweep over Northern Iowa in the first round. The Tigers featured one of the nation's finest offenses in 2019, evident by their .302 hitting percentage and 14.67 kills per set. Those totals ranked tied for second and fifth in the nation, respectively.
Taylor played a key role into Kylie Deberg's evolution as one of the nation's premier outside hitters, as she earned 2019 AVCA Second-Team All-American honors. Deberg became only the sixth all-time Tiger to garner multiple All-American accolades.Â
Taylor has been on the Mizzou Volleyball staff for three years. He served as the Tigers’ assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2017-18, helping Mizzou to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and a 46-20 (.697) on-court record.
The Honolulu native specializes in blocking and serve and receive instruction for the Tiger student-athletes. In his first-year coaching campaign, the 2017 Mizzou squad tallied 377.5 total blocks and 547 block assists, marking new program all-time single-season records. Additionally, the Tigers' 2.88 blocks per set (second) and 104 solo blocks (seventh) each cracked the program's all-time single-season top-10 record book.
This past season, Taylor played a pivotal role into middle blocker Alyssa Munlyn becoming the program's first-ever four-time AVCA All-American. She concluded her storied four-year career as the program's leader in hitting percentage, total blocks, block assists and blocks per set.
Prior to his coaching career at Mizzou, Taylor excelled in the collegiate and professional volleyball ranks as a player. In 2016, he competed with the U.S. National Team at the Pan AM Cup and Olympic Training Team. Before his outstanding collegiate playing career at Pepperdine University, Taylor competed with the U.S. Junior National Team and led the team to first place at the 2010 NORCECA Men's Junior Continental Championship.
Taylor starred collegiately at Pepperdine from 2012-15, earning two AVCA All-American honors and three All-MPSF accolades. During his 2014 junior campaign, Taylor became only the 18th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills. He concluded his four-year career in Malibu, California, with 1,433 career kills and 1,630 career points.
Joshua Taylor Head Coach Record Year-by-Year
at Mizzou
2019:Â 22-8 // 13-5 SEC // NCAA Tournament Second Round
TOTALS: 22-8 (.733) // 13-5 SEC (.722)
Joshua Taylor Coaching File
- 2019-present
- 2017-18
- Assistant Coach at Mizzou
- 2016
- Graduate Assistant at Mizzou
