Ohio State women’s basketball added the program’s third commitment of June on Tuesday, earning a verbal pledge from Finnish center Elsa Lemmilä.
Lemmilä, a 6-6 prospect, holds dual Finnish and United States citizenship. She plays for Tapiolan Honka, a basketball club in Espoo, Finland, and she averaged 15.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 blocks in 27.9 minutes per game last season while shooting 54.7 percent from the field. She appeared in 27 games with 16 double-doubles, and had a double-double in 10 of her final 11 games of the season.
She also played with Finland in the U18 European Championship last year, averaging 12.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks across six games, with Finland going 3-3 at the event.
Center has been a position of trouble in some recent years for Ohio State, with a lack of consistent playmakers at that spot since Dorka Juhasz transferred to UConn. But the Buckeyes and head coach Kevin McGuff are looking to bolster that spot with the addition of incoming freshman Faith Carson (6-4) as well as the transfer addition of Taiyier Parks (6-3) from Michigan State.
At 6-6, Lemmilä is expected to be the tallest player on Ohio State’s roster since center Lisa Blair, also standing at 6-6, played for the Buckeyes from 2012-15 before transferring to Kansas.
Lemmilä is the third commitment in recent weeks for Ohio State, joining Concord (N.C.) Jay M. Robinson forward/center Ella Hobbs (6-4) and Buford, Ga., guard Ava Watson (5-8). The Buckeyes also have a commitment in the class from Cincinnati West Clermont forward Seini Hicks.
