Scotts Valley High earlier this month announced that Kevin Taylor was named the new head coach of the baseball team.
The 33-year-old Beaverton, Ore., native takes over for former coach Sean Coyne, who led the Falcons to the Central Coast Section Division IV semifinals this past May.
Taylor is ambitious, saying the grand scheme is to construct a program that has such a high reputation where they’re competing for California Interscholastic Federation State titles and ranked in the top 100 in the state.
“The program has been very successful, and there’s always been a ton of really good players, but I think there’s a whole ’nother gear and a level that we can reach, and kind of aspire to,” Taylor said.
Scotts Valley finished with a 17-8 overall record this past spring season, and placed second in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League with a 10-5 record behind league champion Aptos. In case one was wondering, they ranked No. 268 in the state, according to the MaxPreps website.
Taylor attended Sunset High School, where he played the shortstop position and earned the Oregon State Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2009.
Taylor moved on to Western Nevada Junior College in Carson City to play third base in a competitive wood bat league. There, he got to play against Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper, who was at the College of Southern Nevada at the time.
“They were our rivals. That was pretty fun,” Taylor said.
Taylor signed a scholarship to play at Arizona State, but he had some grade issues. With little to no options, he opted for the 2011 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, where he was selected in the 36th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Didn’t have much success there. Just wasn’t really ready to play,” Taylor said. “I was still kind of growing and maturing in trying to figure out my way.”
In the midst of that, Taylor had Tommy John surgery in 2012 to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) on his elbow.
“Kind of set me back, as well,” he said.
Taylor found himself playing independent baseball for two years and had some success. In 2016, he was picked up by the New York Mets, where he reached the Double A level playing various positions for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
“I feel like I could have been that guy that played all nine positions in one game,” he said.
Taylor provided private lessons during his playing career and helped high school or college coaches with whatever he could. After stepping away from the game, he was coaching with the Sirious Baseball travel program in Campbell.
Taylor moved to Santa Cruz County with his wife, Erin, three years ago. Since then he’s gotten to know several of Scotts Valley’s players and their families. He realized how much talent and growth there is within the program.
“I just knew there’s something special going with the youth programs that they have in place and just the development they currently have,” Taylor said. “It’s a great situation to be a part of because baseball is so popular here, and the whole community is really into it.”
Taylor’s 6-year-old son, Kooper, loves playing baseball (no surprise there). He figures he could still be in Scotts Valley by the time Kooper, and perhaps his 3-year-old daughter Kaylee, reach that level.
Another major goal is attempting to enhance the facilities and continue to build the program.
Taylor plans on taking the Falcons to the next level, adding that he doesn’t want to see the local talent take their skills to schools over the hill in San Jose, or elsewhere in Santa Cruz County.
Scotts Valley’s baseball season is still months away, yet Taylor knows it’ll creep on him fast. He’s in the process of setting up programs for players to start getting their bodies in baseball shape, and build momentum so everybody’s ready to go by the time spring rolls around.
Taylor said the best part of coaching is not just being a mentor, but getting to see the development on the players’ side from tryouts to the end of the campaign.
Part of that development is also making sure players have off-the-field success by being respectful to their friends and family, and handling their business in the classroom.
“Just seeing how much better the players get, how much more mature and growth to become better baseball players, and better people,” Taylor said. “It’s all part of the grand scheme.”
