Skip to main content
florida logo

Florida's Todd Golden, Katie Turner named to The Athletic's 40 Under 40

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•08/24/22•

ZachAbolverdi

On3 image
UAA Photos

Florida Gators football is the No. 1 topic in Good Morning Gators every day — but we cover news, notes and analysis from across the Gators sports world. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything in the world of Florida football, UF recruiting, Gators basketball, Florida baseball and more.

On Tuesday, The Athletic released its inaugural College Sports 40 Under 40 and a pair of Gators made the list.

The Athletic solicited nominations across Division I and all major sports in search of the industry’s fastest risers and up-and-coming stars in their fields, including head coaches, coordinators and staffers rethinking the recruiting world.

Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden and assistant AD of recruiting strategy Katie Turner were recognized under the “coaches and staff” section. Here is what The Athletic had to say about each honoree.

Todd Golden, Florida men’s basketball head coach | Age: 37  

From tracking deflections to challenging conventional endgame fouling strategies to charting individual player data, Golden is a poster child for analytics in college hoops, a coach at the cutting edge of the game’s evolution. He’s also a big believer in the transfer portal as the way to win quickly in college basketball today. 

Florida hired Golden on the heels of an NCAA Tournament appearance for his San Francisco Dons, who earned a No. 10 seed and lost in overtime to Murray State. The West Coast Conference to the SEC is about as big a jump as a coach can make in one offseason, but expectations are high for a quick reset in Gainesville.  

Golden has worked under Auburn coach Bruce Pearl and current Washington State coach Kyle Smith, back when the latter was at Columbia.

Katie Turner, Florida assistant athletic director of football recruiting | Age: 28  

Working under Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, Turner saw up close what it takes to land the nation’s elite football prospects. And in December 2021, she took her talents from Athens to Gainesville, hired by new head coach Billy Napier to direct Florida’s recruiting strategy. At Florida, Turner runs the show as the full-service point person for how prospective players are treated on campus and how the football program showcases itself on social media.  

Napier knew how important she would be to what he’s building — Turner was his director of on-campus recruiting for two seasons at Louisiana before she went to Georgia — and has made her one of the most interesting players in college football recruiting.  

It was just nine years ago when Turner volunteered to be a recruiting hostess in Tuscaloosa, and Alabama landed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country every year she worked with the program as an undergraduate student. Now, she’s an assistant AD in charge of an SEC program’s entire recruiting operation.  

Turner, who has helped the Gators put together a top-10 class for 2023, reacted to the news Tuesday on her social media account.

“Not sure who I must’ve paid off!!! Doesn’t feel real to see my name next to the other ones on this list!!! Shout-out to all of my co-workers and mentors past & present who have made me look better than I am. It’s about the people around you!!!!!”

SUBSCRIBE TO THE GATORS ONLINE YOUTUBE PAGE

In other Florida football news

UF recruiting roundup

Gators sports roundup

Let’s keep talking

Want to keep the conversation going? Head over to our Florida message board, Swamp Talk. Sign up here and join the discussion.

Also, you can sign up for Gators Online’s FREE Newsletter to have the latest in Gators sports sent directly to your mailbox every day.

Gators Twitter updates

  • The 2022 UF football team photo:
  • Sounds from Florida’s training camp:
  • The latest installment of Gator Cam:

You may also like