Taylor "Tay" Baker is a retired American basketball coach. He played basketball at

Hamilton High School Hamilton High School may refer to: United States Alabama * Hamilton High School (Alabama) in Hamilton Arizona * Hamilton High School (Chandler, Arizona) in Chandler Arkansas * Lake Hamilton High School in Pearcy California * Hamilton High Sc ...

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Cincinnati along the Great Miami River, Hamilton is the second-most populous city in the Cincinnati metropolitan area and the List of municipaliti ...

, graduating in 1945. He played college basketball at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

beginning as a freshman in 1947; however, after only three games he began an 18-month hitch in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

before returning to the school in 1947. He played for three years and was a top reserve for the first Bearcats teams to win 20 games—23–5 in 1949 and, as a senior, 20–6 in 1950. Both seasons, in addition to his sophomore season, the Bearcats were champions of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC). He then was a teacher and coach at three southwestern Ohio high schools—first at Lebanon High School, then Wyoming High School and Miamisburg High School. In 1959, he became an assistant coach at his college alma mater, Cincinnati, in 1959 under coach George Smith, a post he retained under Ed Jucker. After an assistant coaching career that included four Final Fours and two NCAA championships for the Bearcats, Baker succeeded Jucker as head coach in 1965. His first team, in 1965–66, won the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

(MVC) title and played in the NCAA Tournament, where they were defeated by eventual national champion Texas Western (now UTEP). After posting a 17–9 record in 1971–72, Baker resigned as UC coach. In seven seasons coaching the Bearcats, Baker posted a record of went 125–60. He moved to crosstown rival

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

in 1973, where he went 70–89 in six seasons. Baker later served as executive director and board member of the non-profit Greater Cincinnati Golf Association which, among other functions, runs the local

USGA The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

qualifying tournaments. In 1996, he was inducted into the University of Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was inducted into the Lebanon High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Tay Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Ohio Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Ohio Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ohio Basketball players from Butler County, Ohio Xavier Musketeers men's basketball coaches