(Left) Graduate forward Makenna Webster (8) warms up before the last regular season home game against Central Michigan Nov. 3, 2024. Webster scored her 100th career point in the first quarter to make it 1-1. Ohio State defeated Central Michigan 7-1. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics (Right) Senior midfielder Michael Adedokun carries the ball upfield during the game against Wisconsin. Adedokun scored to make it 1-1 at 38′ to help Ohio State win 3-2 Oct. 20, 2024. Credit: Courtesy of Jay LaPrete/Ohio State Athletics
In the 2024–25 academic year, which saw Ohio State athletics contend for national championships across a variety of sports, two Buckeyes stood above the rest.
Michael Adedokun (men’s soccer) and Makenna Webster (field hockey, women’s ice hockey) were named Ohio State’s 2025 Athletes of the Year Tuesday morning by the university’s athletic department.
Adedokun and Webster will now be in contention for the Big Ten Athlete of the Year awards, which will be announced in July.
Both honorees were fifth-year seniors who began their collegiate careers at other schools. Adedokun spent his first three seasons at Dayton before transferring to Ohio State, while Webster started at Wisconsin before joining the Buckeyes for her final three years.
Michael Adedokun
Adedokun, the first MAC Hermann Trophy winner in Ohio State men’s soccer history, cemented his legacy with a historic final season.
The Big Ten Midfielder of the Year tallied 11 goals and 11 assists, leading the Buckeyes to the 2024 Big Ten Tournament championship and a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.
Ohio State earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the College Cup for the second time in program history.
Adedokun now plays professionally for Lexington SC in the United Soccer League.
Makenna Webster
If versatility had a face, it might look like Makenna Webster.
She recorded 42 points in the 2024 field hockey season, earning unanimous First Team All-Big Ten honors and a Second Team All-America selection. Webster surpassed 100 career points in just three seasons at Ohio State, becoming the 11th player in program history.
On the ice, Webster competed for a national championship in all three seasons with the Buckeyes, winning a title in 2023–24. During the 2024–25 campaign, she ranked in the top 15 nationally in assists and points per game.
On Tuesday night, she was selected by the New York Sirens with the first pick of the third round in the Professional Women’s Hockey League draft.
In addition to her athletic achievements, Webster earned the 2025 Big Ten Medal of Honor, awarded annually to two student-athletes from each conference school for excellence in athletics and academics.
