Fourteen Buckeye greats will be enshrined in the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame this fall.
The 2023 class of Ohio State Athletics Hall of Famers, which will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in an Oct. 6 ceremony at the Covelli Center, includes 14 Ohio State greats across 12 different sports.
Proud to celebrate familiar faces and athletes who took being a Buckeye to the next level. Introducing our 2023 Hall of fame class
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) July 13, 2023
: https://t.co/VNjkHzAK5j pic.twitter.com/3eoZr1gjK9
Three football players are included in this year’s class:
- Malcolm Jenkins (2005-08), the 2008 Jim Thorpe Award winner as college football’s best defensive back and a three-time All-Big Ten honoree before a 13-year NFL career
- Nick Mangold (2002-05), a three-year starting center who led the Buckeyes to two Big Ten titles and earned first-team All-American honors in 2005 before an 11-year NFL career
- Rick Middleton (1971-73), who starred at both tight end and linebacker for the Buckeyes and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 1973 before a five-year NFL career
The 2023 class also includes a pair of basketball greats:
- Kelsey Mitchell (2015-18), Ohio State women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer, who finished her career as the all-time NCAA leader in made 3-pointers, was a four-time All-American and currently plays for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever
- Joe Roberts (1958-60), a starting forward on Ohio State’s 1960 national championship team and the first African-American captain in Ohio State men’s basketball history
The rest of the class includes current Ohio State wrestling coach Tom Ryan and former OSU volleyball star Nicholas Szerszen, who is considered to be the best player in OSU men’s volleyball history. The full list of non-football and basketball inductees:
- Maureen Cogan (1981-85), the first-ever All-American for Ohio State’s women’s cross country and track and field programs
- Miho Kowase (2014-17), the all-time leader in combined singles and doubles victories for Ohio State women’s tennis
- Yesenia Luces (2004-07), a two-time first-team All-American for Ohio State field hockey
- Sean Melton (2014-18), a 10-time All-American who won the Nissan-Emery Award as the best senior gymnast in the nation in 2018
- Steven Moneke (2006-09), a four-time All-American who ranks third in Ohio State men’s tennis history with 247 combined singles and doubles wins
- Renee Powell (1967), the first-ever Black captain of a major university golf team
- Tom Ryan (2007-present), who has led Ohio State wrestling to a national championship, seven top-three NCAA finishes and three Big Ten titles with a 198-66 dual record in 16 years as Ohio State’s head coach
- Taylor Sandbothe (2013-16), a three-time All-American for Ohio State women’s volleyball
- Nicolas Szerszen (2015-18), a three-time National Player of the Year who led Ohio State men’s volleyball to two national championships
