Ohio State's 2016 Hall of Fame class includes eight athletes and is headlined by basketball players Evan Turner and Jantel Lavender.
We take a look back at each of their historic Buckeye careers.
Evan Turner – Men's Basketball
Evan Turner is perhaps the most iconic player to don the Scarlet and Gray during the Thad Matta era.
"It's definitely a blessing," said Turner of the honor. "You never want to take this sort of thing for granted. It shows you're appreciated, and Ohio State is so close to my heart. To be able to come back here and be honored – it's always a bless. Like I said, I'm a big Buckeye. This is all so unreal to me still."
Turner is the most recent Buckeye to be named National Player of the Year, and owns two of the program's five all-time triple-doubles. He led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten championship during his junior season.
Jantel Lavender – Women's Basketball
Jantel Lavender is likely the greatest women's basketball player in Buckeye history. Statistically, nobody else even comes close. Lavender left Ohio State as the school's all-time leading scorer, the Big Ten's all-time leading rebounder and held the Big Ten record for points in a season.
"It's a huge milestone. I think it shows how much hard work and dedication you put into a game that you love," said Lavender. "Just to be recognized for that is really special. It shows you care about what you do and you put time into it to be good."
Lavender was the first basketball player – male or female – to be named the Big Ten Player of the Year four consecutive seasons and became just the second three-time All-American in Ohio State history. She led the Buckeyes to three Big Ten regular season and tournament titles, four NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the Sweet Sixteen.
John Machado – Baseball
John Machado's selection to the Ohio State Hall of Fame comes as a result of both his stellar playing career as well as his brief, but successful, assistant coaching stint.
As a player, Machado was the team's first three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and his 12 home runs during the 1963 season – when players used wooden bats – stood as a program record for 20 years.
Following his playing career, Machado served as an assistant coach from 1965-67. During this span, Ohio State won its first NCAA Title (1966), posted a runner-up finish (1965) and won a Big Ten Title (1967).
Justin Kronauge – Men's Tennis
Over the past decade, the Ohio State tennis team has been a powerhouse. Justin Kronauge is a large part of that success.
Kronauge played at Ohio State from 2006-10, during which he won more singles and doubles matches than any Buckeye player in history. In his four years at Ohio State, he never lost a match in Big Ten Conference play or at home. He led the Buckeyes to their first-ever No. 1 ranking as well as their first ever-runner up finish during the 2009 season.
Following his playing career, Kronauge joined the staff as an assistant coach where he helped lead the Buckeyes to their first-ever indoor national championship in 2014 and was named the ITA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2014. Since he's been with the program – both as a player and as a coach – Ohio State has been ranked no lower than 11th.
Sam Marder – Softball
One of the greatest power hitters in school history, Sam Marder set both the single-season (19) and career (61) records for home runs. She finished her career with a .384 batting average, .778 slugging percentage and .571 on-base percentage – all of which were career records at Ohio State. She also owns career school records in RBIs (191), total bases (438) and walks (232).
Dan Taylor – Men's Track and Field
Unlike most modern throwers who specialize in one or two events, Dan Taylor did it all, and did it very well.
Taylor finished his Buckeye career as a Nine-time All-American, seven-time Big Ten champion and two-time NCAA champion. In 2004, he became the only male to win both the NCAA indoor shot put and weight throw titles in the same season, and went on to win to earn runner-up honors in the outdoor shot put.
Paul Zelenak – Pistol
All Paul Zelenak did was win national titles.
Zelenak earned All-American honors in six events, took home four individual national titles and led his team to a team title 2000. He still holds the program record in the individual free pistol event (535/600).
He was a trailblazer for a program that went on to become the class of the country. The Ohio State pistol team has one the past three national championships and is going for its fourth this season.
Randy Larson – Diving
Randy Larson is one of the most decorated divers in Ohio State history. He won the 1964 national championship on the three-meter dive and was a three time All-American on both the three-meter as well as the one-meter.
During his three years competing as a Buckeye, Larson was named an All-American in every event he competed, every year he competed, and never finished outside the top-6 in any postseason event – Big Ten or NCAA.
The 2016 Hall of Fame class will be honored during halftime of the Tulsa game, in front of over 100,000 fans.
"It's going to be unreal," said Turner. "I get chills just thinking about it."
