Career Honors
- Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2022)
- OSU Scholar-Athlete (2021, 2022)
- Academic All-Big Ten (2022)
- Named Second Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman Team (2021)
- Named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball (2021)
- Named Third Team All-Big Ten (2022)
2022 (Sophomore)
- In his second season as the team’s starting center fielder, Kern started 46 of 49 games and settled into the cleanup spot in the back half of the schedule.
- Kern caught fire midway through the spring to become one of the Big Ten’s top hitters in the conference season, batting .298 on his way to a second All-B1G selection.
- His 9 home runs, 49 RBI, 15 doubles, 11 stolen bases, and .529 slugging percentage were all good for second on the team.
- Drove in five runs and collected four hits in the season-opening weekend series in Port Charlotte, FL.
- Had a seven-game hit streak from March 20 against UNCW through the Nebraska series on April 3 that included five multi-hit games.
- In the game against Purdue on March 25, Kern launched his first two home runs of the season and drove in four runs.
- Had multiple hits in all three games in the home series against MSU, hitting a home run and tallying four RBI in game one of the April 9 twin bill.
- In the series opener at Maryland on April 15, Kern had three hits with a double and two RBI.
- During the three-game Northwestern series and the following game against Campbell, Kern collected two hits in each contest, had two home runs, and drove in seven.
- In the final two games of the Penn State series win, Kern had five base knocks that included three doubles.
- Kern homered and drove in two runs in the season-ending win over USC Upstate on May 20.
- Hit in 28 of the team’s final 34 games, with three three-hit games and 15 two-hit games.
2021 (Freshman)
- Led the team in hits with 52, an on-base percentage of .391, and a 9-11 stolen base clip on the year
- Started in all 42 of his appearances during his freshman season, batting .325 with 2 home runs while manning center field for the team, climbing to the third spot in the order down the stretch of the season
- Had an immediate impact on his Buckeye squad, going 5-6 and falling a homer away from the cycle in the 13-inning season-opening win over Illinois on March 5
- Had a team-high 14 multi-hit games in 2021… this included 5 consecutive multi-hit games and 7 out of 8 games with multiple hits as part of his season-high 8 game hitting streak from the April 17 game at Maryland until finally being broken on May 11 at Purdue
- Collected 3 or more hits 5 different times in the season
- Drove in a season-high 4 runs as part of a 2-3 effort in the 8-2 win over Iowa on March 26
- Went 3-5 with a double and two runs scored in the 7-4 win over Michigan on April 9
Prior to Ohio State
- Kade is the son of Keith and Kim Kern
- Played for Dick Selgo at Archbold High School
- Played for Ohio Elite in the summer of 2020
- 2020 Ohio Baseball Gatorade Player of the Year
- Two-time PBR First Team All-Ohio
- 2019 Division III Position Player of the Year
- 2019 Rawlings Perfect Game All-American
- Two-time First Team All-NWOAL and OHSCA Second Team All-Ohio
- Hit .406 with 22 doubles, five triples, 81 RBI and 77 runs scored in three high school seasons