Former Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Dallas Wings in the 2024 WNBA Draft on Monday in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“I’m really excited, esepcially the love for the game we all share,” Sheldon said on ESPN following her selection. “I think it’s going to be really fun to compete out there and just push each other to be better.”
Sheldon recently completed her fifth season at Ohio State, finishing as one of the program’s all-time greats after totaling 2,024 points (sixth in program history), 434 rebounds, 399 assists (11th) and 250 steals (sixth) on 49.1 percent shooting. She appeared in 130 games (tied for 10th-most) with 118 starts, and started every game for the Buckeyes in 2020-21, 2021-22 and this past season.
She arrived at Ohio State as a five-star prospect out of Dublin, Ohio, and made an immediate impact, appearing in all 33 games and making 24 starts as a freshman before the campaign was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She stepped into the full-time starting role the next season as shooting guard, starting all 20 games and averaging 16.7 points. But Sheldon had arguably her best season as a junior, averaging a career-high 19.7 points per game along with 4.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds on 50.4 percent shooting, starting all 32 games.
She was primed for a strong senior season but she appeared in just 13 games after suffering a leg injury and missing most of the year. She did return late in the campaign, however, averaging 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists in four NCAA tournament games as she led the Buckeyes to their first appearance in the Elite Eight since 1993. She could have departed for the WNBA after an outstanding four years with the Buckeyes, but she opted to return for a fifth season and bolstered her draft stock, averaging 17.8 points, 3.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds on 50.5 percent shooting.
This is the second consecutive draft where a Buckeye was taken, as former Ohio State guard Taylor Mikesell was selected No. 13 overall in last year’s draft by the Indiana Fever, though she has since been with multiple teams and is not currently signed. Sheldon becomes the 17th draftee for Ohio State dating back to 1998, and is the sixth to go in the first round.
Sheldon’s top-five selection had her among talent such as former Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, who was selected No. 1 by the Indiana Fever and former Stanford center Cameron Brink, who was taken No. 2 by the Los Angeles Sparks; former South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso, taken third by the Chicago Sky; and former Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson, taken fourth by the Sparks.
The Dallas Wings are coming off a 22-18 season and an appearance in the second round of the WNBA playoffs. With several guards on the Wings’ roster already – including former Northwestern guard Veronica Burton, former UConn guard Crystal Dangerfield and former Notre Dame guard Arike Ogunbowale, among others – Sheldon will have a tall task ahead herself attempting to make the Wings’ roster, but she is up for the challenge as she begins the next stage of her career.
“It’s the hardest professional roster to make with just a couple of roster spots and a couple of teams,” Sheldon said last week. “But I think for me just staying confident and going in and being ready to learn and listen. I’m a rookie going in with a bunch of veterans.”
The WNBA’s season begins on May 14, and the Wings will begin their season the following day by hosting the Chicago Sky at 8 p.m.
