Sophomore guard Kennedy Cambridge poses with her newly owned bunny, Buddy, at The Schottenstein Center. Cambridge often takes Buddy to her basketball practices and he usually ventures into the team’s locker room, the coach’s office, and throughout the facility. Credit: Ohio State Athletics

The Buckeyes have a new addition to their team who can run and jump, all while “seeing” nearly 360 degrees and shaking a cotton tail. 

It’s Buddy the Buckeye. 

Sophomore guard Kennedy Cambridge is the proud owner of Buddy, a bunny who has been welcomed as the newest Ohio State women’s basketball team member. Despite his adorable appearance, Cambridge had to work hard to get Buddy accepted as the team’s pet, as he was not a traditional choice.

“Everybody was like, ‘Is that real?’” Cambridge said. “ I said, ‘Yeah, you want to hold him?’ And then everybody was, ‘Oh,’ and started giving him kisses, and then he was the team pet. You can’t not like Buddy.”

Cambridge, originally born in Nashville, said she always loved farm animals. She often cared for her father’s dogs and horse, which she enjoyed riding.

This fondness for animals persisted into adulthood, as Cambridge played college basketball at the University of Kentucky before entering the transfer portal on March 6, 2023. 

Ohio State’s assistant coach, Jalen Powell, was familiar with the former four-star prospect as Powell was actively recruiting Cambridge’s sister, Jaloni Cambridge. 

On Powell’s Instagram, Cambridge saw something that immediately grabbed her attention.  

“I see on her story her little dog with pink paws or little white dog,” Cambridge said. “It has pink paws and pink ears, like somebody drew on it. And I stood up and was like, ‘No way.’”

Their months of conversations included their love of animals, and it heightened once Cambridge officially became a Buckeye on June 7, 2023, she said.  

After committing to Ohio State, Cambridge said she found herself hundreds of miles away, all alone in an apartment by herself — she needed something to keep her busy. 

A visit to Petland put the young Buddy into her sights and soon in her apartment, though it wasn’t her initial choice. Originally, Cambridge said she wanted a dog but Powell urged her to aim smaller — much smaller. 

“I was like, ‘Well if you handle the bunny right, I’ll let you get a dog next year,’” Powell said. 

Eager and driven by her competitive nature, Cambridge agreed. Five months later, Cambridge has helped lead the No. 20  Buckeyes to an 11-3 record, and the nine-month, 7-pound Buddy is thriving and well. 

Unlike many house animals, Buddy requires nearly 24/7 attention, Cambridge said. 

“He’s always hungry, but he’s really not needy,” Cambridge said. “He follows me everywhere.” 

Cambridge said an open-ended cage allows the furry creature to venture back and forth from her kitchen countertops to the cozy cushions on her couch. 

“He’ll go to the bathroom with me,” Cambridge said. “He’ll jump, like when I’m taking a shower, he’ll try to jump in.” 

Though Buddy sometimes invades her privacy, she said he’s a pro at following the house rules. Unlike puppies, which normally take anywhere between four to six months to potty train, Cambridge accomplished this feat with Buddy in just one week. 

Cambridge said an automatic feeder disperses pellets, but Buddy isn’t the biggest fan. Instead, she said he prefers to eat hay and enjoys chomping on vegetables, including cucumbers and lettuce. 

But not just any lettuce.

“He’s really picky,” Cambridge said. “He don’t like the regular lettuce. He wants the organic lettuce. Real picky little bunny.”

Recently, Cambridge said Buddy has been trying various fruits, such as grapes and tomatoes. His favorite of them all is blueberries. 

While Buddy has upped Cambridge’s financial bill, she said it’s nice having him around to keep her company, especially while at home. 

She said she often takes Buddy to her basketball practices and usually places him inside his cage in the team’s locker room, though he often comes out of the space and makes his way throughout the facility. 

“I think it’s cute and funny, and I think it’s a nice contribution to the team,” Taylor Thierry, sophomore guard-forward, said. 

Cambridge said sophomore forward Cotie McMahon and graduate forward Rebeka Mikulasikova “love” Buddy, but graduate teammate Taiyier Parks, on the other hand, does not. 

“Tay still hasn’t accepted him as our team pet,” Cambridge said. “She just doesn’t like animals.”

Out of all the Buckeyes, Mikulasikova has gravitated toward him the most. Mikulasikova, who is from Nitra, Slovakia, said she also has a bunny named Cashew back at home. 

Cambridge said Buddy is quickly becoming a household name and even appeared at Buckeyes on the Blacktop on Oct. 19, 2023, at the Schottenstein Center.  

Cambridge said she also takes him to restaurants and car rides, and he’s even been spotted in the grocery store. 

“A lady came up to me and was like, ‘You play for OSU, don’t you?’” Cambridge said. “And I was like, ‘Yeah,’ she was like ‘Yeah, that’s Buddy the Buckeye, isn’t it?’”

While caring for an animal independently can be daunting, especially for student-athletes whose time is finite, Cambridge said it’s one of the best decisions she’s ever made.

“I feel like he loves me,” Cambridge said. “He’s still alive. He’s been to the vet, and they said he was fine. So clearly, I’m doing my job.”