Travis Turner is proud to be a lifelong resident of Murray and Calloway County. He is a graduate of Calloway County High School (1991), where he was a four-year starter for the baseball team and a three-year letter-winner in basketball. Turner held the school record for three-pointers made in season and in a career for much of the 1990’s, at least until better players had the opportunity to surpass his marks (although he may forever hold the record for most three-pointers attempted).
Turner began his collegiate baseball career at Murray State University, lettering for the legendary Johnny Reagan as a freshman and sophomore (and almost certainly driving Coach Reagan into retirement in the process). He then moved on to Louisville’s Bellarmine College (now University), finishing his career as the Knights’ starting shortstop in his junior and senior campaigns. Despite an aversion to attending class (do as he says kids, not as he did), Turner was a regular dean’s list honoree at Murray State and a Great Lakes Valley Conference All-Academic selection at Bellarmine while majoring in political science.
After a bid to establish a career in professional baseball came up short, Turner returned to Murray to work with his mother and father, Carol and Oscar, in the family agribusiness. He remained active in athletics by working part-time as a hitting instructor and player advocate, working with college-bound baseball players to prepare their games for collegiate baseball. And in January of 1999, he made the move that brought him to these airwaves…
Jeremy Bell, the voice of Murray High Tigers sports, offered Turner the color analyst’s chair as the Lady Tigers basketball program took part in the 1999 All-‘A’ First Region Championship at Heath High School, and well…the rest is history. Turner and the microphone seemed a perfect fit…so much so that Bell often has to fight to get it back. The duo has formed a highly-entertaining pairing for Murray High basketball for going on a decade, and in the 2008 season, they will bring their partnership to all Murray High broadcasts, beginning with football.
In one of the great conflicts of interest of all-time, Turner is married to ultra-successful Lady Tigers basketball coach Rechelle (Cadwell) Turner. In fairness, the two met when the future Mrs. Turner was a first team All-State forward at Marshall County, and Travis is almost positive she’s not the reason he still has the job. The couple’s young son, Cadwell, promises to put both his parents’ athletic exploits to shame, and then turn his back on sports to pursue his dream of being the next Johnny Cash or becoming Spider-Man.
Travis Turner has spent thirty-five years in the Murray and Calloway County community, and he looks forward to bringing his unique perspective on sports of local interest and beyond to the airwaves of 1130 WOFC.
