Barnes and Bilka look to bring Buckeyes back on top

Graduate defenseman Cayla Barnes and graduate forward Hannah Bilka arrived at Boston College two years apart, intending to win a national title. After graduating with an extra year of eligibility left, they both arrived at Ohio State this season looking for a chance to keep that dream alive. 

The pair have been together on their journey from Boston College to Team USA and to Ohio State. Now, they are looking to maintain their goal through the vision of head coach Nadine Muzerall.

Muzerall emphasized the importance of using the transfer portal in the offseason to replace the talent that the Buckeyes lost to graduation and the portal itself. Barnes and Bilka were her top priorities upon seeing their names.

“We needed to replace that [talent], and the transfer portal was really hot,” Muzerall said. “So we took advantage of that, but once you see names like Bilka and Barnes, you make those phone calls.”

To understand their characters, Muzerall said she called their Boston College head coach, Katie Crowley, to hear what she had to say about them.

“I asked her about them as human beings, because I knew their capabilities as players, but what were they like as a person?” Muzerall said. “Because it doesn’t matter how skilled you are, if you don’t fit within our culture of being a good human being, you’re not welcome on the team.”

When looking at potential schools to transfer to, Bilka said she heard some of her fellow teammates from Team USA and Shattuck St. Mary’s talk about Ohio State’s culture, which sounded promising. 

“I think everyone that comes here just speaks great things about the culture and you really want to maximize the one year left of eligibility, so if you can come into a team with a great locker room, it’s something you want to be a part of,” Bilka said.

While Bilka was attracted by the Buckeye spirit, Barnes said she keyed in on Muzerall’s winning culture as her main attraction to the team.

“Her culture has been something that really pulled me in,” Barnes said. “She has a culture of ‘We’re going to work hard, we’re going to push each other, and we’re going to win,’ and I think that’s something that I was attracted to and wanted to…