Correspondent file photos / Robert Hayes YSU men’s basketball head coach Ethan Faulkner (left) and women’s basketball head coach Melissa Jackson (right) call out instructions during games last season. Both teams signed two new players for the Class of 2026 this week.

YOUNGSTOWN — Both the Youngstown State men’s and women’s basketball programs announced the signings of two players for the Class of 2026 this week.

The YSU men signed 6-foot-2 shooting guard Jacob Spurlock from Ashland, Kentucky, and 6-foot combo guard Kaelen Destin from the Bronx, N.Y on Wednesday.

“We’re really excited about both of those guys,” men’s head coach Ethan Faulkner said during a press conference on Thursday. “As you know, we’ve been very active recruiting the transfer portal for many years. But one thing we’re never going to go away from is recruiting high school players. We feel like we signed two good ones last year, and we’ve got two good ones signed again this year.”

Spurlock was YSU’s first commitment of this recruiting cycle back in early September. He played for coach Randy Anderson at Boyd County High School in Kentucky, which is less than an hour from Faulkner’s hometown and alma mater in Sandy Hook, Kentucky.

“He’s a guy that I’ve known for a long time, being an eastern Kentucky guy,” Faulkner said. “I’ve known his high school coach for years. Actually coached his high school coach’s son in AAU basketball when I was playing in college.”

Spurlock has scored nearly 2,600 points in his high school career, while pulling down 767 career rebounds and making 481 3-pointers.

“Jacob is just an elite shotmaker,” Faulkner said. “Got great size for a two guard and is one of the best shooters in the country, in the entire 2026 class. He’s been really well-coached with his high school program and playing with Indiana Elite, one of the biggest Adidas programs in the country. He’s played with really good players and really excited about what he’s going to bring to the table for us.”

Destin committed to the Penguins in October, played most recently at Our Savior Lutheran Prep and is a fast, crafty, three-level scorer that has the ability to create his own shot, according to his recruiting profile.

Destin was originally part of the Class of 2025 out of Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx and had Division I offers from Chattanooga, Drexel, Northern Illinois, FIU and Texas A&M. But he reclassified to the Class of 2026 and went to prep school at Our Savior Lutheran Prep.

“Kaelen and (Spurlock) are going to complement each other so well because Kaelen is a dynamic playmaking guard, who is really good with the ball in his hands, really good in transition and really good in the ball screen,” Faulkner said. “He’s capable of making really hard shots. He’s one of those guys that can just kind of go get a basket. They both really fit us in terms of style of play.”

YSU WOMEN KEEP TWO IN STATE

The YSU women’s program announced its two signings on Thursday, keeping a pair of Ohio natives in-state to join the Penguins for the Class of 2026.

After signing just one high school player last year, YSU signed 5-foot-10 point guard Evelyn McKnight from Copley and 6-foot-3 forward Kaitlyn Turinsky from Marblehead.

“They both come from great high school programs that have been to the state finals,” women’s head coach Melissa Jackson said Thursday. “Kaitlyn won the championship last year, Evelyn was a semifinalist as a sophomore. So they’re winners. They play for a great AAU program in SMAC, who I’ve had great relationships with here in Northeast Ohio. So I was really happy to keep them in-state and get them here to Youngstown.”

McKnight committed to the Penguins at the end of January and helped lead her Copley High School team to the state semifinal when she was a sophomore. She enters her senior season with the Indians with 705 points, 353 assists, 320 rebounds and 223 steals.

“Evelyn’s going to provide some really good length and athleticism, and a great midrange game at that point guard position,” Jackson said. “Evelyn can really get the ball up the floor. Obviously her size at 5-foot-10 for the point guard position is going to be huge for us. … She can really score the ball at all three levels.”

Last year, she was a third-team All-Ohio selection in Division III and a first-team all-district selection after averaging 15.4 points per game.

“I’ve been eyeing that kid since she was 5 years old,” Jackson said. “She used to come to my camp, and she would win every single award. So I knew back then that she probably had a chance, and so that’s a really special, cool signing for me.”

Turinsky committed in March and was part of Bellevue’s first-ever state championship team last year, when the Lady Red went 28-1 and won 16 straight games to end the season.

She was named MVP in the state title game, and averaged 11.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.9 blocks and 2.5 steals per game last year as a junior. She’s also the school’s career record holder in blocked shots with 334 career blocks, breaking a Bellevue record that stood for 41 years.

“Kaitlyn brings unbelievable versatility to a very well-established post group. I think she will fit in really well with the players that we have returning,” Jackson said. “She’s super long at 6-foot-3 and an elite shot blocker, which I think will really fit with what we’re trying to do defensively.”