The Ohio State Women’s Basketball Team huddles up during the Ohio State-Northern Kentucky Norse game on Dec. 6. Ohio State won 96-63. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
After a disappointing end to the 2020-21 campaign, the Ohio State women’s basketball team revamped Tuesday — announcing two major changes to their coaching staff for the upcoming season.
The first of the changes occurred Tuesday, when the team and head coach Kevin McGuff announced that Jalen Powell will be added as an assistant coach for the 2021-22 season.
“I’m extremely excited to welcome Jalen to the Ohio State women’s basketball family,” McGuff said in a release Tuesday. “Her talent, work ethic and eagerness to serve as a mentor to our student-athletes make her a terrific fit. I’m looking forward to the positive impact she will have on our program.”
Powell joins Wesley Brooks, who was hired in May, as the new assistant coaches who were added to the Buckeyes’ staff during the offseason.
“I am extremely grateful and honored for this opportunity that Coach McGuff has given me, and I am looking forward to learning under him and working with a great staff,” Powell said in the release. “The passion and pride that is instilled in the culture here at The Ohio State University is very special, and it is something I am proud to be a part of.”
Powell spent the previous season as an assistant coach at Florida A&M, where she primarily coached the guards and wings. She also worked off the court as a liaison for academics, equipment, admissions, athletic training and housing.
Prior to her time at Florida A&M, Powell spent two years working for her father, NBA trainer Jerry Powell, at his North Babylon, New York, training facility ‘Basketball Results’ —where she helped with player development, marketing, accounting, and finances.
Powell also served as a graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas for two years and a head manager at the University of Mississippi for four years —where she dealt with a number of responsibilities ranging from handling recruiting mail to coordinating team activities.
In a later announcement Tuesday, the team and McGuff elevated Carla Morrow to associate head coach — a promotion McGuff said is well deserved.
“I am thrilled to announce a well-deserved promotion for Carla Morrow,” McGuff said in a release. “Her work ethic and passion for the game of basketball have been exceptionally impactful as we’ve continued to advance the program. Most importantly, her investment in our student-athletes has helped facilitate growth on the court, in the classroom and in the community.”
Morrow, a former WNBA player and Tulsa standout, joined the Buckeyes coaching staff in 2019 as an assistant coach, playing a large role in the team’s surprise run to the 2020 Big Ten Tournament Championship Game.
“I am grateful for this enhanced leadership opportunity [McGuff] has presented to me,” Morrow said in the release. “I’m extremely excited to move forward, reinforcing the core values that he and the entire staff have worked so hard to create as we build on the foundation that make the Ohio State Women’s Basketball program so exceptional.”
Prior to her time in Columbus, Morrow has served as an assistant coach both collegiately and professionally. Morrow coached for the McGuff-led Xavier Musketeers from 2007-2011, winning multiple Atlantic 10 Championships and reaching the Elite Eight in 2010, and the WNBA’s Chicago Sky from 2017-2019.
Aside from coaching, Morrow worked as president of basketball operations at both the University of Colorado and Missouri State.
Powell and Morrow join a Buckeyes coaching staff eager to avenge a disappointing 2020-21 season — where the Buckeyes limped to a 13-7 record after losing five of their last six games. The Buckeyes were also unable to participate in postseason play last season due to a self-imposed ban.
