Nick Taylor (soccer)
Nick Taylor (born September 2, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Orlando City B in MLS Next Pro. Early years. Growing up in Coppell, Texas, Taylor played soccer for Coppell High School where he won the Texas UIL 6A State Championship in 2016 and was named to the 2016–17 NSCAA Winter-Spring High School Boys All-American Team. He was a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year nominee, finishing as runner-up in 2016. Taylor also played club soccer for Dallas Texans, helping the team become U.S. Youth  Soccer National bronze medalist in 2013. With Dallas Texans, Taylor also won two State Cups and two Classic League Division I titles. College career. Taylor played five seasons of college soccer between 2017 and 2021 while majoring in marketing. Although he received numerous Division 2 and Division 3 offers, Taylor's only D1 offer was from Conference USA team New Mexico Lobos, coached by Paul Souders. Souders had heard of Taylor as early as middle school because their mothers worked together at the school Taylor was at and later also attended his alma mater, Coppell High School. Despite inviting Taylor  to a New Mexico talent ID camp and eventually getting him to verbally commit to New Mexico, Souders left the program to become an assistant to Scott Calabrese at UCF Knights the day before signing day but made a phone call to Taylor, convincing him to remain committed. Taylor ultimately played two seasons at New Mexico, making 29 appearances, scoring six goals and five assists. He earned 2018 All-Conference USA Second Team honors. When the Lobos program was shut down following the 2018 season, Taylor initially reached out to Souders but UCF already had depth at the winger position . Instead he joined SMU Mustangs of the American Athletic Conference. As a junior, he played 20 games in the 2019 season, registering three assists including one in a 3–3 tie with UCF during the regular season. SMU also beat UCF 1–0 in the 2019 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament final. With the 2020 season delayed until Spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor started all 11 matches during the shortened season, scoring two goals including one against UCF. Having been granted an additional year of eligibility due to the shortened nature of the pandemic season, Taylor entered  the NCAA transfer portal. Souders spotted his name on the transfer portal and convinced head coach Calabrese to offer Taylor a spot on the team that night having been impressed during frequent meetings between SMU and UCF. In his fifth year, Taylor started all 16 of UCF's games, scoring three goals and nine assists. Club career. Orlando City B. On January 11, 2022, Taylor was selected in the third round (74th overall) of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft by Orlando City. Having spent time with the club in preseason camp, he signed a professional contract with the team's reserve  affiliate, Orlando City B, in MLS Next Pro ahead of 2022 season. He made his professional debut on March 26 in the season opener. International career. Born in the United States, Taylor's mother is Cambodian making him eligible to represent Cambodia internationally. Honors. SMU Mustangs