On Nov. 9, Ohio State women’s basketball begins its 2025-26 season against Coppin State. It ends a nearly eight-month hiatus away from college basketball, and the Scarlet and Gray enter the season with a list of questions. To begin the countdown to competitive basketball, Land-Grant Holy Land is starting at the very beginning (a very good place to start), and asking the question of who might make up the starting five for the Buckeyes this season.
Ohio State no longer has players who anchored the roster for years like Taylor Thierry, Cotie McMahon, Madison Greene, and Ebony Walker. It is a situation that brings both excitement and anxiety for some Buckeye fans.
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This year’s edition has two near locks to start, but the rest is up in the air. Beginning with the all-but-guaranteed players, here is how Ohio State could look next month.
Jaloni Cambridge
Written in permanent ink at the point guard role is sophomore Jaloni Cambridge. Outside of games missed for injury, Cambridge started every game from the moment she stepped onto a college basketball court.
It ended as expected when the No. 1 overall point guard in the 2025 class won Big Ten Freshman of the Year and spots on the Big Ten All-Freshman team and All-Big Ten sides. Ohio State’s highest-ranked recruit ever scored 15.4 points per game with 4.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 2.0 steals per game in her 29 appearances.
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Cambridge hit a season high-33 points on February 26 against Michigan State, and it looked like the guard was about to hit another level until the postseason, where she averaged 11.4 points in the final five games of the season.
The reason for that could be teams adjusting to her play or a byproduct of a team chemistry that looked strained in the postseason. Either way, Cambridge returns with one year of college basketball under her belt and now holds the reins with the transfer of McMahon.
Head coach Kevin McGuff will rely on the point guard more this season than last with the overhauled Buckeye roster, but she has a college veteran next to her in the next starting spot.
Chance Gray
In one of the other guard spots will be Chance Gray. The Ohioan returns for her final season of eligibility and an opportunity to bounce back from a hit-or-miss first season in Columbus.
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Since sharpshooter Taylor Mikesell left the program for the pros in 2023, McGuff has searched for another anchor three-point shooter for his offense. Gray was the 2024-25 attempt, and after a promising start, the experiment fell off.
After 15 games, Gray averaged 2.8 made threes per game at a 41.2 percent clip. Through the remaining 18 games, Gray’s production from deep dropped to 1.6 makes per game at 28.3 percent, with seven games without a made three.
With the roster changes and potential other starters around Gray, the three-point responsibility will not fall fully on her shoulders. McGuff did ask a lot of the guard who took 26 more threes last season than she did in either of her first two years at Oregon.
Gray brings veteran leadership, which will be needed on a team with two seniors and only three upperclassmen. If Ohio State competes near the top of the Big Ten, it will be because of the work done by Gray on and off the court.
Kennedy Cambridge
Historically, in the third guard position under McGuff is someone whose main focus is defense. Look back at the times Rikki Harris slid into that role or the last three seasons under Taylor Thierry, whose athletic ability and work on the court turned into an All-Big Ten Defensive Team season last year.
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Kennedy Cambridge could be the next player on that end-of-season awards team.
Cambridge started four games last season, when McMahon picked up an early-season injury during non-conference play. Look at the stat line and the 4.8 points and 1.5 steals per game do not jump off the page, but the guard averaged only 16.5 minutes per game behind Cambridge, Gray, Thierry, and McMahon.
Look at her production rate per 100 possessions, and Cambridge was second on the team with an 82.1 defensive rating. The guard also averaged 5.0 steals per game for every 100 possessions she was on the court.
Down the stretch, Cambridge excelled offensively too, including her 16-point game against the Iowa Hawkeyes, where the older sister of Jaloni Cambridge was playing like her sister with the ball in her hands.
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Do not be surprised to see a noticeable jump in Cambridge highlights this season. The guard has put in extra work this offseason on the offensive side of the court and has increased confidence on both sides of the ball.
Where Cambridge will fit, and the next guard on the list of starters, is the storyline to watch as games begin in Columbus.
T’Yana Todd
Next on the list is senior transfer T’Yana Todd. Out of Boston College, Todd checks the boxes for what McGuff likes in a player.
First, she can shoot the basketball. As a junior with the Eagles, Todd led the ACC with 45.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc. At Ohio State, Todd will have plenty of chances to take deep shots, but how will it work when Todd is asked to shoot more than she has in her career?
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At Boston College, Todd never had a season in which she shot over 150 three-point attempts. Last year, Gray was the only player to hit triple digits with her 201 attempts. It was the first time in four years that Ohio State did not have two players try at least a century mark’s worth of deep shots.
Between Todd and Gray, who are likely to split the deep shooting responsibilities, it could look like the partnership between Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor from deep. The team never relied on one, and they took turns bringing deep shooting effectiveness.
McGuff also likes the experience of an upperclassman. Now, Todd never played for a Boston College team that ended the year with a winning record, but that was in ACC play. Todd has played the Dukes, North Carolinas, and Notre Dames of the ACC. That’s invaluable, especially for a team as young as this edition of the Buckeyes.
Elsa Lemmilä
The fifth starting spot goes to the 6-foot-6 center Elsa Lemmilä. Ohio State’s been known for the last four seasons as a side that’s vulnerable in the paint. Last season Lemmilä showed glimpses of how that is changing.
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Lemmilä averaged 15.3 minutes per game as a freshman, coming in behind now pro Ajae Petty, and in 32 appearances led the team with 60 blocks. That is three more than the top blockers for the Buckeyes in the last two seasons combined and most since Stephanie Mavunga had 88 in the 17-18 season.
With the Finnish international in the paint, life is more difficult for any of Ohio State’s opponents, minus UCLA’s Lauren Betts. Even against Betts, where Lemmilä played 18 minutes, Betts scored under her season average and shooting percentage. Not by much, but slowing down a 6-foot-8 player who is a future WNBA lottery pick is no small thing, especially for a team like the Buckeyes, which has been notorious for letting strong post players run free.
In the postseason, Lemmilä was mostly sidelined due to a foot injury that the big had surgery on this offseason. Fortunately, the recovery time of the surgery is not long-term, and the center is practicing with Ohio State.
Come back healthy, and the ceiling for Lemmilä is high.
The Bench
Ohio State enters this season with an 11-player roster of freshmen, or redshirt freshmen, and sophomore Ava Watson. Regardless of the way McGuff goes with his starters, there is ample space for people to surprise and challenge.
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Particularly with Watson, who leads a group of bench guards that includes freshmen Dasha Biriuk and Bryn Martin. Also, guard/forward Kylee Kitts is a 6-foot-4 hybrid player who has the potential to slide into the starting lineup or be a sixth player off the bench.
Then there is Ella Hobbs, a 6-foot-4 forward who could play alongside Lemmilä and make life especially difficult for teams inside, even though that is unlikely unless McGuff revamps his system.
That means this fall will be full of intrigue, and maybe some anxiety, for Buckeye fans. One thing is for sure: it will be interesting.
