Jaloni Cambridge was expected to be one of the nation’s best freshmen this season, and she’s lived up to the hype.
The Ohio State point guard was named Tuesday as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the media voting panel after averaging 16 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game during the regular season.
WHAT A YEAR FOR THE FRESHMAN.
— Ohio State Womens Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) March 4, 2025
Unanimous All B1G First Team Selection (Coaches) & All B1G Second Team Selection (Media)
Unanimous All B1G Freshman Team Selection (Coaches) & All B1G Freshman Team Selection (Media)#DevelopedHere | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Nlskup8Pju
The No. 2 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, Cambridge immediately started living up to the hype when she scored 31 points in her first game as a Buckeye. She’s continued to be a consistent star for the Buckeyes throughout the season, ranking 11th in the Big Ten in points and assists per game, leading Ohio State in the latter category, as well as fourth in the conference in steals.
Cambridge becomes Ohio State’s 11th winner of the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award, giving Ohio State five more winners of the award than any other school in the conference. She’s the second winner of the award from Ohio State in the last three years, joining Cotie McMahon, who won the award in 2023.
Speaking of McMahon, she was also honored by the Big Ten on Tuesday as she received first-team All-Big Ten honors on both the coaches and media ballots. McMahon earns first-team All-Big Ten honors for the second year in a row after averaging 16.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game during the regular season.
Cambridge earned first-team All-Big Ten honors on the coaches’ ballot and second-team All-Big Ten honors from the media.
1st-teamers #B1GWBBall x #B1GToday pic.twitter.com/1mKi9UTVap
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 4, 2025
Taylor Thierry, who ranks second in the Big Ten with 2.4 steals per game, was named to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team and was also an All-Big Ten honorable mention.
Cambridge, McMahon and Thierry led Ohio State to a 24-5 regular-season record and the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. They’ll now strive to lead the Buckeyes to a conference tournament crown, starting Friday in the quarterfinals, where Ohio State will play either No. 6 seed Michigan State, No. 11 seed Iowa or No. 14 seed Wisconsin at 9 p.m. Friday. Big Ten Network will televise the game from Indianapolis.
