Nate Turner graduated from Taylorville High School in 2005 and was a three year letter winner on the Taylorville Tornadoes’ baseball team and lettered in 2002 and 2004 on the football team.

It was the 2005 baseball season that defined Turner’s career as a Tornado baseball player.  The Tornadoes finished the season with 20 wins and a second place finish in the tough Central State Eight Conference, and senior Nate Turner was a major contributor as he dominated the conference and earned the Conference “Triple Crown” by leading the conference in batting average (.521), and school records in home runs (9) and RBI’s (58).  Added to those numbers, Turner set more school records.  He established new marks in slugging percentage (.908), doubles (14), total hits (62), and total bases (108), plus leading the team in runs scored (40) and on base percentage (.572), he was easily selected a first team All Central State Eight Conference and capped that by being named by the Illinois State Journal as CS8 Conference’s “Player of the Year”.

Turner was selected to the Illinois Coaches Association All-State Team and was chosen to play in their East-West All-Star Game as well as the Illinois State Jurnal’s All Star Game.

Following graduation, Nate Turner chose to continue playing baseball at the college level, first,,, playing for John Wood   Community College in Quincy, Illinois and then at Hannibal-Language University in Hannibal, Missouri.