Ohio State women’s basketball season tips-off Monday in the Schottenstein Center against the University of Illinois Chicago.?

The Lantern’s sports senior writer Dylan Buganski had a sit-down interview with head coach Kevin McGuff, days before the Buckeyes’ first game.

McGuff enters his 14th year as Ohio State’s head coach and has led the Buckeyes to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

A few of the topics discussed in the interview consisted of the team’s roster continuity, increased roles for returning players and the team’s nonconference schedule.

Roster continuity impact

Ohio State returns four starters from a season ago, headlined by second-team All-American guard Jaloni Cambridge.

McGuff discussed how the team’s returning pieces has allowed the team to be more connected to start the season than last year.

“I’m hoping the luxury is we are further on to start,” McGuff said, “Last year, we were playing a lot of newcomers and we were a very young team, and so we returned more experience and we are further along than we were last year and hopefully that translates Monday.”

With six of the team’s seven leading scorers returning, the offseason focus was able to shift from gelling as a unit to individualized player development.

“We had everybody here so it was a lot of focus on skill instruction and just getting people better rather than getting the team together and making a lot of progress,” McGuff said.??

Kennedy Cambridge, Elsa Lemmil? expected to have bigger offensive roles

While the Buckeyes return six of their seven leading scorers from last season, they lost Chance Gray, who was drafted in the second round of the 2026 WNBA Draft. Gray led Ohio State in 3-pointers made the last two seasons.

McGuff looks for returning starters, guard Kennedy Cambridge and center Elsa Lemmil?, to be more aggressive on the offensive end this season.

He believes more efficient shooting from Cambridge behind the arc can elevate her offensive game.

“She has a nice shot, she’s just gotta be a little more consistent,” McGuff said, “I think that would go a long way in her being a more impactful player on that end of the floor, and I think she is gonna do that.”

For Lemmil?, McGuff wants to see the junior center more involved in the offense, getting more opportunities in the post as well as on the perimeter.

“We need to get Elsa more involved in two ways, we want her around the basket, she needs more touches, she shoots a high percentage on the offensive end, so we need to get her more opportunities, but we also want to see her more effective on the perimeter at the 3-point line,” McGuff said.

Nonconference slate provides tests before Big Ten play

In November, Ohio State’s nonconference schedule features games against three ranked teams: No. 2 UConn, No. 19 Ole Miss and No. 6 Texas. The Huskies and Longhorns each made the Final Four last season.?

“We want to challenge ourselves against the best, and so we have a chance to do that this year with the schedule we put together,” McGuff said.?

He believes playing those matchups early in the season can help the team ahead of conference play.

“The Big Ten is gonna be as good as it has even been,” McGuff said, “So to prepare for that, we need to play some people that are gonna really challenge us and make us figure out where we need to get better.”