Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State head women's basketball coach Melissa Jackson announced on Monday that Casey Santoro is the program's first addition from the transfer portal for the 2025-26 season.
Santoro will become a Penguin as an experienced point guard at the Division I level, having spent her first three seasons at Kent State and her last two at FGCU. The native of Bellevue, Ohio, has one year of eligibility remaining.
"Having competed against Casey I know firsthand how tough of a player she is," Jackson said. "I have also enjoyed getting to know her off the court. Her competitiveness and drive will be a great addition to our program."
"She has a tremendous skill set, but what really stands out is her ability to make smart basketball plays. We were looking for a point guard with tremendous experience and Casey will bring that and more. We are very excited to welcome her to our Penguin Family!"
Over her first five seasons of Division I basketball, Santoro has scored 905 points, dished out 236 assists with just 137 turnovers, made 133 3-pointers while shooting 34.1% from 3-point range, and adding 80 steals in 120 games.
In 2024-25, Santoro played in 34 games and averaged 17.8 minutes for an Eagles squad that won 30 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. She made 36 3-pointers while recording 33 assists with just six turnovers. She started two of the first three games for Florida Gulf Coast in 2023-24 before suffering a season-ending lower-body injury.
Before her time in Florida, Santoro helped Kent State post a 51-32 record over three seasons as a key part of the Golden Flashes' lineup. She started 31 games while averaging 9.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 2022-23 as KSU won 21 contests. She averaged career highs of 10.1 points, 3.5 rebounds 3.0 assists in 2021-22 while becoming the first Golden Flash in program history to post a triple-double, and she averaged 6.7 points, 2.1 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 2020-21.
At Bellevue High School, Santoro was a four-time All-Ohio selection while playing for her father, Kory. The Lady Red won four league titles and two district championships during her tenure, and she finished her career as Bellevue's all-time leader in assists (307), steals (436) and three-point field goals (298). She ranked eighth in state history with 298 3-pointers, and she finished with 2,156 career points.
Santoro is the second student-athlete signed to join the Penguins in 2025-26. She joins graduating high school senior Brooke Adkins, who signed a grant-in-aid in November.
