Grant Taylor just finished his final year at Washington State, the fifth-year senior spent all five years in Pullman and saw a breakout final season that cemented himself as of the most decorated pitchers in Cougar Baseball history.
Taylor is from Murrieta, Calif. where he attended Murrieta Valley High School. As a senior he recorded 56 strikeouts across 39 innings, earning a spot on the Perfect Game Top 500 prospects.
His junior year he committed to New Mexico State University, however, ended up following head coach Brian Green to Washington State prior to the 2020 season.
Taylor's freshman year was cut short after Covid-19 shut down all of college baseball in March. He only played in three innings across three games, however, he played just enough to get a taste of the competition at this next level.
"Some of the guys I faced were big and I had to get used to that," Taylor said. "But I knew if I developed and put on some weight and added some strength, I would be able to compete and dominate at this level.'
By the time Taylor's sophom*ore year rolled around he was ready to see more action on the mound. While the 2021 season started off slow for Taylor, only appearing in four innings through the first two months before things started to pick up for Taylor when the Cougs hosted Oregon in early May.
Taylor appeared in four innings of relief, a career high to that point, and helped lead WSU to a series-clinching win over the Ducks. Taylor finished the year strong playing extended time in starts against USC and Washington, he credited this stretch to being vital for his development as a pitcher.
"I had some good starts against USC and Washington, that really helped me go into summer ball. Knowing that I can earn a starting spot coming back my junior year," Taylor said.
Going into his junior year Taylor was primed for an increased role on the pitching staff in 2022. He got the opening day start at Hawaii, two weeks later he beat Texas A&M at the Frisco Classic in Texas, but one game that proved to be pivotal in Taylor's development came just a couple weeks later when No.4 ranked Oregon State came to Pullman in late March.
Taylor went toe to toe against fourth ranked OSU, where he racked up seven strikeouts and only allowed one earned run through six innings. Taylor recalled this game being huge for his development.
"That start showed me I can compete against a Top-4, Top-25 or whatever top team in the nation," Taylor recalled. "It gave me a lot of confidence."
The junior righthander worked seven innings to help clinch a series at No.9 Arizona, and he struck out eight in a win over USC before seeing his best performance in his final start of the season. Taylor opened the series against Arizona State with seven strikeouts in a two-hit shutout against the Sun Devils, earning his first Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week and helped WSU sweep ASU for the first time in program history.
Taylor finished a promising junior year second on the team with four wins and 71.1 innings, tied for the team lead with 71 strikeouts including a WSU best 54 strikeouts in Pac-12 play. While he progressed as a pitcher, he knew he still had a lot to improve on going into his senior year.
"There were a lot of things I needed to work on. Slowing down the thought process in game and having confidence in myself. Knowing that once the ball leaves my hand there's nothing I can change," Taylor explained.
Taylor's senior year saw similar playing time, but still had multiple key performances.
Taylor pitched in multiple series clinching games for the Cougs. Taylor pitched in four innings vs No.15 Oregon State, striking out four and only allowing one earned run. He also helped the WSU earn a series clinching win against No.12 UCLA with five strikeouts and only allowing one run across six innings. Taylor finished the season with 55 strikeouts across his 13 starts, but another year of playing brought and continued to build confidence for Taylor.
"Repetition is huge for pitchers, every rep, every inning, and every game build confidence," Taylor said. "Over the years I've had a lot of reps that have helped build the player I am today."
As Taylor was preparing for his fifth year at WSU, the baseball program saw a turnover in coaching and brought in Head Coach Nathan Choate. Choate has had extensive experience working with high level pitchers and Taylor credited him and his staff's arrival as part of his development.
"It simplified a lot of things for me," Taylor explained.
With a new coaching staff and a lot of experience at the mound, Taylor's fifth year was primed to be his best yet.
In the Cougars second game they faced No.24 Kentucky as a part of the Round Rock Classic, he held UK to just one run through six innings helping lead WSU to the win and was rewarded with a spot in the Round Rock Classic All-Tournament Team. Taylor started the season on a strong note, however, no one could've expected Taylor to insert himself into the history books later in the season.
The fifth year made Washington State Baseball history, when the Cougs traveled to Husky Ballpark to take on Washington. Taylor set a program record with 17 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout victory over Washington and was later named the National Pitcher of the Week. Despite having one of the best performances in Cougar Baseball History, Taylor was focused on the game and wasn't aware of the history he was chasing.
"I wasn't keeping track of strikeouts, I was locked in. If you see the video after I got the school record, I wasn't even aware."
However, after the game during the postgame interview Taylor was informed, he cemented himself in WSU baseball history.
"Looking back at it that postgame interview was a lot of fun, finding out about the 17 strikeouts." he added that "10 strikeouts in a row is pretty cool."
After his record setting performance against Washington, Taylor kept things rolling into the final stretch of the season. 
In back-to-back performances the fifth year racked up 10 strikeouts against Fresno State and Oregon State. Taylor finished up the season starting against Oregon where he struck out seven batters and wrapped up his final year at Washington State finishing the season with the second most strikeouts in the Pac-12 with 99, fourth in WHIP with a 1.19, and eighth in ERA with a 4.21.
During his five years at Washington State Taylor inked himself in the record books. He finished his Cougar career with 252 strikeouts, the third most in Cougar history.
Over the past five years Cougar fans have had the opportunity to watch Taylor mature and grow as a player on the mound all while solidifying himself as one of the best Cougar pitchers in program history.
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