Heading into her 10th year as Murray State women’s basketball coach, Rechelle Cadwell Turner has little reason to be shy.
A full conference pivot from the Ohio Valley to the Missouri Valley, a handful of tough injuries, the rise of Name/Image/Likeness, blowout losses and now back-to-back championships and NCAA Tournament appearances, the former Murray Lady Tigers skipper has experienced every high and low imaginable in college athletics.
During a Tuesday afternoon Q&A sit-down with the Cadiz Rotary Club and MSU’s Director of Alumni Relations Carrie McGinnis, the future Racer Hall-of-Famer gave a lengthy preview on the upcoming season — one that does come with fitting three-peat expectations — before pulling back some curtains on the job itself.
A decade has passed in the blink of an eye, and Turner admitted that all those years ago, she never dreamed of leaving behind a prominent First Region powerhouse.
Former MSU AD Allen Ward, however, remained persistent.
Turner noted the only reason she is a champion is because of the young women in her program, which in her inaugural season went 11-19 overall and 7-11 in the OVC.
Fast forward to now, and the Racers have gone 56-12 overall and 35-5 in the MVC over the last 24 months, courtesy of strong recruiting at the freshman and transfer portal levels, as well as what she calls a “complete revamp” of their offensive and defensive philosophies — behind the analytical minds of her husband, Travis, and his best friend and longtime coach Ed Chapman.
Halli Poock, Haven Ford, Keslyn Secrist and Sharnecce Currie-Jelks comprise a formidable returning quad, but the additions of Nebraska transfer and former McCracken County star Claire Johnson, Evansville guard Sydney Huber — and the growth of a young, healthy, but wide-eyed, bench — mean the Racers don’t have mild aspirations.
Turner admitted the coaching landscape has become a 24/7, 365-days-a-year mindset — sometimes making family life a bit more difficult.
Her loved ones, however, have embraced the challenge of building a program. As have her players, who she said are on campus for family first, and basketball second.
Turner’s full visit can be found here:
