by Will Muiter
The Paducah Sun
July 16, 2026
Paducah Tilghman High School welcomed Taylor Follis as its newest head baseball coach earlier this week, earning the promotion after his lone year as assistant for the squad this past year. Follis brings a decade of coaching experience across Regions 1 and 2 as well as in the collegiate space.
“It’s a blessing,” Follis said about the opportunity. “It’s a privilege to get to be a head coach for a program that’s well known and has a shot to make the state tournament every single year. I can’t thank my past coaches I’ve coached with and played for enough for the opportunities they’ve given me. I’ve learned so much from them. I’m excited to get going with the guys.”
After his lone season with the Blue Tornado, Follis knew Paducah is where he wants to be. He wants to lead a program with a history of success, and a consistent chance to compete for championships year after year.
“Paducah is an awesome spot,” Follis said. “It’s supported in so many ways. The administration is amazing. The community is amazing. We’ve got a lot of support that surrounds us. Like I said, we have a chance to make the state tournament every year. A lot of schools say they got that shot, but when you got the talent that Paducah produces every year, it’s awesome.”
Throughout his coaching career, Follis had been with some successful programs throughout the area. He has been an assistant at Ripley, Covington, and McCracken, before serving as Trigg County’s head coach for the 2022 season. He also served as an assistant for Dyersberg State softball before joining Tilghman’s staff last season. Follis says the experience with successful programs set the standard to what he knows this team can accomplish.
“I’ve been around some really good baseball, and softball at the collegiate level,” Follis said. “Being around Region 1 and 2, it’s such good baseball and such good coaches around, and that’s contagious. You want to build your team to be the best. It’s Kentucky, so it’s very different on how we run our postseason. There’s one true champion. Obviously we compete in 2A, but you gotta come ready to compete every single day, no matter who you play.”
Last season, the Blue Tornado gave up nearly 50 unearned runs, costing them in some key moments and games. This year, Follis wants to drill in the fundamentals on the defensive side of the ball, and clean up their game overall.
“Our identity going into the fall is going to be defense. This past year killed us, especially in big games. The small things killed us, and we preached about that the entire year leading up to that big game. Sure enough, we shot ourselves in the foot. We’re going to be fast, high energy, and try to do the small things right.”
Overall the Blue Tornado are getting an experience coached with a passion for success and improvement. With a rich history of coaching in the area, Taylor Follis was the perfect candidate to take over the Blue Tornado baseball program. He understands the areas of improvement needed to make Tilghman great, and will use that knowledge to try to get his team over the hump and into the state tournament.