The 2024-25 collegiate sports year brought a ton of success to Ohio and after this past year, aspirations are high in Athens as we turn the page to the year ahead. Before jumping forward, The Post looks at the past and remembers some of the best moments for Ohio’s teams last year.
Football
Ohio has always been a school with rich history, but another chapter was written on Dec. 7, as the team traveled to Detroit, Michigan, with stakes higher than ever before against archrival Miami.
The two schools had never met for the Mid-American Conference title in football until this season. After the RedHawks won the regular season matchup, the Bobcats showed up looking to make a statement. They did just that after a 38-3 victory and the first MAC title in 56 years, but they were not done there.
Ohio had won six games in a row after defeating Miami in Detroit. It was powered by quarterback Parker Navarro, who had four touchdowns in the game. The victory brought about a trip to Orlando, Florida, to take on Jacksonville State in the Cure Bowl for Ohio.
The Bobcats suited up and ran up the score in the first half, with four touchdowns from Navarro. The Bobcats needed one more field goal in the fourth quarter to close out the game and collect the first 11-win season in school history. This victory was also the first for the new Bobcats head coach Brian Smith.
Basketball
Ohio Men’s basketball had a season riddled with injuries, but proved playing in Athens is a challenge for anyone, even the then-unbeaten in the MAC, Akron. Akron had been perfect in MAC play and had won 14 in a row before stepping foot inside The Convo in February. Ohio brought it to them out of the gate and never let up.
The Bobcats stormed out to an early lead, and the crowd was behind them after some early flashes from A.J. Clayton. The Zips weren’t prepared for the onslaught and were provided by guard Jackson Paveletzke, who had 21 points. The Bobcats routed the MAC’s best by a score of 84-67 and made a statement to the rest of the league about playing in The Convo.
Ohio sent the message but after a heartbreaking loss in Oxford, felt it needed to send it a little louder. Miami grabbed an early lead but would be no match for Ohio inside of The Convo. Nearly 8,000 strong were behind the home team and the impact was felt throughout the contest.
The Bobcats were in control throughout the second half and put the finishing touches on the game at the free throw line. Clayton, in his final Battle of the Bricks, had 20 to lead Ohio to a 75-66 win.
The 2024-25 season may not have gone the way head coach Bob Boldon and the Ohio women’s basketball team had hoped but it still found success. The team played hard all season and was able to accomplish a milestone for the man at the helm.
Boldon, the winningest coach in program history, left his mark here in Athens over his 12-year tenure and it showed in the play of his student athletes in a down year as they never gave up and played through adversity all year long.
Ohio played host to Eastern Michigan on January 25 and looked to collect Boldon’s 200th win of his coaching career at Ohio. Ohio won on the back of guard sophomore Bailey Tabeling’s 21 points to put another page into the record books for Boldon, who will look to keep adding on to his impressive win total in the 2025-26 season.
Volleyball
200 was a popular number for coaches at Ohio last year. Before Boldon, former Ohio volleyball head coach Geoff Carlston got the mark first in October. Ohio welcomed Toledo inside The Convo and won 3-2. Outside hitters’ sophomore Kam Hunt and senior Anna Kharchynska, who had 44 combined kills, look to continue to be a presence up front in 2025.
Softball
Ohio is a place built on community, but when Miami comes to town, all hands are on deck to make sure they go back to Oxford facing defeat, especially on senior day. After taking the first two games of the weekend series, Ohio took the field April 20 to celebrate its seniors and take down Miami in the process.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 5-0 lead but surrendered six runs before grabbing the bats in the bottom of the sixth. They tied in the sixth with aspirations to close it out in walk-off fashion in the seventh. Senior outfielder CiCi Keidel brought home the winning run to send the RedHawks home and cap off a great year of sports in Athens.
