OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 25, 2020) – Garrett Taylor, a former University of Oklahoma standout who spent time with Oklahoma Christian's fledgling Ultimate club program during its debut season, will serve as the Eagles' head coach for the 2020-21 academic year, OC Athletic Director David Lynn said Tuesday.

It will be the first coaching job for Taylor, who grew up near OC in Edmond and now lives in the Deer Creek area of that town. He will replace Gabe Cabrera, who is moving to West Virginia.

"Garrett was associated with the program already and when Gabe decided he could no longer do it, his recommendation was Garrett," Lynn said. "When I met with Garrett, I saw his passion, I saw his organization, I saw his enthusiasm and just thought it was a good fit. He plays Ultimate and he loves it.

"Ultimate is something that we should be growing. We're one of very few schools in the country that offers scholarships for Ultimate. It's a sport we want to compete at. It's a sport we want to try and win a championship in. It's a growing sport. I think we could have 50 to 100 kids on the team pretty easily. Garrett is very plugged into the Ultimate community around here and I certainly would like to see us get plugged in more nationally."

Taylor began playing Ultimate in high school and when he arrived at OU, he joined the Sooners' club team. He became a four-year starter on OU's O-line and helped the Sooners win a sectional title in 2013.

Since college, he's captained a dozen summer and winter league teams for Oklahoma City Ultimate and created Edmond Ultimate LLC, in an effort to better serve Edmond's population with Ultimate leagues. He organizes and directs seasonal Ultimate leagues and tournaments at ScoreOKC in Edmond.

He met Cabrera last year at a local Ultimate event and soon enough, Thomas began helping Cabrera with the OC program last spring, before the Eagles' inaugural season abruptly was shortened due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"I've never coached a college sport or anything in my life," Taylor said. "I've been around Ultimate for a long time. I've organized an organization that facilitates leagues and captained teams, but I've never had an official coach role. This will be a new thing for me but I am looking forward to it.

"OC is not the only school that offers Ultimate scholarships, but no one else does it to the degree that we do. No one else gets the scholarship funds for Ultimate that OC gives out. It's cool. It gives some people the opportunity to get an education that they might not have otherwise."

Taylor also works as a banking officer for First National Bank of Oklahoma.

Taylor said he's looking for students on campus who are interested in playing for the Eagles' club team, so that he can fill out the roster for the 2020-21 season. He can be reached at garrett.taylor@oc.edu.