Gilbert Dionne
HOCKEY
1990–2006
After playing six seasons in the NHL, Dionne finished his career with a decade in the minor leagues, including four seasons for the Cyclones (then in the International Hockey League). He led the team in scoring twice and retired as the franchise’s second leading career scorer behind Don Biggs. The Cyclones retired his No. 21 in 2006.
Nate Dusing
SWIMMING
1993–2005
When Dusing won the 100-yard butterfly as a Covington Catholic senior in 1997 and was named National Prep Swimmer of the Year, he was believed to be the first native Kentuckian to set a national high school record. He won six state championship titles and was runner-up in four more state events. Dusing continued his career at the Olympic Games, medaling in 2000 and 2004, and won five World Championship medals.
Photograph courtesy USATF
Annette Echikunwoke
TRACK AND FIELD
2014–2024
Echikunwoke was UC’s first national champion in track and field, winning the hammer throw at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships. She won seven total American Athletic Conference championships in hammer throw and shot put, both indoors and outdoors. Echikunwoke won silver in the women’s hammer throw at the 2024 Olympic Games, the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in that event.
Boomer Esiason
FOOTBALL
1984–1997
After starring at the University of Maryland, Norman Julius Esiason was drafted by the Bengals to lead the team after Kenny Anderson’s retirement. The best season of his 14-year NFL career was 1988, when he was named NFL Most Valuable Player and took Cincinnati to Super Bowl XXIII. Esiason won the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 1995 to recognize his charitable work, notably his efforts to raise awareness and funding for cystic fibrosis research through the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
Steve Flesch
GOLF
1984–PRESENT
A graduate of Covington Catholic and the University of Kentucky, Flesch was named PGA Rookie of the Year in 1998 and won four PGA Tour events over his career. After working as a TV golf analyst for Fox Sports and Golf Channel, he joined the PGA Tour Champions (“senior tour”) in 2017. Flesch is a member of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame and Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame.
Photograph by Mike Lewis/USA Swimming
Carson Foster
SWIMMING
2016–PRESENT
When Foster was 10, his 50-meter butterfly time made him the youngest American to swim the race in under 30 seconds, and that was just the beginning. The Sycamore High School alum competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016 and 2022 before qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he won silver in the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay and bronze in the 400-meter individual medley.
Rich Franklin
MMA/UFC
1999–2015
A graduate of Harrison High School and UC, Franklin taught math at Oak Hills High before turning pro in mixed martial arts. He gained notoriety by winning Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first Ultimate Fighter series in 2005, then held the middleweight title belt in 2005–2006. Franklin was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019.
Photograph courtesy University of Cincinnati Athletics
Yancy Gates
BASKETBALL
2004–2012
Gates starred for Withrow High School, leading the Tigers to a 40–10 record, two District championships, and a Regional runner-up title in his junior and senior seasons. He then excelled at UC, where he still ranks as the only player in Bearcats history to lead the team in rebounding four consecutive seasons. Gates led UC to the Sweet 16 in 2012 and later played in pro leagues in Europe, Israel, and Mexico.
Photograph courtesy University of Cincinnati Athletics
Mardy Gilyard
FOOTBALL
2005–2013
Gilyard helped lead UC to back-to-back Big East Conference championships and BCS appearances in 2008 (Orange Bowl) and 2009 (Sugar Bowl), collecting All-America accolades as receiver and kick returner both seasons. He finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2009 and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Rams, then played for the Rams, Eagles, and Jets.
Photograph courtesy U.S. Ski & Snowboard
Nick Goepper
SKIING
2013–PRESENT
A native of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, but based at Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, Goepper has won freestyle skiing medals in three different Winter Olympics: bronze in 2014 (Sochi, Russia); silver in 2018 (Pyeongchang, South Korea); and silver in 2022 (Beijing). He’s also won five gold medals and two silver medals at the Winter X Games.
Photograph courtesy Xavier University
Brian Grant
BASKETBALL
1990–2006
Grant led the team in rebounding each of his four years at Xavier, the only Muskie besides Tyrone Hill to do so. He was the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year in 1993 and 1994 and was selected by the Kings No. 8 overall in the NBA Draft, the highest-ever selection among all former XU players. Grant played 12 seasons in the NBA for the Kings and four other teams.
Ken Griffey Jr.
BASEBALL
1983–2008
The Kid, also known as Junior, hung around the Reds locker room while his father played for the Big Red Machine, then starred at Moeller before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Mariners and debuting in MLB at age 19. He played alongside Griffey Sr. in Seattle for one season and was named AL MVP in 1997. Junior’s trade to the Reds in 2000 caused a sensation, though injuries robbed him of playing time; still, he had three 30-HR, 90-RBI seasons in Cincinnati. Griffey was a 13-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove centerfielder, and he’s a first-ballot MLB Hall of Famer and member of the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
Gino Guidugli
FOOTBALL
1997–2004
Guidugli quarterbacked Highlands High School to state football championships in 1999 and 2000, then went to UC and became the Bearcats’ all-time career leader in pass completions, attempts, and yards passing and is second in career touchdown passes. He led UC to bowl games in 2001, 2002, and 2004. Guidugli coached at UC for multiple seasons and currently coaches quarterbacks at Notre Dame.
Photograph courtesy FC Cincinnati
Nick Hagglund
SOCCER
2006–PRESENT
The Lakota West and Xavier product was drafted No. 10 overall by Toronto FC in 2014 and played five seasons there before being traded to FC Cincinnati ahead of its first season in MLS. Despite serious injuries in 2024 and earlier this season, he’s played the third most games in FCC’s MLS history and helped lead the Supporters’ Shield campaign in 2023.
Angela Healy Jones
BASKETBALL
2002–2008
A star at Highlands High School, Healy became a key member of the NKU women’s basketball team that won the 2008 Division II National Championship, the school’s second national title. The Norse reached the NCAA Tournament three of her four seasons on campus. Healy ranks third in program history in career blocks, ninth in career rebounds, and seventh in career games played.
Jim Herman
GOLF
2007–PRESENT
The St. X and UC graduate joined the PGA Tour in 2011 and has won three tournaments: 2016 Shell Houston Open, 2019 Barbasol Championship, and 2020 Wyndham Championship. He’s played in all four majors, and his last top 25 finish at a PGA event was in 2023. Herman has also served as assistant pro at the PGA Golf Club in Florida and at Trump National in New Jersey. He’s in the UC Athletics Hall of Fame.
Photograph courtesy Mount St. Joseph University©
Lauren Hill
BASKETBALL
2014
In November 2014, with the blessing of the NCAA, Mount St. Joseph University and Hiram College agreed to move up their women’s basketball season opener by two weeks. Hill, an MSJ freshman from Lawrenceburg, had terminal brain cancer and wanted to play in a college game before she died. She scored four points against Hiram and went on to play three more games before her condition worsened. Hill died in April 2015, and to date more than $2.7 million has been raised in her honor to support cancer research.
Photograph courtesy Xavier University
Tyrone Hill
BASKETBALL
1986–2004
Hill led Xavier to the NCAA Tournament all four years on campus, including the school’s first ever berth in 1987 and first Sweet 16 in 1990. He’s a member of XU’s 2,000-point club and is still the all-time leading rebounder. Hill was chosen No. 11 by the Warriors in the 1990 NBA Draft, was named an NBA All-Star in 1995, and played for five teams total. He was the second Musketeer (after Byron Larkin) to have his jersey retired.
Photograph courtesy Xavier University
Angie Hinrichs
SWIMMING
1996–2004
After graduating from McAuley High School, Hinrichs was the first female Xavier swimmer to win an Atlantic 10 Championship, taking gold in the 100 freestyle and silver in the 200 freestyle in 2002. Two years later, she returned to the podium after winning bronze in the 100 freestyle.
Photograph by Michael Gomez
Max Holt
VOLLEYBALL
2002–PRESENT
A graduate of Purcell Marian, Holt led Penn State to the NCAA National Championship in 2008. He was an alternate on the U.S. men’s volleyball team for the 2012 Olympics but then played in the next three Olympic Games, winning bronze medals in 2016 and 2024. He’s also won gold medals in the 2014 World League, 2015 World Cup, and 2023 World Cup competitions.
Photograph by Bettmann via Getty Image
Ted Horn
AUTO RACING
1926–1948
Widely considered one of the greatest racers of his era, he was the first person in history to win the AAA National Championship three times consecutively (1946, 1947, 1948). The Cincinnati native raced well at the Indianapolis 500, finishing no worse than fourth over nine years (1936–1948) but never winning. Horn died in a race crash in 1948 at age 38 and is a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Grant House
SWIMMING
2012–2020
House won eight individual state titles at St. X and was named Greater Cincinnati Male Swimmer of the Year all four years. He was the winningest swimmer in state history with a total of 13 state championship titles and went on to swim at Arizona State University. He was the named plaintiff in the groundbreaking House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit that led to a $2.8 billion payment to Division I college athletes for lost name/image/likeness opportunities.
Photograph by Popperfoto via Getty Images
William DeHart Hubbard
TRACK AND FIELD
1923–1925
Growing up in Walnut Hills, Hubbard was always fast, and his high school times were closer to college results. A newspaper sales contest provided a scholarship that paved his way to the University of Michigan, where the long jump was his best event. He qualified for the 1924 U.S. team at the Paris Olympics and won the long jump event, the first Black athlete to win an individual gold medal in the modern Games.
Kevin Huber
FOOTBALL
2002–2022
After punting for McNicholas High School, Huber attended UC and became the first Bearcat to be named first-team All-American in consecutive years (2007 and 2008). He still holds the record for longest punt in school history, 69 yards in 2007. Huber was selected by the Bengals in the 2009 NFL Draft and played his entire 14-year NFL career in Cincinnati, grabbing a Pro Bowl nod in 2014.
Joe Hudepohl
SWIMMING
1988–1996
Hudepohl was named 1992 National High School Swimmer of the Year as a St. X senior and went on to be the youngest member of the U.S. National Team that same year. He competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, coming home with a total of two golds (4×100 freestyle relay and 4×200 freestyle relay) and one bronze (4×200 freestyle relay).
Read More Here:
- The 100 Greatest Cincinnati Athletes Ever: A-C
- The 100 Greatest Cincinnati Athletes Ever: I-P
- The 100 Greatest Cincinnati Athletes Ever: R-Y
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