2026-27 Women's Basketball Roster
Jersey Number 12
Elsa Lemmilä
- Height:
- 6-6
- Year:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Espoo, Finland
- High School:
- Tapiolan Honka Club
Pronunciation
Career Honors at Ohio State
Q: What was it like getting to play for the Finnish national team this summer? What did you learn about yourself/your game?
A: I've played for the Finnish national team before, but I would say that this time, since we were missing a lot of players, older players, that I had a much bigger role, which is different than the times I played before. Obviously everybody wants that role, and it was a lot of fun to have my coaches trust in me like that. I had a lot of fun this summer.
Q: Why environmental engineering? What do you hope to do with your degree after you’re done playing basketball?
A: It really depends whether I choose to play basketball after college or not. That's still open for me, but I've kind of always just wanted to do something with the environment, and I chose engineering just because math and science is something I've always been pretty good at.
Q: What is something you like to do outside of basketball?
A: I love to read. I've read my whole life, but now I've been really busy, coming to college, obviously, so I don't get as much time as I would like. But I do love to read.
Career Honors at Ohio State
- 2026 Big Ten All-Defensive Team (media)
- CSC Academic All-District (2026)
- OSU Scholar Athlete (2025, 2026)
- Academic All-Big Ten (2026)
- Career program rankings following the 2025-26 season: seventh in blocks (137)
- Single season program rankings for the 2025-26 season: eighth in blocks (77)
- Played in 34 games this season, making 26 starts
- Averaged 9.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 2.2 assists and nearly a steal in 26.4 minutes per game, leading the team in rebounding and blocks
- Her 77 blocks this season ranks eighth in program history
- Led the team with 10 double-figure rebounding efforts and six double-doubles (all double-doubles coming against conference opponents)
- Was third on the team with 15 double-figure scoring efforts this season
- Recorded a pair of 20-point performances – 21 against Penn State (1/14) and a career-high 23 at Oregon (2/8)
- Totaled a career-high 15 rebounds against Michigan (2/25)
- Tallied a career-high six assists against UCLA (3/7)
- Recorded a career-high six blocks against TCU (1/19)
- NCAA rankings: tied 10th in blocks (77), 11th in blocks per game (2.3)
- Big Ten rankings: first in blocks per game (2.3), tied eighth in rebound per game (7.5), 10th in defensive rebounds per game (5.2), 15th in offensive rebounds per game (2.3)
- Played in 32 games
- Averaged 4.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 0.8 assists and 0.7 steals per game in 15.3 minutes per game
- Led the team with 60 blocks, ranking fourth in the Big Ten with 1.9 blocks per game
- Ranked third on the team in rebounding (4.8 rpg), third in field goal percentage (.505)
- Recorded a double-double with a career-high 21 points and a career-high 14 rebounds at Ohio (11/20)
- Scored in double figures three times this season – 21 at Ohio (11/20), 11 against Utah State (11/29), 11 against Northwestern (1/5)
- Recorded a career-high five blocks twice – at Ohio (11/20) and against Michigan State (2/26)
- Made her first collegiate three-pointer against Purdue (2/23)
- Tallied a career-high four assists against Iowa (2/17)
- Recorded a career-high three steals against Washington (2/2)
- Had a block in 25 games this season and five or more rebounds in 16 games this season
- Played club ball for Tapiolan Honka in Espoo, Finland
- Averaged 15.8 points, 10 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 blocks in 27.9 minutes per game last season while shooting 54.7 percent from the field
- Appeared in 27 games with 16 double-doubles and had a double-double in 10 of her final 11 games of the season in 2023-24
- Played with Finland in the U18 European Championship, averaging 12.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks across six games in 2023
- Led the league in blocks, averaging 2.44 blocks per game, in 2022-23
- Named as Rookie of the Year in 2021-22
- Was the league’s blocks leader, averaging 2.91 blocks per game, in 2021-22
- Has an older sister, Stella
- Daughter of Jocelyn and Jari Lemmilä
- Majoring in environmental engineering
Q: What was it like getting to play for the Finnish national team this summer? What did you learn about yourself/your game?
A: I've played for the Finnish national team before, but I would say that this time, since we were missing a lot of players, older players, that I had a much bigger role, which is different than the times I played before. Obviously everybody wants that role, and it was a lot of fun to have my coaches trust in me like that. I had a lot of fun this summer.
Q: Why environmental engineering? What do you hope to do with your degree after you’re done playing basketball?
A: It really depends whether I choose to play basketball after college or not. That's still open for me, but I've kind of always just wanted to do something with the environment, and I chose engineering just because math and science is something I've always been pretty good at.
Q: What is something you like to do outside of basketball?
A: I love to read. I've read my whole life, but now I've been really busy, coming to college, obviously, so I don't get as much time as I would like. But I do love to read.
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