In less than six months, Katelyn Young became the 14th highest scorer in Division I basketball history, a Missouri Valley Conference champion with the Racer women’s basketball team and a Women’s National Basketball League National champion with the Knox Raiders in Australia. On Sept. 8, Racer Athletics announced the well-kept secret that Young will be adding assistant coach at her alma mater to her list of accomplishments in 2025.
Both Young and head coach Rechelle Turner attribute the trust that was built between the two of them over the last seven years and the overall culture within the coaching staff to being what ultimately brought her back to the Racers after three months of success in an overseas professional league.
Turner recruited Young for two years before she made her Murray State debut, taking frequent trips to Oakwood, Illinois, to watch her compete in various high school sports. Young became a four-time Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-State selection and a Four-time AP Class 2A All-State selection while playing four years of volleyball, two years of track and field and one year of softball. Further proving her well-roundedness, she won All-County awards at least once in all three sports.
“I watched volleyball, I watched basketball … Anything that she wanted me to be at, I was there,” Turner said.
Young ended her dominant high school career totaling 2,361 points and averaging 22.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game as a senior.
During Young’s first year as a Racer, she led the Ohio Valley Conference in rebounding with 251 for the season and an average of 9.3 per game. She began her five year streak of being named to the all-conference team and the following year she made the most consecutive field goals in a single game in school history by going 10-for-10 in Evansville.
During her collegiate career, she scored the third most points in a single game in Murray State history at Drake with 43 points, was an eight-time OVC Player of the Week in one season and became the first AP All-American in school history.
“She wasn’t Kate the Great her freshman year – she developed into that,” Turner said.
As her awards continued to stack up, she continued to build her legacy with Racer basketball. On senior night, her jersey was retired to commemorate her contributions to the program as a player.
After Name, Image and Likeness deals got approved for the NCAA, Young had opportunities to monetize her college experience. Instead of entering the transfer portal in search of greener grass, she chose to keep watering her own in Murray. Under the wing of coach Turner, Young said she has grown as both an athlete and a person.
Leading the Racers to the Missouri Valley Championship and ultimately giving the team a change to dance was always Young’s goal. After four years of development, growing pains and intentional recruitment, the circumstances were finally just right for the conference championship and a trip to Norman, Oklahoma.
Coach Turner revealed that Young was the first person she thought of when the assistant coach position opened.
“The more time we spent together, the relationship just grew and grew and it just became a really important part of her success, in my opinion, because she knew how much I trusted her. She trusted me, and we just kind of had that connection,” Turner said. “When the job came open, I mean, it was a no brainer for me to ask her. I had no idea that she would say yes, matter of fact, I said, ‘I know you’re not gonna do this, but I’ve still got to ask.’”
There were many factors that led Young to her decision to return to the Racers, the largest being the community and relationships that she built as a student-athlete.
Although her professional career was short-lived, Young expressed no regret in her decisions, describing the experience as an awesome opportunity. As a Knox Raider, she played in 13 games and averaged 14 minutes per game. In her final game in the national championship, she scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
“One of our coaches mentioned that people go abroad and chase championships their entire lives and I got it in three months. It was a great note to go out on, and I’m glad it happened the way it did,” Young said.
After three months of professional basketball and exploring the beauty of Australia on her own and with family, she finalized her decision to take the job offer from coach Turner and expand her Racer legacy. Only time will tell the extent to which her knowledge and experience will aid the Racers as they look to rebuild and level up for the 2025-16 season.
On Nov. 3, Young will join the Murray State women’s basketball team, coach Turner and the remaining coaching staff for their non-conference home opener against Trevecca at 7 p.m. in the CFSB Center.
