Taylor Mann was one of the best Lady Spartan basketball players in recent years. She recently completed her senior year at Dixie State University in St. George. One of the most memorable experiences from her high school basketball days was beating the Carbon girls for the state championship in 2011. Mann was coached by Steven Gordon at Emery High. The game took place at the University of Utah.
During her college career she put up some amazing stats.
One former Emery County resident Emery Jones had this to say, “My wife Suzanne Jones and I, we watched Taylor play her high school ball in the Emery High Gym. When we moved to St. George a few years back we ran into Taylor in the Dixie College Burns Gym. We gained a good friendship with her, we attended all of her home games and what a wonderful young lady in addition to being just simply an outstanding basketball player. We would encourage graduating senior basketball players to contact Dixie about playing college ball.”
Mann was named to the 2015-16 CoSIDA Division II Academic All-America First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Mann has also played at BYU Hawaii. She carries a 3.92 GPA in elementary education, In her senior season she set a new team record and NCAA-leading 22 double-doubles, as she led the Pacific West Conference and finished the regular season in the top-15 nationally in both scoring (20.1 ppg) and rebounding (13.4 rpg).
Mann became the third Dixie State women’s basketball player to score 1,000 career points and only the second player to tally at least 500 points (522) in a single season. She wrapped up her three-year career at DSU as the program’s career (841), single season (349) and single game (26) rebounding record holder. Mann also finished with a school record 41 double-doubles and ranked second all-time in career points (1,062).
Mann is a hometown Castle Dale native and she is finishing her education at Dixie.
Mann said, “I think the thing that I’ve enjoyed the most about playing college basketball is the traveling it’s allowed me to do and the relationships I’ve been able to build. I’ve been to Alaska, Washington, all over California and of course Hawaii. It’s been so fun to play there and develop lifelong memories that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.
“The toughest thing about playing college sports is managing your time. It’s almost impossible to understand unless you experience it yourself. It become really difficult to manage basketball, school, homework, and a social life (then you throw in missing weeks at a time while traveling). It can all get a little overwhelming sometimes. You don’t get fall break or Thanksgiving with family. You don’t get that super long Christmas break to rejuvenate you for the next semester either. The campus is always empty and you’re in the gym having two a day practices. However, the sacrifice was always worth it.
“I’ve made some awesome friends while playing basketball. A few of my teammates will be girls I’m friends with my whole life. It’s not always pretty though, sometimes you have personality clashes that you have to overcome. Either way, you come to love each other because they are practically the only people you see more than half the year! Haha
“What I like to do besides basketball…you know that’s a tough question because I LOVE basketball. Even in my off time, it’s what I would choose to do. But I love having game nights with my friends, or just anything active. But what I found I’ve loved the most is teaching. I’m so fortunate that my career is something I genuinely LOVE to do. I’m so excited for the next step.
“My future plans from here are to start teaching! I’m excited to finally have my own classroom after spending a lot of time observing other teachers classrooms, I’m eager to have my own. Hopefully get married soon and start my own family! Not for a few more years though. I’d like to enjoy my spare time a little more. I can absolutely see myself coaching in the years ahead. Thinking back to some of my favorite coaches, it’s amazing how much I owe them. They made a huge impact on my life and I’m so thankful. I’d love to give that back in some way.
“One thing I’d love to say is how thankful I am for family support. They went through so much to support me and always uplift me.
“Never in my life would I have imagined the success I had.
“I couldn’t have done it without the love and encouragement of family, coaches, and friends. I’m going to miss it so much. It’s a dang hard chapter of my life to close. But I’m just going to smile because I had the opportunity.” said Mann.
Taylor Mann finishes college career
"Dixie State team that Taylor Mann played for: Mann is on the back row, third from the left."