Buckeyes,
This past year has been outstanding in a number of ways. I feel so honored and blessed to have served you, and all our student athletes. As my time at Ohio State comes to an end, this past year our student athletes continued their pursuit of excellence and made us all proud.
Recognizing 811 scholar-athletes, all 36 teams with an average GPA over 3.0, attaining a 989 APR score and 489 Academic All-Big Ten honorees speaks to their focus in the classroom. Having our football program maintain a 3.2 GPA and a 1,000 APR score as one of only two schools in the FBS to do so speaks volumes to our culture around academics.
With 223 graduates this year and 96% attaining employment, going to grad school or playing professionally, our leadership institute continues to assist our student athletes with their post OSU career goals.
This review provides an excellent summary of the competitive success we have enjoyed. In many ways it was a remarkable experience for all of us to witness Buckeye athletes compete.
I want to thank you for all your support during my tenure. Sheila and I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity over the past 19 years. Ross Bjork has transitioned exceptionally well and will do a great job representing the Buckeyes. I know you will support him as well.
Thank you,
Gene Smith
Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation Endowed Athletics Director
National Champions
Women's Ice Hockey
National Champions
The Ohio State women's hockey team won it's second NCAA championship in the last three years with a 1-0 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H. The Buckeyes also captured the WCHA regular season title with an impressive record of 25-1 in WCHA play.
Jesse Mendez
National Champion at 141 pounds
Sophomore Jesse Mendez, a native of Crown Point, Indiana, is the 2024 National Champion at 141 pounds. He claimed the crown at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
Pistol
National Champions
The Ohio State pistol team captured a historic fourth consecutive national title at the Intercollegiate Pistol Championship. Individually, Ada Korkhin was the champion in the air pistol, Katelyn Abeln took home first place honors in the sport pistol and Abeln was also the winner of the standard pistol. She also had the top aggregate score.
Lyle Yost
NCAA 1-Meter Champion
Lyle Yost successfully defended his 1-meter title at the NCAA Championships, claiming his second straight national title.
Dance
D1A Jazz National Champions
The Buckeyes' national title in D1A jazz continues a winning tradition that is unmatched. In five of the last six years, they've won at least one championship at nationals.
Robert Cash & JJ Tracy
NCAA Doubles National Champions
For the second consecutive season, an Ohio State tandem has claimed the NCAA Doubles Championship as JJ Tracy and Robert Cash became the program’s third national championship duo.
Spirit Team
D1A Gameday National Champions
The Ohio State spirit team (comprised of cheer, dance and Brutus) was crowned the D1A gameday national champions.
Emily Armstrong
U.S. Collegiate Championships A Figures National Champion
The figures title is her second of her three-year Buckeye career. She won the title in her first year and finished second at last season's national championship meet.
Men's Tennis
ITA Indoor National Champions
Ohio State defeated 4-3 to win the ITA National Indoor Team Championship. This was the third indoor national title for the program as well as for director of tennis Ty Tucker. It was their seventh appearance in the finals as they also won the title in 2014 and 2019. The Buckeyes also went on to capture a Big Ten title in the spring.
Team Conference Championships
Women's Basketball
B1G Regular Season Champions
The Ohio State women's basketball defeated TTUN to capture the outright regular season conference title.
Men's Volleyball
MIVA Tournament Champions
Ohio State captured the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament title with a 3-1 win over Lindenwood.
Men's Fencing
CCFC Champions
The Ohio State men's fencing team won its fourth consecutive Central Collegiate Fencing Conference title.
Individual Honors
Ohio State Female Athlete of the Year
Jacy Sheldon
Sheldon wrapped up her Buckeye career as one of three players in program history to total at least 1,900 points, 400 rebounds, 350 assists, 200 steals and 150 made triples during their career. Sheldon was selected to the All-Big Ten First Team by both the league's coaches and media (unanimous selection by coaches) and the All-Big Ten Defensive Team by the media. Jacy was selected fifth overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Ohio State Male Athlete of the Year
JJ Tracy
Tracy had a remarkable final season. He started the year by winning the doubles title at the ITA All-American Championship and ended the year by becoming part of just the third Buckeye duo to win an NCAA doubles national championship. In between, he helped the Buckeyes win their third ITA Indoor Team National Championship, an 18th consecutive Big Ten title, a 17th Big Ten Tournament title and reach the semifinals of the NCAA Championship.
First Team All-Americans
- Katelyn Abeln (Pistol) – National Champion
- Emily Armstrong (Synchronized Swimming) - National Champion
- Hannah Bach (Women's Swimming) – 200 medley relay, NCAA runner-up
- Janie Boyle (Women's Diving) – platform
- Irina Cantos Siemers (Women's Tennis)
- Robert Cash (Men's Tennis) - doubles, National Champion
- Clayton Chaplin (Men's Diving) – 1-meter and platform
- Chase Davenport-Mills (Gymnastics) – floor exercise
- Nick Feldman (Wrestling) – heavyweight
- Luca Fioretto (Fencing) – sabre
- Amy Fulmer (Women's Swimming) – 100 freestyle
- Nyah Funderburke (Women's Swimming) – 200 medley relay, NCAA runner-up
- Teresa Ivan (Women's Swimming) – 200 medley relay, NCAA runner-up
- Kazuki Hayashi (Men's Gymnastics) – vault
- Marvin Harrison Jr. (Football)
- Hannah Heffernan (Synchronized Swimming)
- Tristan Jankovics (Men's Swimming) – 400 IM
- Ada Korkhin (Pistol) – National Champion
- Abby Leverett (Pistol)
- Henry Leverett (Pistol)
- Jackson Leverett (Pistol)
- Jesse Mendez (Wrestling) – 141-pounds, National Champion
- Gabriella Molano (Synchronized Swimming)
- Daniella Molano (Synchronized Swimming)
- Dariia Myroniuk (Fencing) – foil
- Kameron Nelson (Men's Gymnastics) – floor exercise
- Luciana Perry (Women's Tennis)
- Caden Spencer (Men's Gymnastics) – high bar
- Parker Thackston (Men's Gymnastics) – pommel horse
- JJ Tracy (Men's tennis) - doubles, National Champion
- Rocco Welsh (Wrestling) – 174-pounds
- Lyle Yost (Men's Diving) – 1-meter, National Champion, and 3-meter
- Katherine Zenick (Women's Swimming) – 200 medley relay, NCAA runner-up
Coaches of the Year
Nadine Muzerall
WCHA Coach of the Year
- National Champions
- WCHA regular season champions
- Program-record 26 conference wins
- Seven Buckeyes earned All-WCHA honors this season
- Muzerall became the winningest coach in program history this year
- The award is Muzerall's fifth of her career and third in as many seasons
2024 Paris Olympians
Ohio State has always produced some of the best athletes in the world. This year, there are nine current Buckeyes representing their respective countries at the Olympic Games in Paris. Be on the lookout for these student-athletes on the national stage this summer.
Lena Hentschel
Germany - 3-meter synchronized diving
Tristan Jankovics
Canada - 400 individual medley
Katelyn Abeln
USA - 10-meter air pistol and 25-meter sport pistol
Tomas Navikonis
Lithuania - 4x200 free relay
Ruby Remati
USA - Synchronized Swimming
Henry Leverett
USA - 25-meter rapid fire pistol
Leah Bertrand
Trinidad and Tobago - 4x100 relay
Ada Korkhin
USA - 25-meter sport pistol
Alex Axon
Canada - 800 free relay
Rustam Sharipov Inducted into International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
Rustam Sharipov, Head Coach of Ohio State's men's gymnastics team, was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame (IGHOF) in May. Sharipov is a three-time Olympic medalist. He first won gold with the Unified Team in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. At the following Olympics, 1996 in Atlanta, Sharipov won the individual gold medal on parallel bars and the team bronze medal with the Ukrainian team.
Field Hockey to South Africa
The Ohio State field hockey team took a trip to South Africa where they played games, trained, toured, and gave back to the community. The video below shows them giving back in a small village near Cape Town.
Academic Success
811 Scholar-Athletes
3.36 Department Average GPA
220 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars
Highest Large Team GPA: Women's Ice Hockey 3.78
Highest Small Team GPA: Synchronized Swimming 3.66
223 Graduates
Academic Progress Rate – multi-year rate of 989. Of the 31 Buckeye sport programs in the data, nine have a multi-year score of 1,000: men’s and women’s cross country, men’s fencing, field hockey, men’s and women’s golf, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball joining football. Ohio State football is one of just two Division I football programs with a score of 1,000.
Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute
The Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute had another incredibly successful year. Whether it's through the career fair, internships, networking, leadership training, NIL education, or much more, the Institute truly is helping setup our athletes for success after the playing days are over.
Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute By The Numbers:
- 143 Dress to Impress participants
- 140 Live Life Sessions
- 54 Bucks Go Pro 2.0 interns
- 39 Bucks Go Pro 1.0 interns
- 23 NIL Education Workshops
- 7 Buckeye Futures networking sessions
Where To Now
Professional Contract
Marvin Harrison Jr.
Ohio State University’s major award-winning and two-time unanimous All-American wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft with the fourth overall pick. Harrison Jr., the 12th Buckeye receiver selected in the first round, is the highest drafted wide receiver in school history at number four.
Accepted Position
Mitchell Okuley
Mitchell graduated in the spring with a degree in mechanical engineering and minor in economics. He accepted a full-time position with Turner Construction as a Field Engineer. Okuley was recently announced to the Academic All-District Team and selected as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Graduate School
Sarah Sue Morbitzer
Sarah Sue wrapped up her four year career with the volleyball program in the fall. A four time OSU scholar athlete and three time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. Morbitzer plans to attend medical school to become a pediatric cardiologist. Sarah Sue is also a published author sharing her story.
Go Bucks!
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