March Madness connections: Which central Ohio players are in 2024 women's NCAA Tournament?
March Madness has arrived.
The 2024 NCAA women's basketball tournament will begin with the First Four games March 20-21 and culminate with the Final Four in Cleveland April 5. The NCAA championship game will also be held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse April 7.
Ohio State will play in the NCAA Tournament as a two-seed and host No. 15 Maine in the first round. But there are plenty of other Central Ohio connections in the 2024 NCAA tournament.
Here's which players have Columbus ties heading into the tournament.
Charia Smith: Marquette sophomore forward
Before joining Marquette, Charia Smith was a heralded high school basketball player at Westerville North and Northland High School.
She earned All-Ohio Division I second-team honors as a senior at Northland by averaging 20.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. In three seasons at Westerville North, Smith was an all-OCC forward.
Smith played in 17 games for the Golden Eagles as a true freshman and scored 18 rebounds and six points overall. However, Smith has not had an appearance in 2023-24.
No. 10 Marquette will take on No. 7 Ole Miss in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Madison Greene: Vanderbilt freshman guard
Madison Greene was one of the most successful Ohio high school basketball players in 2023.
Greene helped lead Pickerington Central to the state tournament and earned Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Division I player of the Year honors by averaging 1.2 points, 3.2 steals and 2.1 assists per game.
As a freshman at Vanderbilt, Green averaged 6.9 points and 1.4 steals in 19.8 minutes per game. But her season ended prematurely with a knee injury during the Commodores' 72-50 win against Lipscomb Dec. 17.
No. 12 Vanderbilt will take on No. 12 Columbia in the First Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Sakima Walker: South Carolina senior center
A former Africentric first-team All-State center is on the roster for the team many consider to be the favorite to win the 2024 NCAA national championship: South Carolina.
Sakima Walker signed and played two seasons at Rutgers after leading Africentric to back-to-back Division III state titles. After playing sparingly for the Scarlet Knights, Walker transferred to Northwest Florida State and led the Raiders to a 2023 NJCAA National Championship. Walker was also named NJCAA D1 Player of the Year by averaging 16.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Transferring to the Gamecocks for 2023-24, Walker has appeared in 28 games, but has averaged 7.7 minutes per appearance. Walker is shooting 51.2% from the field and averaging two points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.4 blocks per game.
No. 1 South Carolina will take on either Sacred Heart or Presbyterian — both No. 16 seeds — in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Alexia Mobley: Louisville redshirt sophomore forward
Alexia Mobley arrived at Louisville as an accomplished Ohio high school basketball player.
In three high school seasons at Reynoldsburg and at Whitehall-Yearling, Mobley reached 1,000 career rebounds and averaged a double-double in each season. Mobley graduated from high school one season early to join the Cardinals.
After seven appearances for Louisville in 2022-23, Mobley is averaging 5.3 minutes off the bench in 23 appearances with 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
No. 6 Louisville will take on No. 11 Middle Tennessee State in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Madison Greene: Ohio State redshirt senior guard
After spending the majority of the 2020-21 and 2021-22 sidelined with multiple knee injuries, Madison Greene returned to the Ohio State bench in 2023-24.
Averaging 12.7 minutes in 22 appearances, Greene, a former honorable mention All-Big Ten honoree, is averaging 2.8 points, 1.6 assists and a steal per game.
Before Ohio State, Greene recorded more than 1,000 points and 400 assists at Pickerington Central High School, earning first-team All-State honors as a junior and senior, while also being a four-time first-team All-District and All-Conference player.
No. 2 Ohio State will take on No. 15 Maine in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Jacy Sheldon: Ohio State redshirt senior guard
Jacy Sheldon is in the middle of one of her best seasons in an Ohio State uniform
The fifth-year senior is averaging a team-high 18 points per game and is one of two players, along with Taylor Thierry, to have a 50% shooting percentage or higher.
The unanimous All-Big Ten first-team honoree was a three-time Ohio Ms. Basketball finalist and three-time first-team All-Ohio honoree at Dublin Coffman High School. She finished her career with the most points, steals, assists, 3-pointers and field goals in Rocks history.
No. 2 Ohio State will take on No. 15 Maine in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Emma Shumate: Ohio State redshirt sophomore forward
In her sophomore season with Ohio State, Emma Shumate remains on the Buckeyes' bench.
The former Newark High School star is averaging four points, one rebound and 0.3 assists in 9.5 minutes per game. In 2022-23 Shumate led the team with 27 blocks as a 6-foot-1 guard despite playing in 11.2 minutes per game.
Shumate led Newark to a runner-up finish in the 2021 OHSAA Division I Championships.
No. 2 Ohio State will take on No. 15 Maine in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Katie Shumate: Kent State redshirt senior guard
Emma Shumate is not the only Shumate sister in the NCAA Tournament.
Katie Shumate, a former two-time All-Ohio first-team honoree at Newark High School, will play in the NCAA Tournament with Kent State.
Katie Shumate, who had 1,000 career points for the Golden Flashes and was a third-team All-MAC guard in 2023, is averaging a cageer high 15 points and 7.6 rebounds ain her fifth season.
No. 15 Kent State will face No. 2 Notre Dame in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Uju Ezeudu: Florida Gulf Coast redshirt senior forward
In her fifth season of college basketball, Reynoldsburg native Uju Ezeudu will play in her first NCAA tournament.
Ezeudu transferred to Florida Gulf Coast after three years as a starter at the University of Denver. After coming off the bench for the Eagles in 2022-23, Ezeudu started 30 games as a redshirt senior and averaged 13.6 pointd and 7.6 rebounds per game.
Ezeudu was a two-time All-Ohio player at Reynoldsburg High School where she recorded more than 1,000 points and 800 rebounds in her career.
No. 12 FGCU will take on No. 5 Oklahoma in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Nevaeh Tot: Oklahoma senior guard
Nevaeh Tot is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament.
In four years at Oklahoma, Tot, a Columbus native, has played in four NCAA Tournament games and has averaged 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 39.2% from the field.
In 2023-24, Tot has averaged 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 31 starts.
No. 5 Oklahoma will face No. 12 FGCU in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Aarionna Redman: Marshall junior forward
Before playing at Marshall, Aarionna Redman helped Pickerington Central to a state title and two state runner-up finishes, and was named an honorable mention member of the Division I All-Central District team.
Since joining the Thundering Herd, Redman has averaged 11.2 minutes per game in 81 appearances across three seasons, averaging 2.2 points and two rebounds per game.
No. 13 Marshall will face No. 4 Virginia Tech in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Jocelyn Tate: Michigan State junior guard/forward
After two seasons at Bowling Green, Jocelyn Tate will play in her first NCAA Tournament in her first season at Michigan State.
The former Pickerington Central guard/forward started 30 games for the Spartans in 2023-24 and averaged 7.1 points and 4.3 rebounds along with at least one steak per game.
Tate helped the Tigers win a state championship in 2018. Tate's brother, Jae'Sean Tate, played basketball at Oho State.
No. 9 Michigan State will take on No. 8 North Carolina in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Nicole Stephens: Columbia senior guard
Nicole Stephens, a two-time All-Ohio Capitol Conference selection for Pickerington Central, has been a key part of Columbia's bench in 2023-24.
After playing in 31 games in two seasons for the Lions, Stephens has averaged 19.4 minutes off the bench this season and has averaged 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
No. 12 Columbus will face No. 12 Vanderbilt in the First Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio connections to 2024 women's NCAA Tournament, March Madness
