For the fourth time in six years, an Ohio State athlete has been named the Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year.
Former Ohio State football player Chase Young, who capped off his Buckeye career in 2019 by leading the nation with a school-record 16.5 sacks, was selected by a panel of conference media members as the Big Ten's male athlete of the year, beating out a list of nominees that also included Iowa basketball star Luka Garza and Michigan State basketball star Cassius Winston, among others.
Ohio State athletes have now won the Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year award seven times since 1996, as Young joins former wrestlers Kyle Snyder (2017, 2018) and Logan Stieber (2015), basketball player Evan Turner (2010), gymnast Blaine Wilson (1997) and Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George (1996).
Young, who now plays for the NFL's Washington Redskins after being selected with the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, adds Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year honors to a long list of accolades from his final collegiate season, including the Silver Football (Big Ten MVP), Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year. He won both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award, which honor the nation's best defensive player, and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, becoming just the ninth defensive player (and the first ever from Ohio State) to receive an invitation to the Heisman ceremony.
Wisconsin volleyball player Dana Rettke was selected as the 2020 Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year. Hockey defenseman Jincy Dunne was Ohio State's finalist for that award.
