Brownsboro grad Taylor Beall taking over Cayuga boys basketball program

Published 3:20 pm Monday, August 4, 2025

Taylor Beall played basketball at Brownsboro High School under then Bears head coach Tobin Reid.

Beall graduated from Brownsboro in 2013. After going to Blinn College, Beall took some time off before going to the University of Texas at Tyler to finish up his degree.

Beall stayed around the game, coaching the Brownsboro varsity boys summer league team for Brownsboro head coach Brent Smith for 10 years, capping it off this summer.

Beall spent one year coaching the eighth grade team at Bishop Gorman. He returned to his alma mater to be Coach Smith’s lead assistant for the Bears in 2023-24.

In 2024-25, Beall became a first-time varsity head basketball coach, taking over the Elysian Fields Yellowjackets.

“I learned a ton,” Beall said. “It was my first year as a head coach, but I’ve been coaching basketball a long time and had some great mentors. I went over there and people told me we would not win five games. But I wanted to lead a program and see what we could do.”

Elysian Fields went 14-17 overall and finished 3-11 in a tough District 23-2A that includes Gary, Tenaha, Timpson, Beckville, Garrison, Waskom and Joaquin. According to MaxPreps, it was Elysian Fields’ most wins in a season since 2017 and also just the Yellowjackets’ second double-digit win campaign in that time frame.

“It was a great group of kids who bought in,” Beall said. “They showed up and worked hard.”

Now, Beall will be taking over as head boys basketball coach at Cayuga High School.

“I wanted to be closer to home, closer to family,” Beall said. “I wanted to be at a school that really cared about sports, and I thought this would be a good place for me for basketball.”

Cayuga has won five state championships, most recently in 2010. The Wildcats went 16-15 overall and 5-7 in District 19-2A, just missing the postseason in a league with 2025 state champion Martin’s Mill, Frankston, LaPoynor, Alba-Golden, Fruitvale and Cross Roads.

Cayuga missed the playoffs in 2025 for the first time since 2018 but also had its most wins since 2020.

“The history of Cayuga is really important,” Beall said. “They have had some ups and downs, but we have high expectations. It’s a tough district, but we have some good pieces back and a good group coming up, and I feel like we can be in that conversation with the other good teams in East Texas.”

Beall said no matter the result on the scoreboard, he wants the program’s culture and hard work to be on display.

“We want to play harder than anybody else,” Beall said. “We want to win the intensity battle. It starts in practice. We are going to show up and work hard. Attitude and effort are things we can control.”

Along with basketball, Beall will also coach cross country at Cayuga.