Young eyes pro career after finishing with the Racers
WBB: The senior forward is 54 points from scoring 3,000 in her career
With 2,946 points career points, Murray State’s Katelyn Young is now 18th on the NCAA Division all-time scoring list. After putting together one of the most prolific careers in college basketball history, there are natural questions about Young’s interest in playing at the next level. When her Murray State career eventually comes to a close, the Racer GOAT says she’s not done just yet.
“I kind of have two options right now,” Young said. “The number one plan right now is I think I am going to go overseas. I think I'm going to continue to play basketball and just kind of see what happens — take it one year at a time. Honestly, I don't know how long I'll play. We'll see if I actually enjoy it, but I do want to go over there and just kind of explore the world and continue to play the sport I love. I think that's the number one plan right now. Then, if that doesn't work out, I’ll have to find a job somewhere,” Young laughed.
With 2,946 points, 1,192 rebounds and 314 career assists, Young joins UConn’s Maya Moore, Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw and USC’s Cheryl Miller as the only players in Division I history with that stat line. Her credentials, without question, are more than enough to give her an opportunity to try to play professionally. Murray State Head Coach Rechelle Turner says she’s doing everything she can to help Young achieve her future goals.
“I just think that's awesome,” Turner said about Young’s professional dreams. “She’s got so many things ahead of her. I'm hoping the only ring she doesn't leave with is the one on her engagement finger. I said it's time to put some more rings in this program, because we have so many kids get engaged while they're here, but I'm like, ‘We need a championship ring on those fingers.’ She's got a lot of things ahead of her, and whatever she does, she's going to be great at it. Whoever gets her is going to be better because of it. We've already had those conversations. We've got some people lined up, agents and things like that, after the season, that we'll get her with. If that's what she wants to do, then we'll put her in the best position possible. I'm still not giving up on her coaching, because I think that she could just bring so much to our basketball program on that side. Who wouldn't want to be mentored by Katelyn Young?”
Young and the Racers will begin their run through the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Friday at 12:00pm at the Ford Center in Evansville against either Bradley or Valparaiso.