A synthetic turf system includes a plurality of synthetic turf fibers, and a plurality of ceramic pellets interspersed among the synthetic turf fibers. The ceramic pellets have a hardness on the Mohs scale of 6 to 8, a density of 0.5 to 2.15 g/cm3, and a sphericity and roundness rating of 0.7 to 0.99. The ceramic pellets include a mixture of alumina fines and at least one of kaolin or bauxite. The ceramic pellets are chemically inert and free from respirable quartz silica dust. The ceramic pellets may include a ceramic pellet core and a coating. The coating may be configured to control thermal properties of the ceramic pellets. The synthetic turf system may include small ceramic pellets configured to remain near a surface and large ceramic pellets configured to settle towards a bottom of the system.