Ohio State will have two players in attendance for Monday’s WNBA draft.
Former Ohio State guards Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor will both be among the 15 players at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Monday to hear their names called in the 2024 WNBA draft.
.@JacySheldon is one of the fifteen players invited to the WNBA Draft in Brooklyn on Monday! pic.twitter.com/EktDR0rad5
— Ohio State Womens Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) April 11, 2024
.@_celeste620 is one of the fifteen players invited to the WNBA Draft in Brooklyn on Monday! pic.twitter.com/ovk91favbp
— Ohio State Womens Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) April 11, 2024
Sheldon and Taylor are expected to become the first pair of players from Ohio State to be selected in the same WNBA draft since 2018, when Kelsey Mitchell and Stephanie Mavunga were both drafted. It would be just the third time Ohio State has had two players selected in the same WNBA draft; Jessica Davenport and Brandie Hoskins became the first pair of Buckeyes to accomplish that feat in 2007.
| Year | Round | Pick | Team | Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 | 13 | Indiana Fever | Taylor Mikesell |
| 2018 | 1 | 2 | Indiana Fever | Kelsey Mitchell |
| 2018 | 2 | 14 | Indiana Fever | Stephanie Mavunga |
| 2017 | 2 | 13 | Connecticut Sun | Shayla Cooper |
| 2016 | 2 | 24 | New York Liberty | Ameryst Alston |
| 2013 | 1 | 4 | Washington Mystics | Tayler Hill |
| 2012 | 1 | 6 | Phoenix Mercury | Samantha Prahalis |
| 2011 | 1 | 5 | Los Angeles Sparks | Jantel Lavender |
| 2008 | 3 | 41 | Phoenix Mercury | Marscilla Packer |
| 2007 | 1 | 2 | San Antonio Silver Stars | Jessica Davenport |
| 2007 | 3 | 33 | Seattle Storm | Brandie Hoskins |
| 2006 | 2 | 28 | Connecticut Sun | Debbie Merrill |
| 2003 | 2 | 13 | Connecticut Sun | Courtney Coleman |
| 2002 | 4 | 55 | Orlando Miracle | Tomeka Brown |
| 2001 | 3 | 41 | Washington Mystics | Jamie Lewis |
| 1999 | Player Allocation | Minnesota Lynx | Katie Smith | |
| 1998 | Expansion Draft | 8 | Cleveland Rockers | Adrienne Johnson |
Sheldon, a second-team AP All-American this past season, is widely projected to be a first-round draft pick. ESPN’s most recent mock draft has Sheldon going sixth to the Washington Mystics, while The Athletic’s most recent mock draft has Sheldon going fifth to the Dallas Wings.
Taylor, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, is projected as a second-round pick by ESPN, who has Taylor going with the 16th overall pick to the Las Vegas Aces.
Sheldon said Thursday that it would be a special experience if she got the opportunity to attend the WNBA draft in person.
“If that's an opportunity I get to experience, that'd be awesome,” Sheldon said. “It's only an opportunity certain few people get to experience, so it'd be really special.”
Taylor, who transferred to Ohio State for her final season of college basketball after previously playing at Duke and Texas, said it’s special to be going through the draft process alongside Sheldon.
“It's definitely very exciting to have somebody that you played with in the last year, and they're experiencing pretty much the same things you are, going through the interview stages, going through that night and all the emotions that we have that come along with it,” Taylor said. “And so, just an exciting time for both of us. And I think we're just trying to lean on each other as much as possible because we are going through the same process.”
Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff will be in Brooklyn with Sheldon and Taylor on Monday and says he’s gotten great feedback from WNBA teams about their ability to play at the highest level.
“I think with Celeste obviously, she's got a reputation as an incredible defender and well-deserved and well-earned. So people are really excited about what she can do at that end of the floor,” McGuff said. “The feedback heading into the season was just a little more consistent offensive production, and I think, as the season got into January and February, you started to see that from her, so I think she really helped herself and hopefully she has a great night on Monday.
“With Jacy, she's been here for a while, so they've really been able to kind of scout her in our system and how we play, and they love the pace that she plays with. The energy. The fact that she can play multiple positions. The fact that she can score off the dribble getting to the rim or from the 3-point line.
“And both Celeste and Jacy, we've gotten great feedback that when they went through their interview process that the people really enjoyed just talking to them and getting to know them.”
Sheldon and Taylor will be joined at the WNBA draft by Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (the presumptive No. 1 overall pick), Stanford’s Cameron Brink, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson, LSU’s Angel Reese, Mississippi’s Marquesha Davis, Connecticut’s Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl, Syracuse’s Dyaisha Fair, Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley, UCLA’s Charisma Osborne, Utah’s Alissa Pili and Nyadiew Puoch, an international player from Australia.
The 2024 WNBA draft begins at 7:30 p.m. Monday and will be televised on ESPN.
