Linfield's Taylor commits to Seattle Pacific

TEMECULA — Fallbrook resident Weston Taylor of Linfield Christian High School has announced his decision to attend Seattle Pacific University (SPU) in the fall and play basketball for the NCAA Division II program.

After leading the Lions to the school’s first-ever CIF-SS championship game appearance and a 21-9 record, Taylor has decided to continue his hoops career at SPU. A first team all-CIF point guard, Taylor chose Seattle Pacific over several NAIA and NCAA Division III schools in the southern California area, including his father’s alma mater, California Lutheran University.

“SPU has a really good reputation for academics and athletics,” Taylor said. “I’m looking forward to participating in their high-quality program.”

Seattle Pacific, located in downtown Seattle, WA, is a private university with a Christian-based education specializing in math and science. Its basketball program is recognized as tops in the west for NCAA Division II. The Falcons have won the GNAC conference title each of the last two seasons in addition to appearing in regional and final-four playoff games.

Taylor was observed by the SPU coaching staff this past summer during his participation on the Branch West Academy AAU team. He played in five summer tournaments, including the Reebok Big Time tourney in Las Vegas, NV. He also played for the Rancho Temecula Sports Center/Higher Hoops 17-U team.

In addition to a scoring average of 12 points per game that included 33 three-pointers this past season, Taylor lead the Temecula Valley area with 167 total assists, which ranks number 16 on Max Preps for all southern California area schools. He also averaged 2.4 steals per game. Taylor recently participated in the Desert Valley All-Star Game at Vista Murrieta High School, a showcase that featured the best of the Temecula Valley area boys and girls basketball players.

Taylor, the Linfield team captain and MVP, is also an Eagle Scout. And although his personal stats demonstrate the talent capable of succeeding at the collegiate level, Taylor attributes his leadership skills both on and off the court as a principal reason why he received attention from college coaches this past year.

“As the point guard, my goal is to be the team leader and set the tone,” said Taylor. “All season I tried to be the one on and off the court that the guys could count on.”

Taylor plans to major in pre-law.