Year: Senior
Major: Spanish
What drives diver Lyle Yost? “He loves to learn,” says Justin Sochor, head diving coach at The Ohio State University. “He’s reading books, he’s asking questions. He has a thirst for information and new challenges mixed with a love for life and adventure. That’s why he excels in diving.”
This spring brought a major victory for Yost, becoming NCAA Champion in the 1-meter springboard. Although the much-decorated diver — who has been named the 2023 Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Sports Scholar of the Year — already received CSCAA First Team All American honors in the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform over the course of his collegiate career, achieving his first NCAA title brought confirmation for his years of hard work.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve been working so hard with not just the goal of doing well at the NCAAs or at the Big Ten Championships or at USA Diving meets or international competitions,” says Yost, the 2023 Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Sports Scholar. “It’s really that we’ve been working to get better one day at a time. What happens when you do that is the results take care of themselves.”
Yost has been competing with USA Diving since his teens, qualifying for his first international meet at age 14. His immediate goal is to earn a spot on the U.S. team for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships and the long-term goal is competing at the next two Olympic Games. To ensure his best shot at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, he will be taking the extra year of collegiate eligibility available to him. He is graduating this spring and will next pursue a master’s degree in education, specializing in world language education, with the plan of becoming a high school Spanish teacher.
“I want to use this sport to help me get out and see the world, have new experiences and be competing with the best of the best,” says Yost, who has also achieved honors as Big Ten Conference Champion (platform), Big Ten All-Conference First-Team, Ohio State Most Outstanding Diver Award and Dale England Award for Most Inspirational Performance.
