Staff file photo / Neel Madhavan Copley’s Evelyn McKnight drives during a Division III regional semifinal contest against Canfield on March 5 at Memorial Fieldhouse in Canton.

CANTON — There wasn’t much that Evelyn McKnight didn’t do this season for the Copley girls basketball team.

The Youngstown State signee was a finalist for Ohio’s annual “Ms. Basketball” award, broke the Indians’ program scoring record and helped lead Copley to its second state final four appearance in three years.

Now, after finishing her decorated high school career, McKnight has her sights set on joining the Penguins to begin her college basketball career this summer.

“I hope to make an initial impact with them, but I can’t wait to just play with everybody,” McKnight said. “They seem like such a fun group, and they all play together. I love the coaches, so I just can’t wait.”

McKnight made her first connection with YSU head coach Melissa Jackson at a young age.

She attended Jackson’s youth basketball camps at Akron, often dominating her competition to win some of the camp’s awards. Since then, Jackson has been keeping her eye on the young point guard.

“Every phone call and every single time I was with them, they made me feel like family there,” McKnight said. “I love the team. The coaching staff is great, and the facilities there are great. So it really felt like home when I committed. That’s why I committed early.”

At the start of the high school basketball season, McKnight’s Copley teammate, Audrey Parker, a Central Michigan signee, went down with a season-ending injury. Since then, McKnight had to shoulder even more of a responsibility and scoring burden for the Indians.

“Over time, she’s had different roles on the team,” Copley coach Julie Solis said. “I think this year, when Audrey Parker went down, I knew she had to step up in different ways. She needed to be a rebounder consistently, she needed to really fill all the roles and play every position. We put her inside sometimes to mix it up.

“I think (McKnight) knew that she had to step up her game. I’m glad that she had to do that because sometimes I don’t know that she knew what her ceiling was, and I knew she could continue to grow.”

McKnight rose to the challenge and was one of the best all-around players in the state this season. She averaged 23.9 points, 5.9 steals, 5.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, which earned her a spot as a finalist for Ohio’s Ms. Basketball award.

“Each year, I come in with a new role. This year was more scoring because we needed that,” McKnight said. “But every single year, I add a new thing to my bag, and that’s really helped me. I focus on one thing, so I can be an all-around player. That’s my goal every game.”

After the regular season, McKnight led Copley on a tear through the playoffs. She had a triple-double in the Indians’ district final win over Akron Ellet before scoring 23 points in their regional semifinal victory over Canfield.

“She’s very difficult to guard, and she was as good tonight in terms of controlling the game as anyone we’ve played this year,” Cardinals coach Matt Reel said after the game on March 5. “I think what makes her special is she just has tremendous feel for the game, and she knows the moments when she’s got to take over.”

McKnight then capped off her high school career with a 34-point performance in Copley’s regional final win over Lyndhurst Brush and a 24-point outing in the Indians’ state semifinal loss to eventual state champion Dayton Chaminade Julienne.

She became Copley’s all-time leading scorer in that final game, finishing with 1,378 career points.

“Evelyn is the most well-rounded player I’ve seen in a while,” Solis said. “When I say that, I’ve seen some great players. She can defend, she can score and she’s got length. She’s got a point guard mentality. … She’s pretty special.”

While she was focused on Copley’s run, McKnight enjoyed getting to follow along with YSU’s success this season.

The Penguins won nine of their last 10 games to finish the regular season, then made a run to the program’s first Horizon League championship game before falling to Green Bay.

After that, YSU earned an automatic bid to the postseason WNIT and is slated to host the winner of Wake Forest and Maryland Eastern Shore in the second round early next week after getting a first-round bye.

“They’re rolling right now. They’re doing great,” McKnight said. “I feel like they’re playing together as a team, and I feel like they have a lot of energy right now.”

ANOTHER STATE PARTICIPANT

The other member of YSU’s 2026 high school recruiting class, 6-foot-3 forward Kaitlyn Turinsky, also ended her high school career with her second state final four appearance.

Her Bellevue team, which is coached by YSU point guard Casey Santoro’s father, Kory, went 29-1 this season. Its only loss came in the final game of the season, 60-58, to Shaker Heights Laurel in the Division IV state championship game last week.

Turinsky tied the game with a layup with 28 seconds left, but Laurel knocked down a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory. She had a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double against the Gators in the final and led her team with 15 points in Bellevue’s state semifinal victory over Circleville.

In 2025, Turinsky and the Redmen won the Division IV state championship with a 28-1 record.

She committed to Youngstown State shortly after winning the title last year and officially signed with the Penguins in early November. She’ll join McKnight on campus with YSU this summer.