2026-27 Women's Basketball Roster
Jersey Number 5
Ava Watson
- Height:
- 5-8
- Year:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Buford, Ga.
- High School:
- Buford H.S.
Pronunciation
Career Honors at Ohio State
Q: As an upperclassman this year, how do you feel like you’ve taken on more of a leadership role within the team?
A: Yeah, I would definitely say communication and having a voice more on the team – encouraging and helping the younger ones get used to everything and be comfortable.
Q: Does the jersey No. 5 mean anything to you?
A: It doesn’t, but I’ve just had it ever since I started playing so I can’t switch it up now.
Q: What is something you enjoy outside of basketball?
A: I enjoy going out and taking pictures. I also have two dogs, so staying at home with them. I have two French bulldogs. One is a year and five months, probably not even that, and then I just got a new puppy – she was born in July, so she’s very young, not even one yet. The oldest is a boy, his name is Sully and then the youngest one is Nala. We went with the whole Disney character themes because Sully kind of looks like the monster from Monsters Inc. and then the girl, she looks like Nala from The Lion King.
Career Honors at Ohio State
- Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Feb. 17, 2025)
- Academic All-Big Ten (2026)
- OSU Scholar Athlete (2026)
- Owns 99 career steals following the 2025-26 season
- Played in all 35 games this season, making 16 starts
- Averaged 7.2 points, 2.3 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game this season, ranking second on the team in steals
- Scored in double figures 10 times this season
- Recorded a career-high 10 assists against Niagara (11/30), adding 15 points for her first collegiate double-double
- Tallied a career-high six rebounds on four occasions
- Matched her career-high seven field goals made against Niagara (11/30)
- Big Ten rankings: tied sixth in steals per game (2.0)
- Played in 25 games
- Averaged 5.3 points, 1.2 steals, 0.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game in 13.7 minutes per game
- Led the team off the bench with 5.3 points per game, ranked third on the team with 29 three-pointers made
- Had a career-high 20 points against Bowling Green (11/24), also making a career-high seven field goals and six triples (6-of-10 from long range)
- Scored in double figures in six games – 10 at Ohio (11/20), 20 against Bowling Green (11/24), 15 against Ball State (12/10), 11 against Stanford (12/20), 15 against Northwestern (1/5) and 16 against Minnesota (2/13)
- Shot 4-of-4 from behind the arc against Minnesota (2/13)
- Pulled down a career-high five rebounds against Utah State (11/29)
- Recorded a career-high four steals on three occasions – against Old Dominion (11/28), Utah State (11/29) and Northwestern (1/5)
- Had a career-high three assists against Grand Valley State (12/17)
- Played high school ball for Buford High School in Buford, Georgia
- Played club ball for FBC United in 2018-24
- Ranked No. 43 overall in the nation in the Class of 2024 by ESPN.com
- Earned the title of Girls Under Armour Association Champion three times
- Scored a total of 2,000 points across three seasons
- Averaged 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 4.3 steals in 2023-24
- Named to the MaxPreps All-American team as an honorable mention in 2023-24
- Daughter of Chezley Watson, who played basketball, football and baseball at the University of Virginia, and Julia Watson
- Has two older siblings, Chase and Chandler, and one younger brother, Tank
Q: As an upperclassman this year, how do you feel like you’ve taken on more of a leadership role within the team?
A: Yeah, I would definitely say communication and having a voice more on the team – encouraging and helping the younger ones get used to everything and be comfortable.
Q: Does the jersey No. 5 mean anything to you?
A: It doesn’t, but I’ve just had it ever since I started playing so I can’t switch it up now.
Q: What is something you enjoy outside of basketball?
A: I enjoy going out and taking pictures. I also have two dogs, so staying at home with them. I have two French bulldogs. One is a year and five months, probably not even that, and then I just got a new puppy – she was born in July, so she’s very young, not even one yet. The oldest is a boy, his name is Sully and then the youngest one is Nala. We went with the whole Disney character themes because Sully kind of looks like the monster from Monsters Inc. and then the girl, she looks like Nala from The Lion King.
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