Austin Pooley

Classroom

A finance major, Pooley is a two-time AHCA Scholar All-American, a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a three-time Ohio State Scholar Athlete.

Pooley has a 3.8+ grade point average and is scheduled to earn his bachelor’s degree this spring.

Character

Pooley has been voted a two-time captain for the Buckeyes by his teammates, as an alternate captain as a junior and wearing the C as a senior, the first Central Ohio native to be a captain for the Buckeye men’s hockey team. Pooley is also part of the Ohio State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for 2020-21; the members were nominated by head coaches and sport administrators.

Pooley is the second generation of his family to play hockey at Ohio State; his father Perry and uncle Paul were All-Americans in the 1980s. This year, Pooley changed his number from 14 to 12, the number his father wore in college (it was unavailable until this season).

On the ice, Pooley has taken just 12 penalties through his first 128 games.

Community

Pooley has spent time working with local hockey players, visiting practices, working youth camps, and also representing the program by speaking with season ticket holder and student groups about the team.

Pooley has also been part of delivering stuffed animals collected during Teddy Bear Tosses at home games to Ronald McDonald House

Competition

Austin has missed just three games in his four years with the team and has 10 goals, 15 assists and 25 points in 128 career games, with a +9 rating. He was part of two NCAA teams, including a Frozen Four trip in 2018, with the squad poised for a third straight in 2020 before the remainder of the season was canceled. He was also part of the 2019 Big Ten regular season champion squad. He has been on the Buckeye penalty kill throughout his career.