Education
Hornyak played at Saint John Central High School in Bellaire, Ohio. He played the shooting guard position and set many scoring records while he attended. In his final two seasons (1967-1968 and 1968-1969), Hornyak led both the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference (OVAC) and the state of Ohio in scoring.
His junior season saw him average 42.7 points per game en route to 812 total points, while his senior season saw him average 41.9 per game with a total of 923 points.
His 86-point single game performance against Tiltonsville High School in 1969 set the all-time OVAC record (he followed that game with a 61-point performance against arch rival Bellaire High School). He finished his prep career with a then-conference record 2,385 points and back-to-back Class Associate of Arts Ohio state championships.
During his senior year he gained national attention for his incredible scoring outbursts.
was the school who landed Hornyak even though he was highly recruited. He had to sit out his freshman season in 1969-1970 due to National Collegiate Athletic Association rules at the time which prohibited freshmen athletes from playing on varsity teams.
In his final three college seasons Hornyak led the Buckeyes in scoring and was named to the All-Big Ten Conference Team each year.
He was an honorable mention All-American in his final two seasons. In just 69 career games Hornyak scored 1,572 points and averaged over 20 points per game. He was later inducted into the Ohio State Sports Hall of Fame.