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Ohio State women's basketball adds Katie Smith, Jacy Sheldon to staff
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- Ohio State women's basketball adds Katie Smith, Jacy Sheldon to staff
This story was updated to add new information.
Ohio State women's basketball has announced that former Buckeyes Katie Smith and Jacy Sheldon have joined OSU's staff.
Smith, former head coach for the WNBA's New York Liberty , has been named Kevin McGuff's fourth assistant. Sheldon is the team's director of player development, which is described as "a pivotal role in enhancing student-athlete growth both on and off the court."
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"At the forefront of what I want this program to be about is our ability to impact young women both on the court and off the court," McGuff said. "So every decision I make in terms of hiring is based on that, and I think both Katie and Jacy are going to be extremely impactful with our current players and helping them become who they're capable of being."
After completing her fifth and final season with Ohio State, Jacy Sheldon was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, going to the Dallas Wings.
After completing her fifth and final season with Ohio State, Sheldon was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, going to the Dallas Wings . With the Wings, Sheldon averaged 5.4 points across 40 games.
She will be with be OSU full time during the WNBA offseason. Sheldon had signed with the Townsville Fire of Women's National Basketball League in Australia, which plays from late September through February, but said she had to pass on that opportunity due to a lower leg injury.
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She will be able to rehab that injury in Columbus, which is not the only upside to her new role, she said.
"Being a part of the game in a different way and having a different perspective is going to help me develop my WNBA play even more," Sheldon told reporters at a Monday press conference.
In the almost 30 years since graduating from Ohio State in 1996, Smith built a long resume starting with the former American Basketball League's Columbus Quest. Smith also represented the United States in three Olympic Games.
A two-time WNBA champion as a player, Smith has coached with the Liberty, the Detroit Shock and was most recently an assistant with the Minnesota Lynx , who made this season's WNBA finals.
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"Basketball has given me so much," Smith said. "Ohio State has given me so much, and all I want to do is to be a vessel for (the OSU's players') journey. ... I want to be a positive influence because basketball has been so awesome to me.
"The women's game is amazing, and I want Ohio State to continue to grow and thrive. They've had success, and I want to blow it out of the water."
Katie Smith, seen here leading the New York Liberty, joins Ohio State's coaching staff after a long playing and coaching career in the WNBA.
This marks Smiths first collegiate coaching job.
"This is more personal," she said of her decision to leave the pros. "It's just, like, family time. I got married a year ago. I have a seventh grader. I have a freshman here at Ohio State. My parents are getting older. This was more of just a personal decision."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jacy Sheldon, Katie Smith join Ohio State women's basketball staff
