When the Ohio State women's basketball team was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by Notre Dame last week, star guard Kelsey Mitchell was non-committal about returning next year. Because she turns 22 this year, she could have made herself eligible for the WNBA draft. She did not. Mitchell, on Wednesday night, released a statement saying she will be back for her senior year.
"Getting a degree from The Ohio State University was one of my top goals when coming to college and I look forward to completing my degree next spring," Mitchell's statement read. "My teammates and I also have a number of goals we have yet to accomplish on the court. One of those goals is to play in the Final Four and we have a tremendous opportunity to do that next year here in Columbus. I'm excited to get back in the gym with my teammates and continue to work to get better."
In addition to being a three-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Play of the Year on the court, Mitchell excelled in the classroom last year, honored earlier this week as an Ohio State scholar athlete.
Mitchell has already re-written the Ohio State record books and can do it even more next year. She's third all-time on the Buckeye scoring list behind only Jantel Lavender and Katie Smith and should pass both next year and has an outside shot at becoming the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women's basketball history.