College Commitment: 2019 Taylor Flores (Auburn Mountainview HS)
One of the state’s best unsigned players is finally off the board for 2019. Auburn Mountainview’s 4-year star has committed to Division 2 Cal State University San Marcos of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Head Coach Renee Jimenez took over the program in 2015 and had some ups and downs early on, but in the 2018-2019 season she would lead the team to an 18-10 record overall, good for 9th in the region. After posting a 14-8 conference record, their momentum seems to be rolling with the commitment of Taylor Flores. The 5’8 shooting guard has a very high IQ, can play within the team concept and she is one of the state’s prolific shooters. Taylor mentioned that Coach Jimenez has high expectations for her when she steps foot on campus due to her IQ and shooting ability. “She also would like to have me try the point.”
Flores’ recruitment was pretty quiet, despite the amount of high school success she had, even breaking the school’s all time scoring mark for boys and girls. She described the recruitment process as “Stressful and long. It was a really slow and quiet recruiting journey…to the point where I contemplated hanging up my basketball sneakers and just go to college. But then these last two months, I started receiving inquiries and offers from the D2/D3/Naia/Juco schools.” Years of hard work eventually paid off and Taylor knew it was meant to be after taking a visit to San Marcos. “My first official visit was last week to Cincinnati Christian University. I just got back from Cal State University San Marcos last night.” She had visits scheduled for Saint Martin’s and Adams State University, but when she was on campus at San Marcos, she knew that was the fit for her and cancelled her next visits. What exactly stood out about San Marcos? “Coaching staff/team, great education, modern sports facilities, campus feel, and weather.” It basically checked off everything that she was looking for. As far as education, Taylor, a 3.5 student, plans to major in business Administration during her four years on campus. On the court, Taylor is going to be working hard on her ball handling, shooting and getting in top notch shape before the start of her college career. There will be no need to hang up the basketball sneaker anytime soon.