Ohio State women’s basketball lands Kentucky transfer Kennedy Cambridge

The Ohio State women’s basketball team received their third transfer from the transfer portal. Joining head coach Kevin McGuff is former Kentucky Wildcats guard Kennedy Cambridge. The 5-foot-9 guard announced her commitment on Instagram, on Wednesday night.

Cambridge enters the Scarlet and Gray’s program with three years of eligibility following one season with the Kentucky Wildcats of the SEC. In 19 appearances, Cambridge averaged 14.4 minutes per game with 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds.

As a freshman, Cambridge didn’t break into the Wildcats' starting roster until Feb. 16, against the Georgia Bulldogs. Cambridge tied a season-high with eight rebounds in the defeat to the Bulldogs, but didn’t see the court again in any of the Wildcats’ remaining six games.

Bringing the guard into the program provides depth at the guard position, something Ohio State struggled with last season; both Jacy Sheldon and Madison Greene sustained long-term injuries that took each out for most of the season.

That meant coach McGuff’s side went down to two regular guards in Rikki Harris and Taylor Mikesell in the Buckeyes’ backcourt. Now, Cambridge brings Power Five experience to Ohio State.

In Kentucky, the Wildcats struggled to stay competitive following the graduation of now-WNBA star Rhyne Howard. Kentucky went from a 19-12 record to 12-19 following Howard going No. 1 in the 2022 WNBA Draft to the Atlanta Dream.

Now, Cambridge joins a team that’s competing at the top of the Big Ten, coming off a late run in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Although Mikesell graduated, Ohio State returns most of the high-performing roster it had on the court last season, including forwards Cotie McMahon and Taylor Thierry who each earned Second Team All-B1G selections.

Joining Cambridge as a transfer into the Big Ten Elite Eight side is fellow guard Celeste Taylor and forward Taiyier Parks. Taylor is a guaranteed start for the Buckeyes following years with the Duke Blue Devils where the senior was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, winning the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award in the process.

The Ohio State backcourt now features Sheldon, Taylor, Harris, Cambridge, fellow sophomore Kaia Henderson, and exciting freshman recruit Diana Collins.

An interesting piece of the transfer news is a family connection to Cambridge: Her sister Jaloni Cambridge. The fellow guard is the No. 1 overall ranked player in the 2024 high school recruiting class.

Together, the Cambridge sisters led Ensworth to a state championship in 2022, the school’s seventh in program history. Should the younger Cambridge sister be swayed to join the Buckeyes, it’ll be the highest-ranked recruit joining Ohio State since Kelsey Mitchell joined the Buckeyes from Cincinnati, Ohio’s Princeton High School in 2014.