Grove City native Tyler Kent stepped onto Otterbein’s campus and made an immediate impact from day one, winning the starting center fielder job as a freshman and eventually setting a new single-season record with 51 runs. He started all but one game that spring as the team advanced to the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament Championship game.

Kent remained a fixture in the lineup going forward from 2013-16, serving as an offensive leader but also tracking down what seemed to be every fly ball in his direction. He eventually finished with a stellar senior season, leading the OAC at 71 hits, 48 RBI, 53 runs scored, 20 doubles, 11 home runs, 130 total bases and a .739 slugging percentage. He set new Otterbein single-season records in hits, runs and total bases while tying the mark for most doubles. 

The 2016 Cardinals became the first group in program history to amass 30 wins prior to the postseason, ultimately finishing 32-11 overall and capturing the OAC regular-season championship, outright, with a 14-4 mark against the league. Kent was a unanimous first team All-OAC and All-Mideast Region pick afterwards, which then led to him being voted a second team All-American by both D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Kent wasn’t done there, earning first team Academic All-America a week later to become the 11th student-athlete in Otterbein’s history to record All-America honors for athletics and academics in the same season. An early childhood education major that finished with a 3.70 grade-point average, he was one of 33 players across the country to be recognized and one of just 11 on the first team. The icing on the cake came when he was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 26th round of the Major League Baseball Draft on June 11, 2016.

A three-time Academic All-OAC selection and two-time All-OAC honoree in baseball, “TK” departed as Otterbein's career leader in runs scored (170) and on the top-10 list in almost every offensive category, including second for most at-bats (599), doubles (47) and total bases (338), and third for most hits (208) and triples (13). He came up just four hits and two triples shy of breaking the program's all-time records.

In addition to his success on the diamond and classroom, Kent will also surely be remembered for his unique personality and sense of humor that made him one of the more memorable baseball players to come through Otterbein.