Brett Ludwiczak
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A trio of Ohio State athletes are set to begin their professional careers
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Two former Buckeyes have inked professional contracts, while the third was drafted earlier this week.
A trio of Ohio State Buckeyes in different sports have nailed down where they’ll be starting their professional careers recently. Over the last month the NBA, NHL, and MLB have held their annual drafts, and earlier in June the PWHL held their second annual draft. While there isn’t any new news on any of the Buckeyes selected in the NHL Draft, we do have updates on an Ohio State player in each of the other three leagues mentioned.
After starting his college career at George Washington, Battle transferred to Minnesota prior to his junior season, spending two seasons with the Golden Gophers before hitting the transfer portal again to spend the final season of his college career at Ohio State. Battle averaged 15.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 35 games for the Buckeyes.
The forward’s best performance in the scarlet and gray came in a February win over Nebraska, when he scored 32 points. Even though the Buckeyes weren’t able to make the NCAA Tournament, Battle was still playing hard in March, scoring at least 20 points in four of his last five games.
Despite not being selected last month in the NBA Draft, Battle signed a Summer League contract with the Toronto Raptors. In his first two games with the Raptors in Las Vegas, Battle scored 23 points. In a blowout win over Oklahoma City on Saturday, Battle scored 12 points, and followed it up with 11 points in a 84-81 win over Denver on Sunday.
The performances were enough for Toronto to sign Battle to an Exhibit 10 contract, which is a one-year minimum deal that comes with a $75,000 bonus if Battle is released and signs with the 905 Raptors, which is Toronto’s G-League affiliate.
The only Ohio State baseball player selected in this year’s MLB Draft was Gavin Bruni, who was picked by the Washington Nationals on Tuesday in the 17th round with the 500th overall pick in this year’s draft. Bruni is the 118th Buckeye to be selected in the MLB Draft since the annual event first took place in 1966.
The Ohio State pitcher is the first Buckeye to be selected by the Washington Nationals organization since 1996, when the Montreal Expos picked Matt Buirley.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25535710/1254622573.jpg "COLLEGE BASEBALL: MAY 13 UNCG at Ohio State")
Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Over the last two seasons Bruni started in 26 of his 27 appearances. Last season Bruni was 5-3 in his 14 starts, posting a 4.87 ERA with 74 strikeouts over the 57.1 innings he pitched. This year saw Bruni’s numbers fall off a bit, as he went 3-3 with a 6.19 ERA and 54 strikeouts over the 54.1 innings he pitched. Bruni being the only Ohio State player drafted this year snapped a streak which saw at least three Buckeyes taken in each of the last three drafts.
There is a chance Bruni could return to Ohio State, as he does have college eligibility left. Bruni has until Aug. 1 to decide on whether he wants to sign with the Nationals or return to Columbus.
It’s no surprise that Ohio State’s women’s hockey players are in high demand after the Buckeyes won their second NCAA title in the last three years back in March. In the second overall PWHL Draft that took place on June 10, Ohio State had three players taken in the first two rounds of the draft.
After Hannah Bilka and Cayla Barnes were taken with the fourth and fifth picks in the first round, Jennifer Gardiner was selected by Montreal in the second round with the 11th overall pick in the draft. Gardiner will be joining Barnes, who was also selected by Montreal. Other Buckeyes drafted in the fourth round and later were Gabby Rosenthal, Stephanie Markowski, Lauren Bernard, Hadley Harmetz, and Raygan Kirk.
Coming to Ohio State from Surrey, British Columbia in 2019, Gardiner eventually became the team captain. The most memorable moment of Gardiner’s Ohio State career came in the 2022 Frozen Four semifinal against Yale where her game-winning goal sent the Buckeyes to their first NCAA title game in program history.
During the 2022-23 season, Gardiner amassed 57 points, which is third-most in program history, and second-highest point total in a season by a forward. Along with her two national titles, Gardiner set a program record by playing in 176 career games. Over those games, Gardiner averaged nearly a point a game, finishing her Ohio State career with 71 goals and 100 assists, making her just the third Buckeye to record 100 assists in her career.
While the PWHL schedule for the upcoming season hasn’t been released, last year the league started in early January, so expect to see Gardiner back on the ice in early 2025.
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Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Two former Buckeyes have inked professional contracts, while the third was drafted earlier this week.
A trio of Ohio State Buckeyes in different sports have nailed down where they’ll be starting their professional careers recently. Over the last month the NBA, NHL, and MLB have held their annual drafts, and earlier in June the PWHL held their second annual draft. While there isn’t any new news on any of the Buckeyes selected in the NHL Draft, we do have updates on an Ohio State player in each of the other three leagues mentioned.
Jamison Battle
After starting his college career at George Washington, Battle transferred to Minnesota prior to his junior season, spending two seasons with the Golden Gophers before hitting the transfer portal again to spend the final season of his college career at Ohio State. Battle averaged 15.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 35 games for the Buckeyes.
The forward’s best performance in the scarlet and gray came in a February win over Nebraska, when he scored 32 points. Even though the Buckeyes weren’t able to make the NCAA Tournament, Battle was still playing hard in March, scoring at least 20 points in four of his last five games.
Despite not being selected last month in the NBA Draft, Battle signed a Summer League contract with the Toronto Raptors. In his first two games with the Raptors in Las Vegas, Battle scored 23 points. In a blowout win over Oklahoma City on Saturday, Battle scored 12 points, and followed it up with 11 points in a 84-81 win over Denver on Sunday.
The performances were enough for Toronto to sign Battle to an Exhibit 10 contract, which is a one-year minimum deal that comes with a $75,000 bonus if Battle is released and signs with the 905 Raptors, which is Toronto’s G-League affiliate.
Gavin Bruni
The only Ohio State baseball player selected in this year’s MLB Draft was Gavin Bruni, who was picked by the Washington Nationals on Tuesday in the 17th round with the 500th overall pick in this year’s draft. Bruni is the 118th Buckeye to be selected in the MLB Draft since the annual event first took place in 1966.
The Ohio State pitcher is the first Buckeye to be selected by the Washington Nationals organization since 1996, when the Montreal Expos picked Matt Buirley.
Over the last two seasons Bruni started in 26 of his 27 appearances. Last season Bruni was 5-3 in his 14 starts, posting a 4.87 ERA with 74 strikeouts over the 57.1 innings he pitched. This year saw Bruni’s numbers fall off a bit, as he went 3-3 with a 6.19 ERA and 54 strikeouts over the 54.1 innings he pitched. Bruni being the only Ohio State player drafted this year snapped a streak which saw at least three Buckeyes taken in each of the last three drafts.
There is a chance Bruni could return to Ohio State, as he does have college eligibility left. Bruni has until Aug. 1 to decide on whether he wants to sign with the Nationals or return to Columbus.
Jennifer Gardiner
Notre choix de deuxième ronde 2024, Jennifer Gardiner, a signé un contrat de deux ans avec la LPHF de Montréal
We’ve signed 2024 PWHL Montréal Draftee Jennifer Gardiner to a two-year contract! pic.twitter.com/si3ErKWD5Z
— LPHF Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) July 16, 2024
It’s no surprise that Ohio State’s women’s hockey players are in high demand after the Buckeyes won their second NCAA title in the last three years back in March. In the second overall PWHL Draft that took place on June 10, Ohio State had three players taken in the first two rounds of the draft.
After Hannah Bilka and Cayla Barnes were taken with the fourth and fifth picks in the first round, Jennifer Gardiner was selected by Montreal in the second round with the 11th overall pick in the draft. Gardiner will be joining Barnes, who was also selected by Montreal. Other Buckeyes drafted in the fourth round and later were Gabby Rosenthal, Stephanie Markowski, Lauren Bernard, Hadley Harmetz, and Raygan Kirk.
Coming to Ohio State from Surrey, British Columbia in 2019, Gardiner eventually became the team captain. The most memorable moment of Gardiner’s Ohio State career came in the 2022 Frozen Four semifinal against Yale where her game-winning goal sent the Buckeyes to their first NCAA title game in program history.
During the 2022-23 season, Gardiner amassed 57 points, which is third-most in program history, and second-highest point total in a season by a forward. Along with her two national titles, Gardiner set a program record by playing in 176 career games. Over those games, Gardiner averaged nearly a point a game, finishing her Ohio State career with 71 goals and 100 assists, making her just the third Buckeye to record 100 assists in her career.
While the PWHL schedule for the upcoming season hasn’t been released, last year the league started in early January, so expect to see Gardiner back on the ice in early 2025.
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