Montana basketball signs Trae Taylor

Montana basketball has added another player for the 2025-26 season. Trae Taylor has signed a scholarship contract with the University of Montana and will join head coach Travis DeCuire's team.

Taylor transfers to Montana from D-II Chico State where he spent three seasons. Taylor, a 6-9, 220-pound forward, averaged 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 2024-25 while shooting a remarkable .736 from the floor, the best percentage in college basketball at the D-I, D-II, or D-III level.

"He has a high motor and is a high percentage basketball player," DeCuire said. "His field goal percentage is very high which means he knows who he is as a basketball player, but he's willing to work hard and get better and compete, and you can never have too many guys like that. We're excited to add Trae to our roster and our family."

Taylor makes the jump from the D-II level but excited for the chance to prove that he belongs. Montana has had success with transfers that moved up in the past, most recently with Kai Johnson, who came to UM from D-II Western Washington.

"I'm super excited and I'm very blessed to have this opportunity and to have the coaches believe in me," Taylor said. "I think it's maybe tough sometimes to take a chance on a D-II guy, so the fact that they are taking a chance on me is huge."

He got particularly hot down the stretch of the season, scoring at least 24 points in four of the final seven games of the season. He had a career high 32 points on a perfect 14-of-14 from the floor in a win over Sonoma St. on Feb. 27.

Taylor helped lead Chico State to a 24-7 overall record and a second place finish in the competitive CCAA Conference with a 19-3 record in league play. The Wildcats won 21 games the season prior.

"One thing that has always been helpful for us with transfers, guys that have transferred up or down, is to add guys that expect to win every time they play," DeCuire said. "Coming from Chico State, you're talking about a guy that for the last three years is expected to win pretty much every game when the ball goes in the air. It's healthy for our culture because it's how we want to carry ourselves."

The statistical numbers speak for themselves for Taylor, but Taylor said his game is about more than scoring efficiently.
"I'm a huge energy guy. I want to make winning plays at a high level," Taylor said. "I want to rebound, I want to guard my butt off, I'm going to dive on the floor, anything I can do to help the team win. I'm here to exhaust myself every single game."

The Grizzlies have familiarity with the Chico State program as current Grizzly assistant coach Jay Flores played there under associate head coach Chris Cobb. Assistant coach DJ Broome also played in the CCAA at Cal Poly Humboldt.

Taylor also played alongside former Griz guard Isaiah Kerr at Chico State.

"Coach (Flores), Coach Cobb, it was cool because on my visit we were just catching up on Chico stories," Taylor said. "It was really cool knowing I can relate to the coaches on that, they know what I've been through, they know who my coach was, what my workouts were like, and just the overall culture at Chico. They think it translates well and I do too."

The Grizzlies have now added three players so far this offseason via the transfer portal. Taylor joins Power 4 transfers Kadyn Betts (Minnesota) and Courtney Anderson Jr. (Colorado).

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Kai Johnson

Related Videos