The expectations for freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge to make an immediate impact on the Ohio State women’s basketball team are high.
Cambridge joins the 14th ranked Buckeyes out of Montverde Academy, where she won the Chipotle High School Nationals tournament during her senior year as ESPN’s No. 2 recruit from the Class of 2024. With the Buckeyes losing Jacy Sheldon, their team leader in scoring and assists last season, Cambridge is likely to step into the point guard role.
But Cambridge is just one of six new players on the Buckeyes’ active roster going into Tuesday’s season opener against Cleveland State.
More on Jaloni Cambridge: OSU women’s commit Jaloni Cambridge named Gatorade National Player of the Year finalist
Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff has suggested that a majority of the newcomers will be playing right away with this being one of the “deeper teams” Ohio State has had in a long time.
“I’m excited. We have a really great group of girls for this year, and I’m just looking forward to playing with them,” Ohio State senior Taylor Thierry said. “A lot of freshman coming in, and even the transfers, they’re just very fearless and just confident coming in. So, I think that’s going to translate to their game, to our offense, and defense.”
More: Which former Ohio State star does freshman Jaloni Cambridge remind her teammates of?
Here are four other new Buckeyes, in addition to Cambridge, who could make an impact this season.
Chance Gray
Soon after the Buckeyes’ early exit from the 2024 NCAA Tournament, McGuff said he wanted to add some transfers to the roster. Guard Chance Gray was the first out of the portal to officially make the move.
A junior who played at Oregon her first two seasons, Gray has been described by McGuff as someone who could help Ohio State with its 3-point shooting struggles. Gray averaged 13.9 points through 31 games during her sophomore year, while shooting for over 33% from beyond the arc.
A former Ohio Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year from Cincinnati, Gray made an official visit to Ohio State as a high schooler with fellow Ohio native Cotie McMahon.
“We played AAU together, me, her and TT (Thierry). So, we’ve all played with each other for a long time,” McMahon said. “Me and Chance, we even played against each other in high school. But it’s really cool because we all know what we do best, and we’ve been doing it for a long time, and the fact that we can do it together all over again is really cool.”
Ajae Petty
During the 2023-24 season, when the Buckeyes lost a game, it was more often than not due to a lack of rebounding.
Needing to improve on the boards, McGuff brought in 6-foot-3 graduate student Ajae Petty out of Kentucky. A starter for the Wildcats last season, Petty averaged 14.2 points and 10.6 rebounds.
Petty joined the Buckeyes knowing about their rebounding issues.
“That’s what I was recruited here to do,” Petty said. “So, just coming in and making sure I’m doing my best, I try to focus on it in practice every day. I also think everybody started to home in on it.”
Elsa Lemmila
Petty is just one player McGuff added to help with rebounding, as he also recruited 6-foot-6 freshman from Finland, Elsa Lemmila.
While playing for her club team, Tapiolan Honka in Finland, Lemmila averaged 15.8 points, 10 rebounds and 2.4 blocks last season, recording 16 double-doubles.
“Elsa will give us great size and length and athleticism around the basket,” McGuff said. “It’s going to take her a while to get comfortable, but I think she’s got a very bright future.”
When Lemmila joined the Buckeyes, she was coming off an injury she suffered during her final season of high school, sidelining her for Ohio State’s summer training. In September, Lemmila was able to start live activity, and though it’s only been two months of practice, she is still expected to play and have an impact this season.
Ava Watson
When Thierry was asked which newcomers are ready to contribute to the Buckeyes’ press defense, the first who came to mind were Cambridge and incoming freshman Ava Watson.
“That’s a key identity for this team, with a lot of the success that we have is because of our press,” Thierry said. “I think Jaloni and Ava are going to be especially helpful with us applying that pressure. They’re really quick and everything, so I’m just excited to have them when we press other teams.”
Watson is a 5-foot-8 guard out of Buford, Georgia and was the No. 43 recruit from the Class of 2024, according to ESPN.
Described as a player who can shoot the ball well and has a “very high basketball IQ” by McGuff, Watson averaged 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5.2 assists during her senior season.
The Buckeyes open their season at Value Center Arena on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 Ohio State women’s basketball newcomers who can make an impact
