While 15 Big Ten teams prepare for the start of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday, the conference announced its regular-season honors. Even though Ohio State women’s basketball entered the season with unknown team expectations, individual performances contributed to a top-five finish in the Big Ten. On Tuesday, the coaches and media rewarded four of them for their work in leading the Buckeyes on the court.
Both Cambridge sisters received spots on the end of season conference teams. For Jaloni Cambridge,
her conference high 26.4 points per game average in Big Ten play earned her a place on the All-Big Ten First Team as a unanimous selection from both the coaches and media. Last season, the younger Cambridge won a spot on the coach’s team and an All-Big Ten Second Team placement from the media.
Also, Cambridge is not one-dimensional, as she also averaged 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.7 steals in conference play.
While Jaloni Cambridge’s scoring total is impressive, what made it stand out more is how her impact jumped from nonconference play into the Big Ten. Despite playing mid-major sides in all but two nonconference games. Not only did Jaloni Cambridge lead the conference and the team in scoring, but her assists went up from 3.9 per game as a freshman to 4.5, ninth best in the Big Ten.
A spot on the First Team means Ohio State has at least one player on the season’s top team in each of the last seven years. Forward Dorka Juhász, guards Jacy Sheldon and Taylor Mikesell, and forward Cotie McMahon all earned spots on the First Team since the 19-20 season.
For Kennedy Cambridge, the redshirt junior did not regularly start for the Buckeyes until this season, and it looked like she made up for lost time. Kennedy Cambridge picked up an All-Defensive Team honor for her work off the ball.
The guard led the Buckeyes and conference with 4.0 steals per game and 120 total steals, and counting, this season. Those 120 steals put Kennedy Cambridge at the top of Ohio State’s single-season steals list as the first Buckeye in 41 years to grab over 100. Kennedy Cambridge passed guard Yvette Angel’s 115 steal record that the former Buckeye hit in the 84-85 season.
After Sunday’s win over the Michigan State Spartans, Kennedy Cambridge shared her goal of winning the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a National Player of the Year award. While the guard did not earn one in the conference, Kennedy Cambridge is on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame watchlist for National Defensive Player of the Year.
Even though the two missed out on Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards, respectively, none of the honorees for the individual accolades were unanimously chosen, and the play of the Cambridge sisters is a likely part of that.
Alongside the Cambridge sisters were honors for forward Kylee Kitts and center Elsa Lemmilä. For Kitts, the Florida Gator turned Ohio State Buckeye started from the beginning of her redshirt freshman season until she suffered a shoulder injury on Jan. 19, 2026, against the TCU Horned Frogs.
Even though the road to a healthy return is still ongoing, voters rewarded Kitts for her impact with a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshmen Team. The forward averaged 7.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for the Scarlet and Gray.
Lemmilä earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team, alongside Kennedy Cambridge. The 6-foot-6 sophomore center led the Big Ten with 65 blocks. That performance came despite how she entered the season. Lemmilä went through two offseason surgeries on her ankle and leg that she still worked through at the start of the season. Her results reflect a healthier athlete later into the season as the center earned her spot back in the starting lineup and ended the season with three consecutive double-doubles.
Guard Chance Gray received accolades both on and off the court. From her play, Gray received an Honorable Mention for the All-Big Ten sides. Off of it, the conference selected Gray as the team’s B1G Sportsmanship Honoree. Gray helped start the Where2Next, a non-profit in Cincinnati that supports the Southeast Ohio city with charitable goods and services.
