June 17, 2020
Samantha Prahalis named to The Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame
By Ben Rosof
The former Buckeye standout to be formally recognized as one of Columbus' best
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Photo credit: Ohio State WBB Twitter page
Former Buckeye standout Samantha Prahalis was named a member of The Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020, the school announced Tuesday. Prahalis, who played in Columbus from 2008-12, is the lone women’s basketball representative but joins 11 other Ohio State greats in this year’s cohort.
“I am so honored to be inducted into the Ohio state Hall of Fame,” Prahalis told The Next. “Playing at Ohio State will always be a time I look back at with such amazing memories and to solidify my spot in [school] history means so much to me. I want to thank my family, coaches and teammates for helping me achieve this honor and congrats to all my fellow inductees.”
Prahalis ranks in the Top 10 in school history in numerous statistical categories: points, assists, steals, field goals, three-point field goals, and free throws made. While her totals increased every year, she capped her tenure as a Buckeye by averaging 19.8 points and 6.3 assists per game during her senior season in 2011-12. To this day, Prahalis still leads the Big Ten in total career assists with 901.
Her accomplishments were not limited to individual accolades — the Buckeyes won two Big Ten regular-season and three conference tournament championships during Prahalis’ time at Ohio State. Her team also appeared in the NCAA Tournament all four seasons.
After her collegiate career, Prahalis was drafted sixth overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2012 WNBA Draft. Though she arrived in the league with lofty expectations surrounding her, Prahalis never found her footing as an American professional.
After a solid rookie year during which she averaged double-figure scoring with the Mercury, she was cut a season later before making brief appearances with the New York Liberty, Atlanta Dream, and Los Angeles Sparks — none of which lasted longer than a month.
Prahalis also competed overseas, where made stops in Romania, Russia, Turkey, Italy, and Hungary between 2013 and 2017.
The Commack, New York native spent the last three-years coaching two high school teams in her hometown of Long Island. In late April, she became an Assistant Coach for the James Madison women’s basketball team and will begin her first season this upcoming winter, assuming college basketball returns to normalcy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ohio State plans to formally induct Prahalis and the rest of the Class of 2020 at a dinner on September 25 before introducing them to the public at the September 26 home football game.
The Hall of Fame — created in 1977 — has inducted 476 athletes, coaches, and administrators through the Class of 2019. Prahalis, alongside 11 other faces, will join this storied athletic program’s distinct group of honorees this fall.
