Celeste Taylor
![]() Taylor with Ohio State in 2024 | |
No. 74 – Connecticut Sun | |
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Position | Guard |
League | WNBA |
Personal information | |
Born | (2001-06-20) June 20, 2001 (age 23) Queens, New York, U.S. |
Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Listed weight | 167 lb (76 kg) |
Career information | |
High school |
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College |
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WNBA draft | 2024: 2nd round, 15th overall pick |
Selected by the Indiana Fever | |
Playing career | 2024–present |
Career history | |
2024 | Indiana Fever |
2024 | Phoenix Mercury |
2024–present | Connecticut Sun |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Medals |
Celeste Yvonne Taylor (born June 20, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Texas, Duke, and Ohio State.
High school career
Taylor played varsity basketball for Valley Stream South High School in Valley Stream, New York in seventh grade. One year later, she transferred Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School in Brookville, New York, where she became a starter as a freshman.[1] As a senior, Taylor was named New York Gatorade Player of the Year. She was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic.[2] Taylor was named Newsday Long Island Player of the Year in her final two years.[3] Rated a five-star recruit by ESPN, she committed to playing college basketball for Texas over offers from Stanford, Notre Dame, Ohio State and South Carolina, among other programs.[4]
College career
As a freshman at Texas, Taylor averaged 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, leading the team with 31 three-pointers. She was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.[5] She averaged 12.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game as a sophomore, earning All-Big 12 honorable mention. For her junior season, Taylor transferred to Duke and averaged 11 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.[6][7] In her senior season, Taylor was named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-ACC, while averaging 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game. She set a program single-game record with 10 steals in a second-round loss to Colorado at the 2023 NCAA tournament.[8] Taylor transferred to Ohio State for her fifth season.[9]
Professional career
On April 15, 2024, Taylor was selected in the second round as the fifteenth overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. She made the roster and played in five games for the Fever before being waived on June 25, 2024.[10] On July 12, 2024, Taylor signed a seven-day contract with the Phoenix Mercury.[11] On August 16, 2024, Taylor signed a seven-day contract with the Connecticut Sun.[12]
National team career
Taylor won a gold medal with the United States national under-16 team at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Women's Americas Championship in Argentina. She started in all five games and averaged 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.[13] Taylor played at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup in Belarus, averaging 6.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game en route to a gold medal.[14] She won a third gold medal with the national under-19 team at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Thailand, where she averaged five points and 2.6 rebounds per game.[15]
Career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage |
FT% | Free throw percentage | RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game |
TO | Turnovers per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high | ° | League leader |
WNBA
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | Phoenix | 4 | 0 | 15.8 | 37.5 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
2024 | Indiana | 5 | 0 | 3.2 | 100.0 | – | 50.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | - | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
Career | 9 | 0 | 8.8 | 44.4 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.4 |
College
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019–20 | Texas | 30 | 26 | 27.9 | 34.0 | 28.4 | 70.8 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 9.3 |
2020–21 | Texas | 28 | 26 | 32.0 | 35.3 | 29.7 | 58.9 | 4.9 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 12.3 |
2021–22 | Duke | 23 | 22 | 28.5 | 38.8 | 33.3 | 69.0 | 5.5 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 11.0 |
2022–23 | Duke | 33 | 33 | 28.9 | 39.4 | 32.1 | 67.5 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 11.4 |
2023–24 | Ohio State | 32 | 32 | 28.7 | 40.9 | 32.0 | 64.3 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 10.1 |
Career | 146 | 139 | 29.2 | 37.6 | 31.1 | 66.3 | 4.8 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 10.8 |
References
- ^ DeJohn, Kenny (April 13, 2019). "Newsday's All-Long Island girls basketball team". Newsday. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ DeJohn, Kenny (March 10, 2019). "LI Lutheran's Celeste Taylor named Gatorade New York Girls Basketball Player of the Year". Newsday. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Sarra, Gregg (April 13, 2019). "LuHi's Andre Curbelo, Celeste Taylor did it all en route to Newsday Player of the Year honors". Newsday. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Amato, Laura (November 14, 2018). "Long Island Lutheran basketball star Celeste Taylor commits to Texas". Newsday. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Moyle, Nick (June 7, 2020). "Back in New York, UT's Celeste Taylor still grinding". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Adler, Em (April 10, 2021). "Duke women's basketball adds another former 5-star recruit in transfer Celeste Taylor". Duke Chronicle. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Adler, Em (November 2, 2022). "Duke women's basketball 2022-23 player preview: Celeste Taylor". Duke Chronicle. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Backstrom, Andy (April 21, 2023). "Scarlet Sunrise: Duke guard Celeste Taylor transfers to Ohio State". On3. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- ^ Philippou, Alexa (April 20, 2023). "Former Duke star Celeste Taylor transferring to Ohio State". ESPN. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- ^ Peterson, Chloe. "Indiana Fever activate Damiris Dantas' contract; waive rookie Celeste Taylor". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ "Just hours after being signed by Mercury, Celeste Taylor faces former Indiana Fever team". Yahoo Sports. July 12, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ "Connecticut Sun Signs Celeste Taylor". Connecticut Sun. August 16, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ Olson, Dan (December 3, 2017). "Elite junior Celeste Taylor gives verbal commitment to Texas". ESPN. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Taylor, Myah (September 15, 2019). "Celeste Taylor is a 'perfect fit' at Texas". The Daily Texan. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ "Women's Basketball's Taylor, USA win gold medal at FIBA U19 World Cup". University of Texas Athletics. July 28, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ "Celeste Taylor College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
External links
- Celeste Taylor instagram
- Duke Blue Devils bio
- Ohio State Buckeyes bio
- Texas Longhorns bio
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