St. Xavier High School is proud to announce the 2023 St. Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction will be held on Thursday, March 23, 2023. The event will also include the induction of 5 new members into the Athletic Hall of Fame at the 39^th annual event and the key note speaker for the night will be Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach, Zac Taylor.
 
The 2023 inductees include:
Michael Basil '09 – Baseball
Fred Craig '08 – Football
Matt Dektas '94 – Tennis
Christopher French '05 – Swimming
John Tuke '74 – Football & Tennis
 
Sponsorship opportunities are now available! For more information and to sponsor, go to: https://www.stxavier.org/athletics/halloffame   
 
 
More information on Keynote Speaker and Inductees
 
Zac Taylor
Zac Taylor was named the 10th head coach in Bengals history on Feb. 4, 2019. The 2022 season is his fourth in the position after a '21 campaign in which he led the team to an AFC North Division championship, an AFC championship and a berth in Super Bowl LVI. A native of Oklahoma, Taylor played college football at the University of Nebraska where he was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Taylor's coaching career began at Texas A&M University in 2008. From there he broke into NFL coaching in 2012 with the Miami Dolphins. This led to his first time with the Bengals where he was Offensive coordinator in 2016 before going to the Los Angeles Rams for 2 years.
 
Michael Basil '09 - Baseball
 
Michael Basil was a three year starter for the St. Xavier Baseball team and is the only player in school history to appear twice in the top 10 batting averages.  He also has the highest career Batting Average of any player playing 2 or more years of Varsity Baseball. His Sophomore year he was named 2^nd team GCL and honorable mention All-City. His Junior year he was 1^st team GCL and All-City as well as 2^nd team All-State while his Senior year he was named 1^st Team GCL, All-City, and All-State as well as GCL Player of the Year and Team MVP. Mike received a scholarship to play baseball at Indiana University where he helped lead the Hoosiers to the College World Series.    
 
Fred Craig '08 – Football & Lacrosse
 
Fred Craig was a three year starter for the St. Xavier Bombers at linebacker.  He was 2^nd team GCL as a sophomore, and 1^st team GCL as a junior and senior being named GCL Player of the year as a senior. His character and leadership led him to being voted a captain as a senior. As a starter, Fred had a 41-2 record and helped lead the team to state championships in 2005 and 2007. He went on to play football for the Stanford Cardinal and then for the University of Penn.
 
Matt Dektas '94 – Tennis
 
Matt is one of the all-time wins leaders at St. X. He was GCL and Cincinnati Player of the Year in 1994 and qualified for the State Championships 3 of his 4 years, including a 3rd place finish in doubles and team state championships his senior year, where he was the number one player. Matt received a full scholarship from Jacksonville University, and was ranked in the Top 50 Division 1 NCAA Doubles rankings. He played on the ATP Futures Tour and recorded wins over top 1000 ATP Players. As a coach, Matt founded the E.X. Academy, which has produced 67 State Champions. He has personally coached many of the top Bombers since 2000, including almost all of the players from the 4-time state champion 2005-2009 Dynasty.
 
Christopher French '05 – Swimming
 
Dr. Christopher (Kit) French was one of the most accomplished backstrokers in the history of St. Xavier High School. As a sophomore he captured the state title. As a junior he finished third in the event and then returned his senior year and not only reclaimed the individual state title in backstroke but also won the 100 freestyle. Kit was also a member of three state championship relay teams during his career at St. X. He and his teammates won the 200 medley relay in 2003 and 2004 and the 400 freestyle relay in 2003. Kit's performances as a 13 time All-American and team captain led the Bombers to four state championships. In addition to dominating at the state level, both the 2002 and 2003 swimming and diving teams won the NISCA national championship and were named the national runner-up by Swimming World Magazine. Kit continued his success on scholarship at the University of Georgia, where he scored at the SEC Championships five times and was named the team captain his senior year. In 2008 Kit competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials.
 
John Tuke '74 – Football & Tennis
 
John Tuke had an outstanding career on the football field and was a 3 year varsity tennis player while at St. X. He was one of the few underclassmen to ever be called up to Varsity under Coach Ballaban as he was a leader on and off the field. John started as defensive back for 2 years and was named 1^st team All-GCL, All-State, and All-City in the 1973 season. After his time at St. X, John went on to an accomplished football career at Harvard University.