BEST COACH IN NCAA

In the last 10 years, he's coached 10 podium teams, including 3 champs and almost 50 All-Americans in XC, including an individual champ in Dani Jones (pretty sure she won a 3k title in track, too). Plus a bunch of AA in track. He's coached the last two women's NCAA champs in the mile. They scored three in the indoor mile this year.

Chris Siemers is by far the best college coach. Almost zero scholarships and he’s got guys with slow slow HD times running low 28 and low 13s. Plus when they finish nobody runs because everyone starts at 6 figures because they have actual real degrees and are qualified to do more than ‘assistant coach’.

Solid starting list. A couple proposed edits:

- As much as I hate BYU having a bunch of 25 year old athletes, Eyestone and Taylor still deserve some love

- Not sold on Martin Smith belonging in this company. He's a solid coach, not one of the best though

A few championship highlights under Taylor among others.

Erika Birk - As a Senior in highschool was just hoping to prove to coaches she was worthy of a scholarship. Worked with Taylor after a pregnancy.
2018 XC 7th
2019 indoor
3k - 5th
DMR - 2nd
2019 outdoor
3000S - 5th ( 2nd going into the final water jump and fell )
2019 XC 6th

Whittni Orton - 5.05.23 1600 meter pr in highschool
2018 indoor
Mile - 7th
2019 outdoor
1500 - 8th
2019 XC 7th
Was primed for indoor championships before covid hit.
2021 XC Champ

Anna Camp - 5.07.36 1600 meter pr in highschool
2019 indoor
DMR - 2nd
2019 outdoor
800 - 8th
2021 XC (covid) 11th
2021 outdoor
1500 - Champ
2021 XC 12th

Courtney Wayment - 5:56.94 mile pr in highschool
2018 indoor
3000 - 7th
2018 XC - 23rd
2019 XC - 5th
2021 indoor
3000 - Champ
DMR - Champ
2021 outdoor
3000S - 4th
2022 indoor
3000 - 5th
5000 - Champ

Came in, worked with these ladies and nearly all 4 became NCAA champs. Boss

Typo, Courtney Wayment - 4:56.94 mile pr in highschool (indoor)

Damon Martin

I agree. I coach at a smaller d3 school, and even there, knew of Cantello's reputation. He was known for being verbally and emotionally abusive, if not emotionally so

It’s important to define our terms for “best coach” and our indicators.

1. Athlete-centered:

Do athletes come in as freshmen and graduate with 4 years of eligibility used?

Do athletes improve their marks from hs through graduation?

Are athletes avoiding injury?

Are athletes scoring at Nationals?

Are former athletes strong supporters of their alma mater?

2. Program-centered:

Winning nationals?

Recruiting top hs athletes?

Getting top marks out of athletes?

What do they have to work with, financially? Is the program fully funded? Low tuition (Texas A&M)? Low admission standards (Oregon)?

Balanced program? Or throws only? Sprints only? Distance only?

Household name? (Who cares about this one!)

The winningest coaches often will Win At All Costs, which includes grinding up student athletes year after year. So define your terms “best” and “coach”

Coach Flo at Texas should probably be in the conversation

Definitely consider his recent efforts centert around building a solid program. The women is more sprint and field heavy but they have a nice little middle distance group with some all American caliber 800m runners. Then the men have a complete setlist across the board. Championship season is gonna be fun

Mike Rohl

/thread

You are being deceptive with their high school times.

Birk - 2:11 over 800, 4:51 over 1600, and 10:34 for 3200 AT ALTITUDE. She was also on the team for 7 years.

Orton was a top athlete in other sports (basketball) and only ran 3 months per year.

Camp - 56 in the open 400, 2:13 over 800 at altitude

Wayment ran 10:40 over 3200 AT ALTITUDE and was 17th at Nike Cross Nationals.

It's worth mentioning that she didn't recruit any of them, and hasn't had much success with the athletes she recruited herself.

And most of these athletes were how old in the NCAA, exactly? 24-26?

Diljeet Taylor has been a D1 coach for about 20 years and this is the first time she had a broke through. With a school at altitude with a bunch of ultra disciplined mormon 25 year-olds. It takes more than 1 season to be a great coach.

Break through**

Wetmore

next question

Not trying to be deceptive whatsoever. I just grabbed the best 1600/mile time listed on their mile split profile to give a rough idea of ability. The fact remains that for the most part, these were not national names on the high school recruiting scene.

BYU women were not a power house when Diljeet came in, they had been a fringe top 25 team in the country for many years before then, and immediately made a jump to top 11 and beyond.

It's all the more impressive what she has done with existing recruits in the program.

Claire Seymour joined the program in 2018 and just took 2nd in the 800 at indoor ncaa champs. Success all around.

Again, you mid 20’s guys need to realize XC/track has been around a while in the NCAA.

BYU won a couple of NCAA XC titles around 2000, I think 3 in 4 years, they were highly competitive for years with Patrick Shane coaching them.
At this point Diljeet has done well for a year and turned some heads with her clothing choices at meets. Give it a few more years.

Taylor coached at D2 Cal State Stanislaus from 2007-2016. In 2016 she got two of those D2 athletes to the Olympic trials.

This is her 6th year as a D1 coach. The last three of those her XC team has gone 2 - 1 - 2. Plus she has had several individual NCAA champions.

None of Taylors's NCAA champs or members of her XC champs were 25 years old. None of them went on a mission. They are just like any other team. Some of them took the extra COVID year which is available to everyone.

Diljeet Taylor is simply an excellent coach. I think she has advantages - not with the missions but rather when it comes to the women the culture of limited partying and clean living. Kudos for her for developing athletes off of this platform. BYU is far from my cup of tea but that doesn't prevent giving credit where it is due.