Story by
WNBA draft: Jacy Sheldon selected 5th overall, Celeste Taylor 15th from Ohio State
- Story by
- WNBA draft: Jacy Sheldon selected 5th overall, Celeste Taylor 15th from Ohio State
Two Ohio State players heard their names called during the 2024 WNBA draft on Monday.
With the fifth pick, the Dallas Wings selected Buckeyes guard Jacy Sheldon. Ten picks later, the Indiana Fever took Celeste Taylor in the second round.
Advertisement
Sheldon is the highest pick from Ohio State since Kelsey Mitchell , the No. 2 pick in 2018. A graduate of Dublin Coffman, Sheldon is also the first player from her high school to be drafted into the WNBA.
"It's a dream," Sheldon said. "It's what we're all here for and it's what we're all looking forward to. So, I'm excited. I've seen the growth and to be a part of that is something that is really rare."
Ohio State's Jacy Sheldon poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after the Dallas Wings drafted her fifth overall.
During Sheldon's five seasons with the Buckeyes, the 5-foot-10 guard scored 2,024 points and is sixth on Ohio State's all-time leading scoring list. Sheldon also ranks top 10 in program history for field goals, 3-pointers and steals.
Advertisement
Averaging a team-high 17.8 points and recording 20 points or more in 13 games this season, Sheldon helped lead the Buckeyes to their first outright Big Ten regular-season title in more than a decade.
Wings president and CEO Greg Bibb said that the organization has kept a close eye on Sheldon since the first game of the 2023-24 season, with her originally landing on the team's radar during her senior year, though she decided to return to Ohio State for a fifth and final season.
"She gets at it defensively," Bibb said. "Some of the best hands I've seen defensively in terms of being active. Playing at Ohio State, she's great in the full-court press that they utilize there. ... You know, physicality, like most college players it's an adjustment. It's going to be an adjustment for her too."
Taylor, who transferred from Duke to Ohio State during the offseason last year, also played a key role for the Buckeyes. Leading the team in both steals and blocks, Taylor was named co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, making her a two-time conference DPOY winner.
Advertisement
"I would never trade the decision that I made to go to Ohio State," Taylor said. "I think that it has brought me so much peace in who I have become as a player and the impact that I can make in any program that I choose or organization that I have the opportunity to be a part of."
Apr 15, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Celeste Taylor poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after she is selected with the number fifteen overall pick to the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
This marks the second straight year that Ohio State has had a player selected in the draft. Last year, Taylor Mikesell was picked by Fever in the second round, No. 13 overall.
Celeste Taylor and Caitlin Clark join Kelsey Mitchell in Indiana
Before the Fever took Taylor with their second pick in the draft, they had the No. 1 selection and used it on the NCAA's all-time leading scorer, Iowa's Caitlin Clark.
Advertisement
Clark and Taylor were teammates with Team USA in the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup.
"Just having the opportunity to play with her again," Taylor said, "it's going to be amazing. And she's done so much for the women's game, and I know she has so much more to give to everyone."
Mar 3, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) defends Ohio State Buckeyes guard Celeste Taylor (12) during the second half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Mitchell, whom Clark bumped to third on the all-time NCAA women's scoring list, has been the Fever's leading scorer the past five seasons.
Though Taylor only had the chance to meet the former Buckeye on her official visit to Ohio State back in high school, she said she is looking forward to playing with Mitchell and knows the first step to doing so is making the Fever's roster.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State in WNBA Draft: Dallas Wings select Jacy Sheldon 5th overall
