JONESBORO, Ark. (4/15/26) – Arkansas State men's basketball head coach Ryan Pannone announced the addition of 2023-24 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps Boys Player of the Year Layne Taylor to the 2026-27 roster on Wednesday.
 
"Lane Taylor is a high-IQ guard with a three-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio throughout his career that can really shoot the ball from deep," said Pannone. "He brings an ability to play on and off the ball within our offense and can be a creator and spacer with his passing and shooting ability.
 
He does a really good job of finishing at the rim. He was a player that I got a chance to see a couple of years ago when I was at Alabama and I always loved the way he played. The force he played with in transition is a good fit in our system with how fast we play. His abilities to play with pace with the ball in his hands, race to corners, and create space as a shooter is going to be huge because he brings himself as a dual threat guard within the way that we play."
 
The Farmington native joins the Red Wolves following stints at Murray State and Central Arkansas. In 2025-26 with the Racers, Taylor averaged 8.0 points and ranked seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference with a team-leading 3.3 assists over 26 starts and 31 appearances.
 
With 100 total assists compared to only 30 turnovers, he ranked 13th nationally with a 3.33 assist-turnover ratio.
 
Taylor began his collegiate career with the Bears in 2024-25 and was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team after averaging a team-best 17.4 points per game over 20 starts. The junior shot 121-for-309 (39.2 percent) from the field and led the Bears in three-point makes with 64 on 190 attempts (33.7 percent).
 
He tallied 20-plus points six times as a freshman and recorded his first career double-double against Eastern Kentucky on January 2, 2025. Taylor finished second on the team with 73 assists and 37 steals.
 
He ranks third on the Arkansas high school boys basketball all-time scoring list with 3,372 career points. The four-time All-State selection posted a career record of 124-12 over four seasons at Farmington High School, and averaged 25.3 points along with six rebounds and six assists as a senior en route to a runner-up finish at the Class 4A State Tournament.
 
In addition to three All-State Tournament distinctions, he was named the West All-Star Most Valuable Player in 2024 and was listed as the No. 20 guard prospect by 247Sports.
 
"Physically he's strong and tough, knows how to makes guys better around him, and always tries to make the right play," said Pannone. "We're really excited and grateful that we got a chance to get Layne as an Arkansas kid in our program."
 
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