September 25, 2025
Montverde Academy Basketball Coach to be Inducted into Washington Metropolitan Hall of Fame
By Kyle Coppola
Montverde Academy Basketball Coach to be Inducted into Washington Metropolitan Hall of Fame
Steve Turner may be new to Montverde Academy, but his legendary coaching career has already made waves that echo far beyond Central Florida.
The school’s newly appointed head national boys’ basketball coach will be the latest inductee into the Washington Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame.
The honor has been a long time coming after an amazing basketball coaching career that spans over two decades.
(Before his appointment with MVA, Turner was already widely recognized for a remarkable 21-year tenure as head coach at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. Photo – MaxPreps.)
Before his appointment with MVA, Steve was already widely recognized for a remarkable 21-year tenure as head coach at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. While at Gonzaga, he compiled an impressive 497-176 record. Under his leadership, the program became a national powerhouse which included four Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championships and three D.C. State Athletic Association championships.
He was named Gatorade Boys Basketball National Coach of the Year in 2016 and received numerous other accolades, including six WCAC Coach of the Year honors (2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2025) and The Washington Post’s All-Met Coach of the Year in 2019.
A fiery competitor with a deep commitment to player development, Steve coached dozens of NCAA Division I prospects, including Tyler Thornton (Duke), Kris Jenkins (Villanova), and Chris Lykes (Miami). His final Gonzaga team featured a starting lineup of five Division I-bound seniors and finished 29-5.
(Coach Turner was hired by Montverde Academy earlier this year to be head coach of the boys National Team. Photo – Montverde Academy.)
Steve’s influence in high school boys’ basketball extends beyond just being a head coach on campus. He has contributed to USA Basketball, serving as head coach of the Men’s Nike Hoop Summit Teams and leading the Men’s Junior National Select Team to victory over the World Select Team.
“It’s a blessing and an honor to have an opportunity to go into the Washington DC Basketball Hall of Fame with such an unbelievable class, words can’t even describe how I feel about it,” he says. “This doesn’t happen without all the guys who coached with me over my career and more importantly the players who played for me. This doesn’t happen without them doing the things they did for us on the court, winning games and being successful as they are. This isn’t something that just rested on my shoulders. It’s a culmination of all those who were involved.”
Steve will be inducted along other Mid Atlantic legends, including NBA Hall of Famer David Robinson, at an induction ceremony this Sunday, September 28 at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.
Steve, who was hired on March 31, inherits a boys national basketball program that is coming off a 19-8 overall record last season, which included a berth into the Chipotle High School National Tournament.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
