Ohio State women’s basketball is losing one of its biggest stars.
Two-time All-Big Ten forward Cotie McMahon, the Buckeyes’ leading scorer this past season, entered the transfer portal on Wednesday for her final season of collegiate eligibility.
McMahon, a Centerville, Ohio native, leaves the Buckeyes after three seasons as one of their best players. Across her three seasons as a Buckeye, McMahon averaged 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, earning first-team All-Big Ten and honorable mention AP All-American honors for each of the past two seasons after winning the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award in 2023. She led the Buckeyes with 16.5 points per game for the 2024-25 season.
Her departure comes after Ohio State suffered a second-round NCAA Tournament exit for the second year in a row, after which McMahon said she was “very frustrated” with the team’s finish to the season.
With McMahon’s exit, Ohio State will now have to replace all three of its starters in the frontcourt from this past season, as Ajae Petty and Taylor Thierry were both seniors.
Sophomore center Elsa Lemmilä is the Buckeyes’ only returning frontcourt player who saw playing time this past season, so McMahon’s departure will likely necessitate multiple transfer additions at forward. The only other returning frontcourt players are redshirt freshman forwards Ella Hobbs and Seini Henry, both of whom redshirted this past season. Redshirt sophomore center Faith Carson, who also redshirted this past season, entered the transfer portal on Monday.
