Ohio State comes to Connecticut for UConn's season opener

[Carnac]

After Vanguard University (CA) visits Gampel for an exhibition opener on Nov 4, Ohio State (28-7 last year) will come to Connecticut on Nov. 11 to take on UConn, looking for revenge from the first two games which the Buckeyes lost decisively in 2015 and 2016. This will be the third game of the season for the Buckeyes, as they open their season at home with an exhibition game against IUP on Oct 28, then games against USF on Nov 6 and Detroit Mercy on Nov 9.

Ohio State will feature a new-look roster this season after the team graduated its top-six scorers and all five starters, three of which are currently playing in the WNBA.

The Buckeyes will lean heavily on returning contributors Makayla Waterman and Jensen Caretti, but brought in nine new players, including five graduate transfers, as reinforcements.

The graduate transfers are Najah Queenland from Pacific and Carly Santoro from Bowling Green, Adreana Miller from LaSalle, Ashanti Abshaw from Cleveland State, and Carmen Grande from Ball State.

The freshman class is the largest the team has signed since 2014. It features two international players – four-star post player Dorka Juhasz from Hungary and four-star forward Aixa Wone of Spain – as well as four-star guard Jannai Crooms and three-star forward Aaliyah Patty.

Head coach Kevin McGuff landed a gem of a prospect this year when he secured a commitment from five-star 6-1 guard Kierstan Bell, the No. 5 player in the country. Bell, out of Canton's McKinley high school, is the nation's 3rd ranked guard behind Jordan Horston (Tennessee) and Ashley Owusu (Maryland) in the 2019 class (Hoopgirlz).

She is one of the most decorated players in the country entering her senior season. Bell has already been named named the Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year and the Division I Co-Player of the Year in 2018, the AP Division I Ohio Player of the Year in 2017, and has been named AP 1st-team All-Ohio every season.

Note - Katie Lou’s older sister Karlie begins her second season as an assistant coach with Vanguard.
This just in - Tennessee forward Lou Brown tears ACL in preseason practice - is out indefinitely.

 

[CBus13]

Not that this will tip the scales in anyway, but Aixa Wone of Spain has not yet reported to OSU and I believe stayed in Spain and signed with one of FC Barcelona’s teams as an amateur in September but could come to Ohio State at a later date.

 

[EricLA]

This should be an epic beatdown. Kudos to McGuff for recruiting what seems to be a terrific class of 2019, however.

Question... Why didn't McGuff get a better haul in 2018? They lost a ton so there would have been plenty of PT up for grabs, and if anyone had an issue with Mitchell (and her father - the assistant coach), both are gone and it's likely kids being recruited from the 2018 class would have known that (about the dad).

So far in 2019 they have #6 Bell, #24 Harris, and #39 Satterfield. They are also in the hunt for several other top players.

 

[CBus13]

This should be an epic beatdown. Kudos to McGuff for recruiting what seems to be a terrific class of 2019, however.

Question... Why didn't McGuff get a better haul in 2018? They lost a ton so there would have been plenty of PT up for grabs, and if anyone had an issue with Mitchell (and her father - the assistant coach), both are gone and it's likely kids being recruited from the 2018 class would have known that (about the dad).

So far in 2019 they have #6 Bell, #24 Harris, and #39 Satterfield. They are also in the hunt for several other top players.

The 2018 haul question is a tough one to answer. I know they had a few recruits on campus who chose elsewhere. Emily Engstler, who chose to stay close to home at Syracuse (where former OSU player Kiara Lewis transferred to). They also had Nalyssa Smith and Honesty Scott-Grayson on campus. But they chose Baylor. OSU was also in on Valencia Myers (now at Florida State) but there are rumors that there was a break in communications during recruitment and many felt OSU was out of the running but then I heard rumblings that she was on campus for a visit (around the same time Kurt Miller of the Connecticut Sun was on campus) prior to her announcement. I don't know if Taylor Mikesell (Maryland) or Abby Prohaska (Notre Dame) ever had interest in OSU. I feel that Naz Hillmon (Michigan) was never interested in OSU and was from a UMich family of fandom.

I think the complete whiff in 2017 hurt the recruiting for 2018 more than other things. They couldn't convince any players to come play alongside Mitchell and Co for their final season and the transfers of McCoy and Lewis maybe hurt reputation of things more so.

I think I remember reading something from McGuff about how players wanted playing time but they wanted to know who they'd be playing with. So when they'd come on visits they wouldn't really meet many players who would for sure be on the team when they arrived. So the recruits didn't get a vibe of team chemistry when they'd come visit.

Not sure this answers your question, but it just seems other schools had more to offer than Ohio State at that time. OSU may have been more so focused (an assumption) on the 2019 class with it being so Ohio talent heavy. I'd hope this isn't the case and that they overlooked an entire class but we may never know.

 

[Reypl21]

The 2018 haul question is a tough one to answer. I know they had a few recruits on campus who chose elsewhere. Emily Engstler, who chose to stay close to home at Syracuse (where former OSU player Kiara Lewis transferred to). They also had Nalyssa Smith and Honesty Scott-Grayson on campus. But they chose Baylor. OSU was also in on Valencia Myers (now at Florida State) but there are rumors that there was a break in communications during recruitment and many felt OSU was out of the running but then I heard rumblings that she was on campus for a visit (around the same time Kurt Miller of the Connecticut Sun was on campus) prior to her announcement. I don't know if Taylor Mikesell (Maryland) or Abby Prohaska (Notre Dame) ever had interest in OSU. I feel that Naz Hillmon (Michigan) was never interested in OSU and was from a UMich family of fandom.

I think the complete whiff in 2017 hurt the recruiting for 2018 more than other things. They couldn't convince any players to come play alongside Mitchell and Co for their final season and the transfers of McCoy and Lewis maybe hurt reputation of things more so.

I think I remember reading something from McGuff about how players wanted playing time but they wanted to know who they'd be playing with. So when they'd come on visits they wouldn't really meet many players who would for sure be on the team when they arrived. So the recruits didn't get a vibe of team chemistry when they'd come visit.

Not sure this answers your question, but it just seems other schools had more to offer than Ohio State at that time. OSU may have been more so focused (an assumption) on the 2019 class with it being so Ohio talent heavy. I'd hope this isn't the case and that they overlooked an entire class but we may never know.

I thought that Rellah Boothe was for sure going to OSU. I guess they dodged a bullet

 

[CBus13]

I thought that Rellah Boothe was for sure going to OSU. I guess they dodged a bullet

I forgot about her. I do remember her coming to campus late in her recruitment and assumed the same as you since they had nothing but playing time to offer. But guess things worked out the way they were supposed to.

 

[Bretski]

This just in - Tennessee forward Lou Brown tears ACL in preseason practice - is out indefinitely.

Awww, she was a grad transfer. Pretty much ends her career outside of a waiver. The season didn’t even start yet and we’re already playing the ACL game.