2025-26 Team Preview: Ohio State

This is the start of the second half of the previews, meaning we are getting closer and closer to the real games being played. Thank you for everyone who has followed me over from Substack to here, and let’s start talking about who I think are the very best teams in this conference for 2025-26.

Last Week’s Preview (Nebraska)

Table of Contents

• 2024-25 Overview

• Departures

• Returnees

• Incoming Players

• Outlook

2024-25 Overview

The last 10 years of Ohio State women’s basketball includes two lengthy stretches of great teams, with three years of no NCAA Tournament play sandwiched between them. Two of those three teams that missed the tourney were ineligible for reasons outside of basketball, and one missed on merits alone, but it felt like the cooldown period for what looked to be two great peaks under head coach Kevin McGuff.

Last year’s team was the first without Jacy Sheldon in a long while, but it still had a vast level of talent and started the year accordingly. A 16-0 start to the year showed that the Buckeyes could be a legitimate contender, and strong wins over teams like Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska and Michigan State in Big Ten play continued that thought.

The overall numbers from last year remained great, but Ohio State started to get inconsistent. The Buckeyes were blown out of the Big Ten Tournament by UCLA, then, despite still earning home games, bowed out of the NCAA Tournament in the Round of 32 in a loss to Tennessee. It mirrored a lot of the 2023-24 season, where Ohio State started the year 24-3, got destroyed by Maryland in the Big Ten tourney, then lost to Duke at home in the Round of 32.

All that said, the Buckeyes still did plenty of things right last season. They remained a great offensive team that pushed the pace and made their opponents uncomfortable to the tune of 21.8 turnovers per game, the ninth-most in the nation. Of those turnovers, 12.2 per game were from steals, which was eighth-most nationally.

Those defensive numbers are more impressive with how turnover-averse Ohio State was as an offensive unit: The Buckeyes’ 15.1% turnover rate was 16th in the NCAA. They remained a below-average three-point team in volume, but made up for it with solid interior scoring and a strong number of trips to the line.

The numbers, rebounding aside, continue to be excellent for McGuff and Ohio State, but the reputation of not capitalizing on excellent regular seasons continues to mount.

There’s also, of course, another blow to reputation involving McGuff that feels like it needs to be mentioned. McGuff has spoken on it, Ohio State suspended him for two weeks without pay and the trial is ongoing. But none of it is a good look for the long-time head coach, and it certainly must add some pressure to this upcoming season.

Here's last year’s Ohio State roster, sorted by Her Hoop Stats win shares:

Departures

Ohio State is losing six total players from last season, four of which were pieces of the rotation, three of which are through the transfer portal.

The big-name exit is, of course, Cotie McMahon, the lightning bolt spark plug forward who, when at her best, was truly among the most dominant players in college basketball. McMahon showed freshman year flashes that proved the type of player she could become, and while her progression plateaued in many ways over the the next few seasons, she was still a constant scoring force who has really come into her own from three.

McMahon’s exit matters, but her inconsistencies also made McMahon a player that I believed had a heightened reputation compared to the actual on-court product. I think the loss of someone as consistent and multi-faceted as Taylor Thierry could hurt even more.

Thierry was great at everything except taking more shots. She was a phenomenal shooter and had the size to get to the rim, but she was most impressive as a defender, where she could use her size and speed to contain just about anyone she was asked to guard. Her team-leading 2.3 steals per game and 1.4 defensive win shares will be missed.

Ohio State will also be without longtime members Madison Greene and Eboni Walker, who were very solid and dependable members of lineups for the last three seasons. Greene has had an especially long Ohio State career, first playing for the Buckeyes in 2019-20. After her injury troubles, it was great to see Greene get to play a full season in her final one for the program.

Returnees

Ohio State’s season may depend on a leap from Jaloni Cambridge, and the rising sophomore is 100% capable of taking on a weight of that magnitude.

Last year, Cambridge showed why she was such a highly rated prospect. She was second on the team in scoring and was the primary driver of the offense, leading the team in assists. She did most of her damage inside the arc, but showcased the ability to extend to the perimeter with 26 threes made. Defensively, she was immediately a terror, fitting into Ohio State’s pressing defense well with two steals per game and the second-most defensive win shares with 1.2.

Jaloni Cambridge absolutely can do it all, and without Thierry and McMahon, she may be expected to do it all, but she also has some crucial contributors coming back as well.

Chance Gray started last season on a mission, averaging 14.7 PPG while shooting 44.7% from deep in non-conference games. In conference play, those numbers dropped to 9.9 PPG and 26.5%, but with a full year in the Big Ten under her belt, there could be a big-time bounce back on the way for the talented guard.

Elsa Lemmilä had to be one of the most exciting players to play 15 minutes per game in the country. She averaged 12.7 rebounds and nearly five blocks per 40 minutes while scoring efficiently when given the opportunity. There’s a lot to love about her potential development moving forward.

Both Kennedy Cambridge and Ava Watson were great defensive guard options off the bench last season, with the duo combining to averaging nearly three steals per game in under 30 total minutes of action. Kennedy Cambridge was great at attacking the basket, and while Watson’s shooting never fully took off, she was Ohio State’s most willing deep shooter off the bench and should get that opportunity again.

Both Seini Henry and Ella Hobbs redshirted last season, but slot in as the only returning forwards outside of Lemmilä. Only one other forward option is coming in through the portal as well, so there’s a huge opportunity for either of these players to get involved in a big way for their respective second seasons.

Incoming Players

As mentioned above, Ohio State added some excellent guards to the rotation, which should make for a deep list of players that can surround the perimeter. The interior, though, should be bolstered with the addition of Kylee Kitts.

Kitts is a fascinating one. She was a five-star prospect in the 2025 class but reclassified up a year to enroll at Florida early. She never saw the floor there, but is a very versatile prospect who put up some eye-popping numbers in high school with 24.2 PPG, 14.5 RPG and 3 BPG as a senior. If Kitts develops as she is expect to, she may be the most important get of the offseason just based on positional need.

That said, T’yana Todd will be the player that makes the most significant immediate impact for the Buckeyes. She was an absolute knockdown shooter for Boston College last season, hitting 45.3% of her 146 three attempts. Ohio State has continued to avoid becoming a three-point-heavy team, but Todd should help bring some very important balance to the offense that has been lacking.

I have a lot of belief in both of Ohio State’s freshman signings. Dasha Biriuk came over to the US in 2022 and quickly made her presence felt. She fits the “pesky guard” mold that the Buckeyes love to utilize, while Bryn Martin, like Todd, could help to space out Ohio State’s attack with her impressive shooting résumé.

Both guards are also coming into the team at 6-1, making them viable wing options for a team lacking in overall size.

Outlook

Projected Starters

• Jaloni Cambridge - G

• Chance Gray - G

• T’yana Todd - G

• Kylee Kitts - F

• Elsa Lemmilä - C

Big Ten Finish: 9th

Ohio State is still plenty talented, and Jaloni Cambridge is enough of a talent to make me believe the Buckeyes should be placed higher, but the 11-player roster feels like it will need to hit on a lot of gambles to keep the Buckeyes up at their high standard.

Cambridge and Gray are no-doubt starters, and it’s likely that Todd is, too, based on her experience and talent. I would also be very surprised if Lemmilä didn’t start considering she’s the only returning big with any in-game experience. Henry or Hobbs could impress enough to start as well, but Kitts’ potential makes me think she will earn the Day 1 starting spot.

Compared to the past few seasons, I expect this Ohio State team to emphasize the three ball more than it has. The Cambridge’s will do plenty of interior attacking, but if the surrounding guards can improve from deep, the offense may be able to find new heights.

But, there are still some issues I don’t know will be fixed. Rebounding has already been an issue for Ohio State and only the Kitts addition could help improve that. Nearly half this roster has never played a collegiate game, and I think that’s going to make for another season of high highs mixed with some low lows.

The Buckeyes are not used to being projected this low, but there’s just too much uncertainty within the roster to have Ohio State any higher than this in my eyes. This is still an NCAA Tournament group without question, but it would take a lot of dice rolls landing for me to see a path toward the deep run this program has been searching for.

Photo Credit: Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB), Twitter

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