Myah Taylor is now the forever Ole Miss (basketball) Rebel she was always supposed to be
Myah Taylor has returned to Ole Miss to serve as coordinator of operations for women’s basketball following a professional stint overseas.
The addition of Taylor was officially announced by head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin in a release on Tuesday. Taylor most recently wrapped her post-Ole Miss playing career with stints in Hungary and Mexico.
“I’m excited to have Myah back in Oxford with her Ole Miss family,” McPhee-McCuin said in a statement. “Myah is a leader, winner, hard worker and has always had aspirations to explore the operations side of athletics.
“When the opportunity presented itself, there was no doubt in my mind Myah was the best option. She understands the Ole Miss way.”
The Queen of the Sip is Back 👑
— Ole Miss Women's BB (@OleMissWBB) May 21, 2024
Welcome home Myah!
Taylor spent her final college season as a Rebel.
She signed with rival Mississippi State as a five-star prospect out of high school and appeared in 115 games for the Bulldogs. Taylor made 81 starts and averaged 8.0 points and 5.5 assists per game.
Taylor, in 2022-23, was the primary point guard for the Rebels and helped Ole Miss to its first Sweet 16 since 2007. She had a team-leading 113 assists (3.6 per game) and averaged 1.7 steals.
Memorable in the Rebels’ postseason run was their upset of top-seed Stanford. Taylor had the game-sealing steal with 15 seconds left.
“State, they ran a lot of sets and were kind of restricted in certain things they could do offensively,” Blake Jones, Taylor’s former head coach at Olive Branch (Mississippi) High School, said upon Taylor’s transfer to Ole Miss. The Rebels were coming off a 23-9 season in which they reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 seasons.
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Jones continued, “But if coach Yo keeps doing what she’s doing and let’s the kids play, and as long as she gives her a lot longer leash than she had at State, I think she’ll really go off for some higher numbers, especially in the assist category. If she turns her loose in a dribble-drive offense like coach Yo likes to do kind of, I think it’ll be beneficial for her and the program.”
McPhee-McCuin did just that in righting a recruiting wrong.
Now McPhee-McCuin is taking yet another opportunity to elevate the three-time Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year.
Taylor was Mississippi’s top prospect for her class and came from an Ole Miss family. However, Ole Miss’ head coach at the time, Matt Insell, inexplicably didn’t see Taylor as a fit for his Rebels stylistically. So, Insell opted against putting forth much of an effort to recruit her.
Taylor left Mississippi State sixth in school history in total assists (445). She was third in assists per game (3.9) and eighth in total steals (195). Taylor spent a year with Vasas Akademia in Hungary’s top women’s league. She averaged 8.4 points, 3.3 assists and 2.2 steals in 24 games. Taylor also spent eight games with Freseras Irapuato in Mexico as well.
“I’m so thankful for the opportunity to return back to Mississippi and represent the University of Mississippi,” Taylor said. “I’m extremely excited to start this new journey in my career, and there’s no place I’d rather be than at Ole Miss. I truly look forward to gaining wisdom and knowledge from coach Yo and her coaching staff.”
