Emporia High has found its new girls’ basketball coach and it didn’t go far to find its new coach.
Lady Spartan assistant coach Taylor Scott has been promoted to head coach as approved by the USD 253 Board of Education during their meeting on Wednesday.
Scott said when the job came open, she wanted to apply because the Emporia community has been like home.
Scott was an assistant on Carolyn Dorsey’s staff the previous four years while also helping out both the boys and girls basketball programs at Emporia Middle School. Scott served as an assistant coach on the boys staff under Brad Stewart, then an assistant under previous girls head coach Jordan Young, and eventually became the head coach of the eighth-grade team at EMS this past season. Before arriving in Emporia, Scott taught at Oxford, was an assistant for their girls middle school program, and eventually was its head coach. Scott spent 2 1/2 years as a field experience coach under Dorsey and Bill Nienstedt while she was a student at Emporia State.
Scott said she’s thankful for learning under multiple great coaches like Dorsey and Nienstedt.
Emporia High Athletic Director Beau Welch said the interest in the job was intriguing.
Scott replaces Dorsey who parted ways with USD 253 last month after 11 seasons as head coach. Dorsey guided the Lady Spartans to their first Centennial League Championship since 1997 and first state placing since 2009.
Scott will make her high school coaching debut on December 6th at Liberal.
In other coaching news, Emporia High boys basketball coach Lee Baldwin is adding longtime Olpe girls basketball coach Jesse Nelson to his staff. The USD 253 Board of Education also approved Nelson’s hiring on Wednesday. Nelson spent 44 years at Olpe winning 951 games and four state championships. Nelson retired from coaching at Olpe in 2021.