Taylor is made for Murray State
MBB: The Central Arkansas transfer signed with the Racers on Tuesday
After announcing his commitment to Murray State earlier on Tuesday, Layne Taylor has officially signed to join the Racers for the 2025-26 season.
“Layne's talent and character are a perfect fit for our program," said Murray State Head Coach Ryan Miller said in a statement. "His father's coaching gave him a unique edge — an understanding of the game that sets him apart. We're excited to see him carry that legacy forward as a Racer."
Taylor earned All-Freshman team honors last season at Central Arkansas, despite playing just 20 games before having season-ending shoulder surgery.
The 5’11 guard averaged a team-leading 17.4 points, while also grabbing 3.6 rebounds and dishing out 3.7 assists for the Bears. His assist-to-turnover ratio was 2.18 last season. The last Racer to have an assist-to-turnover ratio of least 2-to-1 was Justice Hill with 2.66 in 2021-22. Taylor also had 1.9 steals per game, as he had at least three steals in six different games for UCA.
After scoring five points in the season opener at BYU, Taylor finished in double-figures in scoring in every other game he played. He had a season-high 29 points against Bellarmine, then scored 20 at Georgia Tech, 16 at Oklahoma and 15 at Utah. Taylor shot 39.2% from the field, 33.7% from the three-point line and 89.4% from the charity stripe.
So far, Miller has signed the following seven players:
Ben Shtolzberg (6’4 senior guard/3.8 PPG last year at UC Santa Barbara)
KJ Tenner (6’0 sophomore guard/2.4 PPG last year at West Virginia)
Mason Miller (6’9 senior guard/1.1 PPG last year at Creighton)
Fredrick King (6’9 senior forward/2.7 PPG last year at Creighton)
JJ Traynor (6’9 senior forward/5.6 PPG last year at DePaul)
Javon Jackson (6’3 senior guard/11.6 PPG last year at UIC)
Layne Taylor (5’11 sophomore guard/17.4 PPG last year at Central Arkansas)
Here are the five players who could potentially return to the Racers next year, but have yet to make anything publicly official regarding their future:
Junior guard Patrick Chew
Senior forward Nick Ellington (has entered the transfer portal, but isn’t ruling out returning to Murray State)
Senior guard Justin Morgan
Incoming freshman guard Tristian Ford
Incoming freshman guard Kaden Rickard
Once any of those five players publicly announce their intention to play for the Racers next year, they will count toward the eight available scholarships Miller still has the ability to fill for the 2025-26 season.