You can feel it the second you walk into the Schottenstein Center lately. There’s this weird, buzzy energy that’s hard to pin down unless you’ve been following this team through the Jacy Sheldon and Kelsey Mitchell eras.
The Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball roster has undergone a total facelift, and honestly, it’s about time. For a while there, we all knew exactly what Kevin McGuff was going to do: press you into oblivion, run the break, and rely on a superstar guard to bail out the half-court offense. But the 2025-26 squad? It's a completely different animal.
The Jaloni Cambridge Show
If you aren't watching Jaloni Cambridge yet, what are you even doing?
The sophomore guard isn't just "good for her age." She's currently torching the Big Ten. We’re talking about a kid who recently dropped 41 points on Illinois. Forty-one! That’s the kind of scoring we haven't seen in Columbus since Kelsey Mitchell was wearing the scarlet and gray. She’s averaging over 20 points a game right now, and the scary part is that she’s also leading the team in steals.
She's basically a human highlight reel.
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But it’s not just the Jaloni show. Her sister, Kennedy Cambridge, is finally getting the run she deserves after transferring in from Kentucky. Kennedy is that "glue player" every championship team needs. She doesn’t always lead the box score, but she’s grabbing five boards a game and locking down the opponent's best perimeter player.
Size That Actually Matters
For years, the biggest complaint about the Buckeyes was their lack of height. We’d get to the NCAA Tournament, run into a team with a couple of 6-foot-4 towers, and just get bullied in the paint.
Not anymore.
Elsa Lemmilä is a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Finland who has completely changed the math for this defense. She’s blocking shots at a rate we haven't seen in years. Then you have Kylee Kitts, a 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman who is playing like a seasoned vet. Kitts is nearly averaging a double-double, which is wild when you consider she’s basically just starting her college career.
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Having two legitimate rim protectors means the guards can be even more aggressive on the perimeter. If they get beat, Elsa or Kylee is waiting at the rim. It’s a luxury McGuff hasn't really had in the past.
The 2025-26 Roster Breakdown
Let's look at the actual names making this happen. It’s a mix of battle-tested transfers and high-upside youth.
- The Vets: Chance Gray (Senior, 5'9" G) and T'yana Todd (Senior, 6'0" G) provide the leadership. Gray, a Cincinnati native, is the secondary scoring punch this team needs when teams double-team Jaloni.
- The International Flavor: Dasha Biriuk (Freshman, 6'1" G) from Ukraine is already carving out a role with her shooting. She's got a stroke that makes you think she'll be a 40% three-point shooter by the time she's a junior.
- The Bench Depth: Ava Watson and Bryn Martin are the types of players who would start on 70% of other Big Ten teams. Here, they’re providing spark-plug minutes off the bench.
Life After Cotie McMahon
A lot of fans were worried when Cotie McMahon headed to Ole Miss. I get it. She was the face of the program for a minute. But sometimes a departure forces everyone else to grow up.
Without McMahon as the focal point of the interior offense, the ball movement has actually improved. It’s less "stand around and watch Cotie work" and more "everyone touch the ball until we find the open shooter."
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The stats back it up, too. The Buckeyes are currently ranked in the top 20 nationally for assists per game. They’re sharing the sugar.
What to Expect Moving Forward
So, where does this team go?
Honestly, the ceiling is a Final Four. The floor? Probably a Sweet 16 exit if the shooting goes cold at the wrong time. The Big Ten is a gauntlet this year with UCLA and USC in the mix, but Ohio State has already proven they can hang with the heavy hitters after that massive win over Maryland.
If you’re looking for a reason to buy tickets, it’s the pace. This roster is built to fly. They want to turn you over 20 times a game and turn those mistakes into layups before you can even catch your breath.
Actionable Insights for Fans:
- Watch the transition points: If the Buckeyes are scoring 20+ points on the break, they are almost impossible to beat.
- Keep an eye on the free throw line: This team is aggressive, but they’ve had games where they leave points on the table. In March, that matters.
- Follow the freshmen: Ella Hobbs and Seini Henry are seeing limited minutes now, but their development by February will determine how deep the rotation can go during the tournament.
The Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball roster is no longer just a collection of talented individuals; they've become a cohesive, terrifying unit that no one wants to see on their schedule right now. It’s a fun time to be a fan in Columbus.