DERRICK TAYLOR | CAMP DIRECTOR
DERRICK TAYLOR
Derrick Taylor begins his ninth season as the head coach of men's and women's golf.
In the 2018-19 campaign, Taylor made his third and fourth appearance as a coach at the NCAA West/Central Super Regional as Rhett Bechtel qualified as an individual for the second consecutive year. He also coached Bechtel to the All-GAC Second Team and the PING All-Region Team. The women's program qualified for NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history after winning their first event since 2012 in the Natural State Golf Classic. They took fourth at the GAC Championships, tying their best ever finish at the event.
In 2017-18, Taylor made his second appearance as a coach at the NCAA West/Central Super Regional as Rhett Bechtel qualified as an individual and finished in a tie for fourth. The men's team finished 10th at the GAC Championships while the women took seventh.
During the 2016-17 season, Taylor led the women's team to a seventh place finish in GAC Championships. On the men's side Rhett Bechtel earned an 11th place finish while the team finished sixth.
In the 2015-16 season, he led the women's team to its best finish in the GAC Championships, as the Crimson Storm finished fourth with Marion Broedys finishing seventh. On the men's side Christian Valderrama also earned a top-10 finish while the team finished sixth.
In just the first year of postseason eligibility in 2014-15, Taylor took the Crimson Storm men's team to the school's first NCAA Tournament in any sport. SNU qualified for the NCAA Central/Midwest Super Regional where the Storm took ninth place and missed qualifying for the NCAA National Championship by four strokes. Michael Hearne though did qualify as an individual as he tied for second at the super regional and tied for fourth at the national championship. Hearne also earned his second straight GAC Player of the Year in the 2014-15 season.
The women's team placed fifth at the GAC Championships.
In the 2013-14 season Taylor guided the men to a third place finish at the Great American Conference Championships and helped Hearne earn GAC Player of the Year while leading the women to a fifth place finish at the GAC Championships. Hearne also won the GAC Championship as an individual.
In 2012-13 Taylor helped the men's team to a seventh place finish at the GAC Championships and had two players inside the top 15 while the women's team took sixth. He also coached his first GAC Freshman of the Year in Broedys.
Taylor played at SNU for former head coach Steve Hulsey from 1996-2000 and served as an assistant at Southern Nazarene from August 2006 to December 2009. He came to SNU after spending the last 10 years as the First Assistant Golf Professional at KickingBird Golf Club in Edmond. Taylor graduated with a bachelor's in business management in 2000.
He was nominated in 2008 as an SCS PGA Assistant Professional of the Year and holds a Class A Membership with the PGA of America.
Taylor lives in Oklahoma City with his wife Katie and their daughter Maddox and their son Will.