Start of Buckeye Spotlight Year 2 Spotlights Captains

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Year No. 2 of the widely enjoyed weekly production that celebrates The Ohio State University student-athletes will continue the same celebratory tone and focus on our student-athletes as in Year 1. The goal each week will be to honor and salute the noteworthy achievements on and off the field for those Buckeyes who raise the standard of excellence at Ohio State.

Buckeye Spotlight student-athletes for Week 1 (fall sport team captains … to date):

Sean Carney | Cross Country | Jr. | Hilliard, Ohio

• Carney and Zubin Jha will lead the men’s cross country team this fall.
• Carney competed in all seven cross country meets last season for the Buckeyes, with five Top 5 finishes among the Buckeyes, including at the Big Ten Championships.
• He also competes indoors and outdoors for the track & field teams.
• A civil engineering major, Carney is an Academic All-Big Ten honoree and an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.

Tommy Eichenberg | Football | Graduate | Cleveland

• Eichenberg is the 16th two-time captain in Ohio State football history.
• He graduated in May with his degree in real estate.
• A second-team All-American honor by all the major publications last year, Eichenberg was also a first-team all-Big Ten linebacker for the Buckeyes.
• He enters the season with 31 games played, 17 starts and he leads all current Buckeyes with 186 career tackles and 18.5 tackles-for-loss.
• He was also a finalist last year for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which honors college football’s best in character and performance.

Xavier Johnson | Football | Graduate | Cincinnati

• Johnson graduated in December 2021 with his degree in consumer and family financial services.
• He was also honored with the team’s Bill Willis “Block O” jersey for toughness, accountability and the highest of character.
• A walk-on-turned-scholarship performer, Johnson has played in 44 games for the Buckeyes and amassed 750 special teams snaps on all four units.
• He also makes big plays on offense: he caught the go-ahead TD pass in the win over Notre Dame; he caught a 37-yard TD pass in the Peach Bowl vs. Georgia; and he had the longest touchdown rush of the season last year vs. Indiana, covering 71 yards.

 

Emily Londot | Volleyball | Sr. | Utica, Ohio

• Londot, an outside hitter, is a first-time captain in 2023.
• She is the reigning AVCA Northeast Region Player of the Year and was also named AVCA All-American Second Team, AVCA Northeast All-Region Team, All-Big Ten First Team and Preseason All-Big Ten Team last season.
• She is a three-time AVCA All-American, three-time All-Big Ten selection and was named AVCA National Freshman of the Year following the 2020 season (played in the spring of 2021).
• Londot recorded her 1,000^th career kill during the 2022 season and is within striking distance of reaching the top-20 in program history in career kills, career points and career blocks. She already ranks in the top-20 in career block assists.

Sarah Sue Morbitzer | Volleyball | Sr. | Groveport, Ohio

• A defensive specialist, Morbitzer is a first-time captain in 2023.
• She averaged nearly 2.00 digs/set last season through only three rotations, carving a consistent place in the Buckeyes’ back-row lineup.
• She tied for second on the team with 23 service aces and recorded eight matches with 10 or more digs.
• Morbitzer has seen playing time in all three of her previous seasons and has earned Academic All-Big Ten and OSU Scholar Athlete honors each time.

Gia Napoleon | Cross Country | Senior | Worthington, Ohio

• Napoleon, a double major in women’s, gender and sexuality studies and political science, is an Academic All-Big Ten selection and four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.
• She is a part of two NCAA championships qualifying cross country teams at Ohio State and is also on the indoor and outdoor track rosters.
• Last year, Ohio State placed a program-best 15th nationally at the NCAA cross country championships.

 

Rylee Rader | Volleyball | Sr. | Louisville, Ky.

• Rader is a senior middle blocker and is a first-time captain in 2023.
• She was also recently selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team.
• Rader was named #15 on Emily Ehman’s preseason list of top-Big Ten players heading into the 2023 season.
• In 2022, Rader was named All-Big Ten Second Team and Preseason All-Big Ten Team and has previously earned AVCA All-American honors.
• Rader holds the program record in single-season hit percentage (.394) and ranks in the top-20 in career blocks and career block assists.

 

Cade Stover | Football | Sr. | Mansfield, Ohio

• Stover is the 17th two-time captain in Ohio State football history.
• A selfless performer, Stover flipped from defense to offense to defense early in his career before settling in to become one of the top tight ends in the country.
• He started all 13 games at tight end last season, caught a pass in all 13 and is a veteran of 34 games played.
• His totals last year of 36 receptions for 406 yards were the most by a Buckeye tight end in 28 years.
• He is majoring in agricultural systems management.

Sydney Taylor | Volleyball | Jr. | Clintonville, Ohio

• Defensive specialist Sydney Taylor returns as a team captain for a second-consecutive season in 2023.
• She has seen playing time each of her first two collegiate seasons and has earned OSU Scholar Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten honors each time.
• Taylor recorded a career-high 15 digs in a match this past season after also breaking the 10+ dig mark her freshman year.

 

Zubin Jha | Cross Country | Sr. | Hilliard, Ohio

• Jha and teammate Sean Carney will lead the men’s cross country team this fall.
• He competed in all seven cross country meets last season for the Buckeyes, placing among the Buckeyes’ top five in five outings, including at the Big Ten and NCAA regional races.
• He also competes indoors and outdoors for the track & field teams.
• A computer science engineering major, he is a three-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and an Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

Ohio State Official Press Release