Sports Reporter
Photo by: Stephanie Hall
mfreter@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
Throughout the many moves in women’s basketball coach Taylor Wagner’s coaching and playing career, the one constant in Wagner’s life has been his love of basketball.
“There’s never been a day where I don’t want to go into work,” he said. “When it gets to that point where it is a pain to go into work, then I’ll probably get out of it, but right now I love it.”
The Wagner-led Mavs, with only one loss on the season, are nationally ranked in individual scoring and field goal percentage and are looking to win the RMAC championship and advance to the NCAA tournament.
Wagner was hired last summer as the 11th women’s basketball coach in program history and has taken a roster full of talent and helped them to perform at an elite level this season. Wagner knew the history of success that the program has had at CMU and wanted to be the person who could bring them to that next level.
“When I interviewed for this job, I always talked about this being known nationally for women’s basketball,” he said. “Hopefully we can continue that for years to come.”
His coaching career began at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, where he became an assistant coach for the men’s team he formerly played for. After two years, he moved to La Junta to take another assisting coaching job at Otero Junior College, a school Wagner also played for in his college career.
During his tenure at Otero, he assisted the men’s and women’s teams in his first year before taking over the head women’s coaching job.
For eight years, Wagner led the women’s team to a combined record of 187-63 and won the Region IX Championship in his last season. When Wagner saw the opportunity to coach at Colorado Mesa, there were several factors that enticed him to interview for the job.
“I liked the thought of being close to home, and I love Grand Junction,” he said. “There are good people here, the facilities are great and the University is great. I always felt like it was a hidden gold mine here.”
Since Wagner took the helm, he has made an immediate impact.
Having experience in both men and women’s game has helped Wagner form his own unique coaching style and made him appreciate the value of teamwork much more.
“I don’t coach the girls differently than I coached the boys,” Wagner said. “The thing I enjoy more about the girls game is that they want to be coached. It’s more about passing and cutting and playing as a team.”
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