{{Short description|American basketball coach (born 1979)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox college coach | name = Joni Taylor | image = Joni Taylor (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Taylor in 2024 | current_title = Head coach | current_team = Texas A&M | current_conference = SEC | current_record = {{Winning percentage|45|58|record=y}} | contract = $575,000 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|3|07}} | birth_place = Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. | alma_mater = | player_years1 = 1997–2001 | player_team1 = Alabama | player_positions = Power forward / center | coach_years1 = 2002–2005 | coach_team1 = Troy (asst.) | coach_years2 = 2005–2008 | coach_team2 = Louisiana Tech (asst./assoc. HC) | coach_years3 = 2008–2010 | coach_team3 = Alabama (assoc. HC) | coach_years4 = 2010–2011 | coach_team4 = LSU (asst.) | coach_years5 = 2011–2015 | coach_team5 = Georgia (asst./assoc. HC) | coach_years6 = 2015–2022 | coach_team6 = Georgia | coach_years7 = 2022–present | coach_team7 = Texas A&M | championships = | awards = SEC Coach of the Year (2021) | overall_record = {{Winning percentage|185|133|record=y}} }} '''Joni Taylor''' (née '''Crenshaw'''; born March 7, 1979) is an American college basketball coach who is the head women's basketball coach for Texas A&M. Prior to Texas A&M, she was head coach at Georgia from 2015 to 2022.<ref name="AJC">{{cite news|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/college/uga-names-landers-successor-as-womens-basketball-c/nkr8P/|title=UGA names Landers' successor as women's basketball coach|last=Tucker|first=Tim|date=April 24, 2015|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=October 30, 2015}}</ref><ref name="VDT">{{cite news|url=http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/sports/state_sports/joni-crenshaw-introduced-as-uga-s-new-women-s-coach/article_e27318d2-e24b-11e4-8519-8772c80bba51.html?mode=jqm|title=Joni Crenshaw introduced as UGA's new women's coach|date=April 2015|newspaper=The Valdosta Daily Times|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=October 30, 2015}}</ref>
==Playing history== Born Joni Crenshaw in Meridian, Mississippi, she was the 1997 Gatorade Player of the Year for her home state, after leading Meridian High School to a 67-7 record during her junior and senior seasons. She also won three state titles in track and field. While attending the University of Alabama, she helped the Crimson Tide to the 1998 and 1999 NCAA Tournaments and the 2000 and 2001 Women's National Invitation Tournaments. She was a two-year starter and scored 716 points, grabbed 555 rebounds and blocked 103 shots, making her No. 4 among the school's career leaders. She received her bachelor's degree in education from Alabama in 2002.<ref name="AJC" /><ref name="VDT" />
==Coaching history== Taylor has been an assistant coach at LSU (2010–11), an associate head coach at Alabama (2008–10), an assistant then associate head coach at Louisiana Tech (2005–08), and an assistant coach at Troy (2002–05). She joined the University of Georgia staff in 2011, spending one season as an assistant coach, before being promoted to associate head coach. In April 2015, Coach Landers announced his retirement and gave full support for Taylor to replace him. She became only the second full-time head coach in program history.<ref name="AJC" /><ref name="VDT" />
Taylor coached her team to a 21–10 record in her inaugural year, including five wins against ranked opponents and an invitation to the NCAA tournament, which earned her the Spalding Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year award.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/032916aaa.html|title=Taylor Named Spalding Maggie Dixon Coach Of The Year|website=www.georgiadogs.com|access-date=2016-03-29|archive-date=2016-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330004345/http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/032916aaa.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2021, Taylor was named SEC Coach of the Year, following a season of leading her team to the SEC tournament finals and generating interest in a top seeding in the NCAA tournament.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weiszer |first1=Marc |title=UGA's Joni Taylor named SEC women's basketball coach of year — which comes with quite a bonus |url=https://www.onlineathens.com/story/sports/college/bulldogs-extra/2021/03/02/uga-womens-basketballs-joni-taylor-sec-coach-year/6886453002/ |work=Athens Banner-Herald |access-date=March 13, 2021 |date=March 6, 2021}}</ref>
On March 23, 2022, Taylor was officially announced as the new head coach for Texas A&M.
==Head coaching record== {{CBB Yearly Record Start | type=coach | conference= |postseason=}} {{CBB Yearly Record Subhead |name=Georgia Lady Bulldogs |startyear=2015 |conference=Southeastern Conference |endyear=2022 |}} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2015–16 | name = Georgia | overall = 21–10 | conference = 9–7 | confstanding = 6th | postseason = NCAA First Round }} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2016–17 | name = Georgia | overall = 16–15 | conference = 7–9 | confstanding = T-8th | postseason = }} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2017–18 | name = Georgia | overall = 26–7 | conference = 12–4 | confstanding = 3rd | postseason = NCAA Second Round }} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2018–19 | name = Georgia | overall = 18–12 | conference = 9–7 | confstanding = T-6th | postseason = }} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2019–20 | name = Georgia | overall = 17–14 | conference = 7–9 | confstanding = 9th | postseason = Canceled due to COVID-19 }} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2020–21 | name = Georgia | overall = 21–7 | conference = 10–5 | confstanding = 4th | postseason = NCAA Second Round }} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2021–22 | name = Georgia | overall = 21–10 | conference = 9–7 | confstanding = 6th | postseason = NCAA Second Round }} {{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal | name = Georgia | overall = {{Winning percentage|140|75|record=y}} | confrecord = {{Winning percentage|63|48|record=y}} }} {{CBB Yearly Record Subhead |name=Texas A&M Aggies |startyear=2022 |conference=Southeastern Conference |endyear= |}} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2022–23 | name = Texas A&M | overall = 9–20 | conference = 2–14 | confstanding = T–13th | postseason = }} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2023–24 | name = Texas A&M | overall = 19–13 | conference = 6–10 | confstanding = T–9th | postseason = NCAA First Round }} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2024–25 | name = Texas A&M | overall = 10–19 | conference = 3–13 | confstanding = T–13th | postseason = }} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2025-26 | name = Texas A&M | overall = 14–13 | conference = 7–9 | confstanding = T–10th | postseason = WBIT First Round }} {{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal | name = Texas A&M | overall = {{Winning percentage|45|58|record=y}} | confrecord = {{Winning percentage|11|39|record=y}} }} {{CBB Yearly Record End | overall = {{Winning percentage|185|133|record=y}} }}
==Personal life== Taylor is married to Darius Taylor, a former women's basketball assistant coach for South Carolina. They were married in August 2015 and reside in Athens, Georgia.<ref name="AJC" /><ref name="VDT" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-womens-basketball/article20590398.html|title=USC women’s basketball lost Taylor to married life in Georgia|last=Cloninger|first=David|date=May 9, 2015|website=thestate.com|access-date=November 5, 2015}}</ref> The Taylors have a daughter who was born in 2016, shortly before the start of the Lady Bulldogs' 2016–17 season. Their second daughter was born in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.macon.com/sports/college/university-of-georgia/bulldogs-beat/uga-basketball/article112362982.html |title=Joni Taylor gives birth to baby girl with season approaching |last=Butt |first=Jason |date=November 3, 2016 |website=macon.com |access-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref>
==See also== *List of current NCAA Division I women's basketball coaches
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/joni_taylor_751733.html Profile] at georgiadogs.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Joni}} Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Alabama Crimson Tide women's basketball coaches Category:Alabama Crimson Tide women's basketball players Category:American women's basketball coaches Category:Basketball coaches from Mississippi Category:Basketball players from Mississippi Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball coaches Category:Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball coaches Category:Power forwards Category:Sportspeople from Meridian, Mississippi Category:Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball coaches Category:Coaches at the 2024 Summer Olympics