Jacy Sheldon wasn’t ready to leave.
Even after four years at Ohio State, culminating in the program’s deepest NCAA Tournament run in 30 years – during which she displayed more than her fair share of individual heroics – Sheldon felt there was more to be accomplished.
As a senior in 2022-23, Sheldon knew all season she’d have a decision to make. But it didn’t take long for her to make it once the year wrapped up in late March. Just two days after Ohio State fell short in its bid for a spot in the Final Four, Sheldon publicly announced she’d use her fifth and final year of eligibility to return to the program. Fittingly, Sheldon introduced her statement with just two words.
Unfinished business.
Unfinished business. @OhioStateWBB pic.twitter.com/fmupOsUMOS
— Jacy (@JacySheldon) March 29, 2023
A little over three months later, Sheldon is putting those words into practice, adopting a business-like approach as she leads her final Ohio State team in preparation for the season to come. In a post-practice interview on Monday, Sheldon opened up on the reason for her return and her expectations for the 2023-24 season – and the two appear to be inextricably linked.
“The group we had last year, besides (Taylor Mikesell), the whole group's coming back. So I knew we were gonna have a really good shot at it this year, too, so I wanted to be a part of that,” Sheldon said. “And then a lot of good newcomers. And then for me, it was about getting healthy, too, and being at my best, which – last year I had a lot of injuries to deal with. But I just knew the group we had, the girls we had, the chemistry, we're just building off of it and getting better at it every day and I wanted to be part of that for this year.”
While Ohio State enjoyed a sensational season, finishing 28-8 overall and spending eight straight weeks as one of the top three teams in the country in the AP poll, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Sheldon. The Dublin, Ohio, native got off to a red-hot start, averaging 16 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and a whopping six steals per game across the first six contests, but a leg injury sidelined Sheldon for 22 of the Buckeyes’ next 23 games.
"I just knew the group we had, the girls we had, the chemistry, we're just building off of it and getting better at it every day and I wanted to be part of that for this year.”– Jacy Sheldon on returning to OSU
Sheldon returned to help fuel Ohio State’s run to the championship round of the Big Ten Tournament and the Buckeyes’ subsequent march to the Elite Eight. Along the way, Sheldon’s game-winning shot with 1.8 seconds left in a second-round win over North Carolina served as a career highlight. But Sheldon cited the chance to have another fully healthy season among the reasons for her return to college.
CLUTCH @JacySheldon #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Fm3NZ9wuQ7
— Ohio State WBB (@OhioStateWBB) March 20, 2023
Still, Sheldon was pegged as a potential first-round selection in the WNBA draft if she chose to leave school after the season. But Sheldon said she didn’t even reach out for feedback from the league before deciding to stay in Columbus for another year.
“I did not get that far. Before I made any contact with anybody, I wanted to make that decision,” Sheldon said. “And I didn't really want to make it until the end of the season. So I kind of pushed that (back). Once the tournament was over I just started thinking about that and like I said, thinking about the group we had, I wanted to be a part of it one more year.”
Despite losing Mikesell, who led the Buckeyes with an average of 17.2 points per game last season, Shledon’s return lends major credibility to the idea that Ohio State can be just as good – if not better – in 2023-24. Including Sheldon, the Buckeyes return five of their top six scorers from a year ago, with all five of them averaging at least 10 points per game in 2022-23.
That means Ohio State’s nucleus knows exactly what it will take to make a similar postseason run this season, and the extra edge required to go deeper. And Sheldon said that mentality is already rubbing off on Ohio State’s incoming freshmen and three new transfer additions (Celeste Taylor, Taiyier Parks and Kennedy Cambridge).
“I think we do feel (confidence from last season). I think the newcomers are starting to feel it too, which is awesome that it's happening this quick,” Sheldon said. “With the style we play and the personalities we have, I think it's really easy to gel with us and get involved right away and feel kind of in sync with how we play. So I'm excited. I think we got a really good group who's only going to continue to get better. And it hasn't been a problem yet. They're fitting in just right and the confidence is only gonna grow as we continue to learn our offense, learn our defense and everybody gets a little more confidence in what we're doing. I think it's going to end up being really good for us.”
As for specific goals this season, Sheldon kept them all team-oriented and said she hopes to win “as many games as we can.” But in mid-July, Sheldon said the group is mostly focused on coming together as a unit and laying the necessary foundation that will fuel its in-season aspirations.
“We obviously have really high expectations of ourselves now and obviously once we start playing. But I think in the summer, it's about us holding each other accountable,” Sheldon said. “That's something we're really good at. Even in practice, we get on each other and make sure everybody's going as hard as they can every day. So I think making each other accountable is going to be our first goal and we do that pretty well. So just staying steady with that. And then obviously once we get into preseason and Big Ten play, want to win as many games as we can and then obviously we got big goals at the end of the season towards the tournament, too. But we'll take it game-by-game once we get started.”
Despite some new faces in the program, Sheldon said Ohio State isn’t looking to reinvent the wheel in 2023-24. The Buckeyes will continue to play in largely the same way it did this past season, and with some minor tweaks, that might be good enough to take Sheldon and Ohio State exactly where they want to go.
“I think our style of play isn't gonna change that much. It's pretty obvious we like to play fast and we're gonna continue to do that. We're gonna continue to press and continue to get up the floor in transition as much as we can," Sheldon said. "We're adding new pieces, and those pieces are only going to help us I'm excited. We got some new bigs, some new guards and you'll see them out there when we start playing.
“But expectations are gonna stay the same. We still want to play fast and play together and we definitely have high expectations for next year and goals to absolutely get even further.”
