The winningest coach in Chico State baseball history, Dave Taylor enters his 21st season as the Wildcats’ head coach in 2027. Taylor completed his 20th season leading the program in 2026 and also served eight seasons as an assistant coach with the Wildcats, helping Chico State win NCAA Division II national championships in 1997 and 1999 and finish as the national runner-up in 2002.
Through 20 seasons leading the Wildcats, Taylor owns a 616-365 record at Chico State. Including two-year head coaching stints at Wyoming and Cal State LA, Taylor is 731-459-1 as an NCAA head coach. He became Chico State baseball’s all-time wins leader during the 2024 season and earned his 700th career NCAA head coaching victory during the 2025 campaign.
Taylor has steered Chico State to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, two NCAA West Region championships, and three California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) titles. Under his direction, the Wildcats have reached the NCAA Championship finals twice, advanced to multiple West Region title games, and remained a consistent postseason contender in one of Division II baseball’s strongest regions.
Taylor’s Chico State program has produced more than 125 All-CCAA selections, more than 110 All-West Region honors, and 23 All-America awards. Nine of his players have been drafted by Major League Baseball organizations.
The 2026 season saw Chico State finish 26-24 overall and 15-17 in the CCAA, placing sixth in the conference. The Wildcats finished with the top ERA in the CCAA and ranked 16th nationally in Division II with a 4.43 team ERA. Taylor’s pitching staff produced four All-CCAA selections: first-team starting pitcher Rocco Borrelli, first-team relief pitcher Manny Lopez, second-team starting pitcher Jakob Poole, and honorable mention starting pitcher Jack Tews. Lopez and Borrelli also earned multiple All-West Region honors, with Lopez named first-team All-West Region by both the D2CCA and NCBWA and Borrelli earning second-team recognition from both organizations.
The 2025 season saw Taylor lead the Wildcats through the toughest schedule in the West Region. Chico State went 7-2 against defending West Region champions Point Loma, Northwest Nazarene, and Colorado Mesa during the early part of the season. The Wildcats completed the campaign with a .545 strength of schedule and a 31-22 overall record, including a 22-18 mark in CCAA play. Along the way, Chico State delivered Taylor his 700th career win as a head coach.
It didn’t take long for Taylor to make history in 2024, as he secured the five wins he needed to pass longtime head coach Lindsey Meggs for the most wins in Chico State baseball history. The Wildcats finished with 25 wins and qualified for the CCAA Tournament. Taylor also coached two-time All-West Region and All-CCAA selection Troy Kent to a 22-game hitting streak, tying Daniel Code’s program record.
Taylor guided Chico State to a 19-25 record and a 10th-place CCAA finish in 2023. Infielder Jeffrey Ray earned first-team All-CCAA honors, while pitchers Dylan Day and Justin Tamelier received All-CCAA Honorable Mention recognition.
After the Wildcats missed the entire 2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returned just seven players who had previously appeared for Chico State, Taylor led the program to an extremely productive 2022 campaign. Fueled by an offense that averaged nearly 10 runs and 12 hits per game, the Wildcats went 34-15, earned a share of second place in the CCAA, and reached postseason play for the 23rd time since 1996. Chico State’s .344 team batting average ranked eighth among all NCAA Division II programs.
Taylor reached a personal milestone on March 20, 2022, when the Wildcats helped him record his 500th victory as Chico State head coach with a 17-8 win over Stanislaus State.
Chico State was off to a strong start before the coronavirus pandemic halted the 2020 season after 22 games. Taylor guided the Wildcats to a 15-7 overall record and a share of second place in the CCAA with an 11-5 conference mark.
Taylor led Chico State to a 28-21 record in 2019, with the Wildcats finishing third in the CCAA and once again reaching postseason play. Chico State went 31-24 in 2018 and competed in both the CCAA Tournament and NCAA Championship Tournament. Relief pitcher Jae Wagner earned All-America Honorable Mention from both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA).
Taylor piloted the Wildcats to a 45-11 finish in 2017, along with the program’s second straight appearance in both the CCAA Tournament and NCAA Championship Tournament. Chico State collected 45 postseason awards that season. Pitcher Casey Costello earned CCAA Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year honors, West Region Pitcher of the Year accolades, and Second Team All-America recognition. Cameron Santos was named the CCAA and West Region Player of the Year, earned All-America Honorable Mention, and received American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Gold Glove recognition. Taylor was named CCAA Coach of the Year and NCBWA West Region Coach of the Year.
Taylor reached the 500-win milestone for his college head coaching career on March 25, 2017, when the Wildcats swept a doubleheader from Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Taylor’s 2016 Chico State squad finished 35-22, a 17-win improvement from the previous season, and returned the Wildcats to postseason play with berths in both the CCAA Tournament and NCAA Championships.
In 2014, Taylor guided the Wildcats to a 43-15 record and the program’s second NCAA Championship finals appearance in three years. Chico State swept through the NCAA West Regional with four straight victories to earn a trip to Cary, North Carolina, and a chance to compete for the Division II national championship. The Wildcats finished the season ranked sixth in the nation and produced four All-Americans: Luke Barker, Nick Baker, Brad Lohse, and Cody Slader. Taylor was named the 2014 CCAA Coach of the Year and West Region Coach of the Year by both the ABCA and NCBWA.
Taylor’s 2013 team finished 37-18 and reached the NCAA West Regional final, coming one win shy of returning to the NCAA Championship finals. Chico State finished the season ranked 13th in the year-end NCBWA national poll.
The 2012 season saw Chico State go 40-19, capture a share of the CCAA regular-season title, and reach the NCAA Championship finals after winning the West Region crown. The Wildcats finished the season ranked 15th in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, and Taylor was named West Region Coach of the Year.
Chico State posted a 30-20 record in 2011 and finished third in the CCAA. The Wildcats hit .301 as a team and reached the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament.
In 2010, Taylor led Chico State to a 35-20 record and an NCAA West Regional berth behind a .331 team batting average. Taylor’s 2009 team turned in a 35-21 season and posted the top team batting average in the CCAA at .343.
In 2008, Chico State went 42-17 and finished the season ranked No. 6 in the nation. Taylor’s first season as Wildcats head coach produced 47 wins in 2007, the fourth-highest single-season victory total in program history.
Before returning to Chico State as head coach, Taylor served as head coach at Cal State LA from 2005-06, turning around a struggling program and guiding the Golden Eagles to a 58-39-1 record in two seasons. In 2006, he led Cal State LA to the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional final.
As Chico State’s head assistant and pitching coach from 1997-2004, Taylor helped build the Wildcats into a national Division II power. During that span, Chico State won NCAA championships in 1997 and 1999, finished as the national runner-up in 2002, and reached the NCAA Championship finals in five of Taylor’s eight seasons as an assistant coach. His pitching staffs led the CCAA in ERA every season from 1999-2004. Taylor also mentored three CCAA Pitcher of the Year winners and nine All-America pitchers. Two former Wildcats who pitched for Taylor—Drew Carpenter and Dale Thayer—went on to reach the major leagues. Years later, as Chico State’s head coach, Taylor saw a third Chico State pitcher, Luke Barker, make his MLB debut with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022.
Prior to joining the Chico State coaching staff, Taylor spent three years at the University of Wyoming from 1994-96. He served as the Cowboys’ head coach in 1995 and 1996 and earned Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1996 after leading Wyoming to a 36-20 record in what had already been announced as the final year of the university’s baseball program.
Taylor began his coaching career at Cal Lutheran in 1989. After one season as an assistant at Oxnard Community College, he earned his first head coaching job there in 1991. He also made coaching stops at Long Beach City College, Simi Valley High School, and in the Cape Cod League.
A catcher during his playing days, Taylor competed collegiately at Oxnard Community College from 1983-84 before transferring to the University of Arizona for the 1985 and 1986 seasons. He earned the first of his three national championships as part of Arizona’s 1986 national title team.
Taylor went on to play two seasons of minor league baseball in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, advancing as high as Double-A. He earned the Brewers’ Minor League Catcher of the Year award before retiring in 1987.
Taylor earned his bachelor’s degree in social science from Cal Lutheran in 1989 and his master’s degree in physical education from Chico State in 2004.
Taylor and his wife, Robin, have two sons, Mark, a Chico State baseball assistant coach, and Jack.
