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Jacy Sheldon and Katie Smith join the Ohio State women’s basketball staff

Vaseline November 11, 2024

Ohio State women’s basketball has announced that former Buckeyes Katie Smith and Jacy Sheldon will join the staff, effective immediately.

Smith, the former head coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, has been named Kevin McGuff’s fourth assistant. Sheldon is the team’s director of player development, described as playing “a critical role in enhancing student-athlete growth both on and off the field.”

“I am extremely excited to add both Jacy and Katie to the staff,” McGuff said in a statement. “As former Buckeyes, they both possess a passion for this program, which will help us continue to compete at the highest level of women’s basketball.”

After completing her fifth and final season at Ohio State, Sheldon was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft to the Dallas Wings. With the Wings, Sheldon averaged 5.4 points over 40 games.

In the nearly three decades since graduating from Ohio State in 1996, Smith has amassed a lengthy resume, starting with Columbus Quest of the former American Basketball League. Smith also represented the United States at three Olympic Games.

A two-time WNBA champion as a player, Smith has coached with the Liberty and the Detroit Shock and most recently was an assistant with the Minnesota Lynx, who reached the WNBA finals this season.

This is Smith’s first collegiate coaching job.

“I am both excited and grateful to return to my alma mater,” Smith said in a statement. “Ohio State and its women’s basketball program played such a vital role in my journey and I am honored to have the opportunity to give back to the program that shaped me.”

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