Jaloni Cambridge (born November 19, 2005) is an American college basketball player for the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference. She attended Montverde Academy and was a five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2024 class.
| No. 22 – Ohio State Buckeyes | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Guard | ||||||||||||||
| League | Big Ten Conference | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | November 19, 2005 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school |
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| College | Ohio State (2024–present) | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Early life and high school career
editCambridge began her high school career at The Ensworth School in Nashville, Tennessee. She started on the high school varsity team as an eighth grader.[1] During her sophomore year she averaged 17.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 3.1 assists per game. She was named the Division II-AA state tournament MVP after leading the Lady Tigers to the 2022 TSSAA state championship.[2] During her junior year she averaged 26.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.3 steals and 3.8 assists per game in 30 games, and led the Lady Tigers to the Division II-AA state championship game for the second consecutive year. She scored a career-high 41 points in the state championship game, however Ensworth lost the game 59–64.[3] Following the season she was named Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year.[4]
She was named a three-time Division II-AA Tennessee Miss Basketball winner and a three-time Tennessean Girls Basketball Player of the Year.[5] On June 30, 2023, she transferred to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida.[6] During her senior year, she averaged 20.7 points, 9.0 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 steals per game. During the semifinals of the 2024 Chipotle High School Nationals championship against No. 1 ranked Long Island Lutheran she had a game-high 33 points, and scored the game-winning buzzer-beating shot.[7] During the championship game against IMG Academy she scored 17 points to help Montverde Academy win their third consecutive Chipotle Nationals championship.[8] Following the season she was named Florida Gatorade Player of the Year, and the MaxPreps National Basketball Player of the Year.[9] [10] She was also named a finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year and Naismith High School Player of the Year awards.[11][12] She was named to the 2024 McDonald's All-American Girls Game.[13]
Recruiting
editCambridge was considered a five-star recruit and was the number-three ranked basketball player in the class of 2024 by ESPN. On December 29, 2023, she committed to play college basketball at Ohio State, where she will join her sister Kennedy.[14] Other finalists she was considering included Baylor, Florida, Georgia, Louisville, LSU and South Carolina.[15]
National team career
editOn June 7, 2022, Cambridge was named to the United States' roster to compete at the 2022 FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup.[16] During the tournament she averaged 9.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and a team-high 5.1 assists per game and won a gold medal. During the gold medal game against Spain she scored a team-high 16 points, six rebounds, nine assists and one steal.[17] She was subsequently named to the All-Tournament Team.[5]
Personal life
editCambridge's father, Desmond Cambridge, played college basketball at Alabama A&M. She has six siblings, Desmond Jr., Devan, Jalon, Jasiah, Jordyn and Kennedy.[18] All of her siblings also played basketball.[5][19]
References
edit- ^ "Ensworth basketball: Jaloni Cambridge top eighth-grader in high school". The Tennessean. March 6, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Kreager, Tom (October 17, 2022). "Jaloni Cambridge named No. 1 girls basketball player in country and has top college offers". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Kreager, Tom (March 4, 2023). "This is why Jaloni Cambridge is the No. 1 prep girls basketball player in the country". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ "Ensworth School Student-Athlete Named Gatorade Tennessee Girls Basketball Player of the Year" (PDF). Gatorade. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Jaloni Cambridge". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Joyce, Cecil (June 30, 2023). "Why Ensworth's Jaloni Cambridge, nation's No. 1 point guard recruit, transfered to Montverde Academy". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Williams, Aaron (April 5, 2024). "High school girls basketball: Jaloni Cambridge's game winner sends No. 9 Montverde Academy into Chipotle Nationals final against No. 5 IMG Academy". MaxPreps. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Williams, Aaron (April 6, 2024). "High school girls basketball: Jaloni Cambridge leads No. 9 Montverde Academy to Chipotle Nationals title with 61-53 win over No. 5 IMG Academy". MaxPreps. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ "Montverde Academy Student-Athlete Named Gatorade Florida Girls Basketball Player of the Year" (PDF). Gatorade. March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ Williams, Aaron (April 11, 2024). "2023-24 MaxPreps National Player of the Year: Jaloni Cambridge of Florida selected as high school girls basketball's best". MaxPreps. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Mac Kay, Brianna (March 14, 2024). "OSU women's commit Jaloni Cambridge named Gatorade National Player of the Year finalist". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Robinson, George (February 20, 2024). "Ohio State basketball commit Jaloni Cambridge named Naismith Player of the Year finalist". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Palmateer, Tyler (January 23, 2024). "Tennessee natives Jaloni Cambridge, Imari Berry named McDonald's All-Americans". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Kreager, Tom (December 29, 2023). "Jaloni Cambridge, the No. 3 girls basketball player in the country, commits to Ohio State". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Basena, Julian (June 18, 2023). "Jaloni Cambridge, top 2024 point guard, has LSU, South Carolina women's basketball in top seven". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Williams, Aaron (June 7, 2022). "Juju Waktins, Mikaylah Williams, Jaloni Cambridge headline USA Basketball U17 roster". MaxPreps. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ "USA Captures Fifth Gold Medal at Women's U17 World Cup". usab.com. USA Basketball. July 17, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Layman, Steve (April 2, 2024). "Cambridge set to re-unite with sister at Ohio State". newschannel5.com. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Hanson, Logan (January 18, 2022). "Nashville's Cambridge family impacting college hoops for years to come". bvmsports.com. Retrieved October 30, 2024.