Makenna Webster was named female athlete of the year for the 2024-25 academic season. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
In NCAA Division I sports, it’s rare to see an athlete compete in two sports.
It’s even rarer to see one excel at both while thriving in the classroom and making a lasting impact in the community.
Makenna Webster did it all.
In her final season with the Buckeyes, Webster was named Ohio State’s 2025 Female Athlete of the Year. After earning first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American honors in field hockey, she led the women’s ice hockey team to a national championship berth, ranking in the top 15 nationally in both assists and goals.
Webster described how appreciative she was to win the award with the number of talented athletes at Ohio State.
“Seeing that was pretty special, especially at a place like Ohio State, where there’s such incredible athletes,” Webster said. “Being named is a huge honor and I’m so grateful to even be up for it, let alone win.”
But Webster’s legacy extends well beyond the field and ice.
She was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2025, a prestigious recognition given to two student-athletes from each conference school for excellence on and off the field.
Ohio State women’s ice hockey head coach Nadine Muzerall detailed the demanding schedule Webster balanced while excelling in both sports.
“To play in a field hockey game Friday, and then to turn around playing a totally different sport on ice Saturday, and then play again on Sunday back in field hockey, just shows her mental toughness to be able to do that and excel in school,” Muzerall said.
Webster’s commitment to community service added another dimension to her resume.
In January, she was nominated for the 2025 Hockey Humanitarian Award, which recognizes student-athletes in college hockey for their community service. Fluent in American Sign Language, Webster volunteered with the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association’s Stan Mikita Hockey School, helping young athletes, particularly girls and women, pursue dreams of making the USA National Deaf Women’s Hockey Team.
After transferring from Wisconsin, Webster played both field hockey and ice hockey for her final three seasons at Ohio State. She finished 10th all-time in points for the Buckeyes’ field hockey program and reached the national championship game in all three seasons with the ice hockey team, winning the title in 2024.
Muzerall said that in her nine years of coaching at Ohio State, Webster was among the most impressive athletes she’s ever coached.
“I think Makenna will go down as probably one of the most remarkable athletes I’ve ever coached, in the aspect of being able to excel in very different sports,” Muzerall said.
Webster’s career at Ohio State may be over, but her athletic journey is far from done.
On June 24, she was selected 17th overall by the New York Sirens in the Professional Women’s Hockey League draft. The PWHL, launched in 2023, features eight teams—four in the U.S. and four in Canada.
Webster was one of six Buckeyes drafted, alongside Jenna Buglioni, Kiara Zanon, Riley Brengman, Maddi Wheeler and Amanda Thiele.
“I thought it was pretty awesome that I got drafted, but seeing my teammates get drafted, it was just so emotional,” Webster said. “I was just so proud of every single one of them, because they deserve it more than anything.”
Webster also has her sights set on representing the United States in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Field Hockey Team.
Beyond her playing career, Webster wants to grow the game and serve the deaf community. She recently accepted a position as assistant coach of the National Deaf Women’s Hockey Team.
“After my (playing) career, I’m really focused on that and helping fundraise and develop girls that are deaf or hard of hearing within that community,” she said. “Trying to get more girls playing and more involved to be able to be successful in the future.”
Despite all the awards and accolades Webster earned during her time at Ohio State, she said her parents kept her grounded with a simple message:
“Be the best athlete you can, but really try to be a better person,” Webster said. “People might remember you as an athlete, but they mostly remember you as who you are as a person.”
Her legacy in Columbus is undeniable—not just for the championships or the stat sheets, but for the impact she made when the uniform came off.
