Celeste Taylor: WNBA to Grand Canyon Coaching Role
- Celeste Taylor, formerly a guard for the Phoenix Mercury, is now an assistant coach at Grand Canyon University.
- 15 overall by Indiana in 2024, Taylor is known for her defensive skills.
- A foot injury sustained while playing for the Sydney Flames in the WNBL cut her Australia season short.
WNBA player Celeste Taylor pivots too a Grand Canyon assistant coaching role, a shift spurred by a foot injury. Taylor, renowned for her defensive prowess and having played for multiple WNBA teams, including the Phoenix Mercury, embarks on this new chapter with long-term coaching aspirations. This article from News Directory 3 dives into Taylor’s journey from the court to the coaching staff, highlighting her adaptive career path and her aims to mentor young athletes. Despite the setback, Taylor’s sights are set on a return to the WNBA in 2026, focusing on health and fitness while contributing to Grand Canyon’s women’s basketball program. Discover what’s next for this multifaceted athlete.
Celeste Taylor Joins Grand Canyon Coaching Staff
Updated June 3, 2025
Celeste Taylor, formerly a guard for the Phoenix Mercury, is now an assistant coach at Grand Canyon University. Taylor, who played college basketball at Texas, Duke and Ohio State, embarks on her coaching career after a WNBA season with the Mercury, Connecticut sun and Indiana Fever.
Drafted No. 15 overall by Indiana in 2024, Taylor is known for her defensive skills. She spent most of last summer with the Mercury, averaging 2.6 points, 1.3 assists and 1.3 rebounds in nearly 15 minutes per game.
A foot injury sustained while playing for the Sydney Flames in the WNBL cut her Australia season short. Although she attempted a comeback with the Mercury during training camp, she was ultimately waived.Taylor aims to recover fully and return to the WNBA in 2026, focusing on her health and fitness.
Taylor joins Winston Gandy, her former assistant coach at Duke, who now leads Grand Canyon. Gandy previously served on Dawn StaleyS staff at south Carolina and Kara Lawson’s staff at Duke. Taylor has long-term coaching aspirations and enjoys working with young athletes.
“There have been teams who wanted me to come back this season,and I think for me,it’s trying to get healthy and trying to maintain in the space of being fit and looking at what’s right for my body,listening to my body,” she said.
Taylor said the opportunity to coach at Grand Canyon aligned perfectly with her goals. She expressed her desire to give back to younger players and provide them with the best possible experience.
“When the opportunity presented itself, it honestly worked out perfectly with timing and everything,” Taylor said. “Once I had explained to [Gandy] what the situation is, of wanting to get healthy but also wanting to follow in this path of being a coach and having the opportunity of giving back to younger kids and being in that leadership role and just continuing to pour into student-athletes and give them the best experience, it’s a no-brainer to take it.”
Grand Canyon achieved a 30-game win streak last season and made its first NCAA Division I tournament appearance under Molly Miller, who has since become the head coach at Arizona State. Gandy was hired from South Carolina to replace Miller.
“This is his first time as a head coach and it’s at a program like GCU that’s definitely up-and-coming and growing and a beautiful university, but I’m definitely grateful for him giving me the opportunity,” Taylor said. “He wants to put the best people around him, so for him to look to me and believe in me, to be able to help him is a blessing.”
Last year, Taylor played for both the Phoenix Mercury and the Connecticut Sun on consecutive days while on seven-day contracts, showcasing her adaptability. this transition to coaching is another example of her flexible career path.
“The journey that I’ve been on, it’s never linear,” Taylor said. “There’s a lot of up-and-down, so just being ready for everything, but simultaneously occurring, I feel like it has grown me into the person that I am today. I’m honestly just grateful for everything that I’ve been through.”
What’s next
Taylor will focus on recovering from her foot injury this summer while contributing to the Grand Canyon women’s basketball program as an assistant coach. She plans to continue her rehabilitation with the goal of returning to the WNBA in 2026.