Photo by: Ohio State Athletics
Jaloni Cambridge Honored with Dawn Staley Award
4/3/2026 12:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Cambridge is the second player in program history to receive this award.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State sophomore guard Jaloni Cambridge was named the 2026 winner of the Dawn Staley Award on Friday, as announced by the Phoenix Club of Philadelphia. J. Cambridge is the second Buckeye to ever receive this honor, joining Kelsey Mitchell (2018).
The Dawn Staley Award is given to the best guard in women's college basketball who exemplifies the skills that Dawn possessed throughout her career – ball handling, scoring, her ability to distribute the basketball and her will to win. J. Cambridge will be honored through a private virtual ceremony on Thursday, April 9.
This season, J. Cambridge has earned All-American honors from the Associated Press (second team), The Athletic (second team), ESPN (second team), The Sporting News (third team) and USA Today (honorable mention). She was also named to the WBCA Coaches' All-America Team.
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J. Cambridge was named to the preseason watch lists for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award and earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team prior to the season. She was also named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List, the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 List, the Naismith Trophy Late Season Team and is on the national ballot for the Wooden Award. She was a unanimous selection by both the Big Ten head coaches and media for All-Big Ten First Team and was named one of five finalists for the Dawn Staley Award. Cambridge was named AP Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week on Jan. 12 and has twice been tabbed one of the five USBWA Women's Players of the Week (Jan. 13, Feb. 10). She has earned a spot on the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll seven times this season. She was also crowned the MVP of the Pink Flamingo Championship and headlined the all-tournament team for the event.
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J. Cambridge scored in double figures in each of the Buckeyes' 35 games this season and became the 40th player in program history to score 1,000 career points on Feb. 8 at Oregon. In January, Cambridge became the first Buckeye since Kelsey Mitchell nearly a decade ago to score 25 or more points in three consecutive games before going on to do it a second time, scoring 26, 29, 30 and 26 points during consecutive games between Jan. 25 and Feb. 5. In the Buckeyes' season finale, J. Cambridge became the second Buckeye in program history to score 800 points in a season, joining only Mitchell on that list. Among single season program records, she ranks fourth in points (813) and third in field goals made (305). J. Cambridge wrapped up the regular season as the Big Ten scoring champion – both overall (23.4 ppg) and in conference play (26.4 ppg).
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For ticketing information and any questions, please contact the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office by calling 1-(800)-GO-BUCKS or by emailing athletic.tix@osu.edu. Representatives are available via phone Monday through Friday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. ET. Â
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The Dawn Staley Award is given to the best guard in women's college basketball who exemplifies the skills that Dawn possessed throughout her career – ball handling, scoring, her ability to distribute the basketball and her will to win. J. Cambridge will be honored through a private virtual ceremony on Thursday, April 9.
This season, J. Cambridge has earned All-American honors from the Associated Press (second team), The Athletic (second team), ESPN (second team), The Sporting News (third team) and USA Today (honorable mention). She was also named to the WBCA Coaches' All-America Team.
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J. Cambridge was named to the preseason watch lists for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award and earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team prior to the season. She was also named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List, the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 List, the Naismith Trophy Late Season Team and is on the national ballot for the Wooden Award. She was a unanimous selection by both the Big Ten head coaches and media for All-Big Ten First Team and was named one of five finalists for the Dawn Staley Award. Cambridge was named AP Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week on Jan. 12 and has twice been tabbed one of the five USBWA Women's Players of the Week (Jan. 13, Feb. 10). She has earned a spot on the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll seven times this season. She was also crowned the MVP of the Pink Flamingo Championship and headlined the all-tournament team for the event.
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J. Cambridge scored in double figures in each of the Buckeyes' 35 games this season and became the 40th player in program history to score 1,000 career points on Feb. 8 at Oregon. In January, Cambridge became the first Buckeye since Kelsey Mitchell nearly a decade ago to score 25 or more points in three consecutive games before going on to do it a second time, scoring 26, 29, 30 and 26 points during consecutive games between Jan. 25 and Feb. 5. In the Buckeyes' season finale, J. Cambridge became the second Buckeye in program history to score 800 points in a season, joining only Mitchell on that list. Among single season program records, she ranks fourth in points (813) and third in field goals made (305). J. Cambridge wrapped up the regular season as the Big Ten scoring champion – both overall (23.4 ppg) and in conference play (26.4 ppg).
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For ticketing information and any questions, please contact the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office by calling 1-(800)-GO-BUCKS or by emailing athletic.tix@osu.edu. Representatives are available via phone Monday through Friday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. ET. Â
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