Bellevue's Turinsky named Player of the Year in Div. IV

Kaitlyn Turinsky has garnered a lot of accolades in her high school career. The Bellevue senior capped it off earlier this week when she was named the Division IV Player of the Year by the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association. "It meant so much to me," Turinsky said. "I was so happy. When (Bellevue coach) Kory (Santoro) sent it in our little group chat, I thought it was just saying I was first team. When I realized I was Player of the Year, I was ecstatic." This past season, the 6-foot-3 Turinsky averaged 12.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 2.6 steals per game for the Lady Red. "Anytime you get recognized by the Coaches Association, it's a big deal," Santoro said. "I feel like she's deserving of this. She's a player that brings a lot to the table, not just offensively but defensively. She's the total package." Turinsky made 161 of 264 (61 percent) two-point shots this season. She grabbed almost four offensive rebounds per game, dominating the paint on both ends of the floor. "It was exciting because it was a culmination of all of the work I put in," Turinsky said. "But, my team helped me with a bunch of assists to get those shots. We all played really good defense." Turinsky was also named first-team all-northwest district, first-team District 6 and the Most Outstanding Performer for the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division. She was a first-team all-Ohio pick by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association earlier this week. "She has matured each year," Santoro said. "She has gotten stronger and better each year. That's a credit to her because she wants to be great. She's a great teammate, too. She's fierce and that's what I love about her. She loves to win." Bellevue finished 29-1 this season, falling in the Div. IV state championship game. The Lady Red were Division IV state champions in the 2024-2025 season, going 28-1 as a group. That season, Turinsky contributed 12.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.1 blocks a night. "When one of your players get a honor like she did, it's good for the program," Santoro said. "It means the coaches appreciate what she's doing. She's had a lot of great teammates. You have to have guards bring the ball up the court and get her the ball. Like I said, she's a great teammate for them as well." Turinsky finished her career with 1,217 career points, 946 rebounds and 392 blocks. She holds the program record for career rebounds and career blocks. Bellevue was 98-13 in Turinsky's four years in the program. "She is going to go down as one of our top players ever," Santoro said. "She ranks right up there with the best players to come through here. She will be greatly missed. "A player like her, you don't replace her. You just hope to find someone to try to do what she did." Turinsky's tenure at Bellevue will come to an end soon. She went out for track this year for the first time. Once finished, she will continue her collegiate basketball career at Division I Youngstown State next season. She wanted to thank her parents, Connie and Mark, as well as coaches Santoro, Troy Stamm and Mike Strayer for their work. She said the support she received from them, and her travel basketball coaches, have meant a lot. "I'm so excited for Youngstown State," Turinsky said. "I haven't done anything basketball since we lost, but I'll get back into next week. Hopefully Youngstown State will get me some work outs soon and I can get on what they want me to do. "I'm excited to grow as a player with some personalized stuff. I want to get stronger in the gym and work on my offense and defense."