The Upstate New York native appears to be on her way out of Columbus
Although the transfer portal closed on April 24, 2025, that does not mean that there is no more movement into the system. On Wednesday, On3 reported that Ohio State women’s basketball guard Kaia Henderson entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer.
The portal deadline is only for players who wish to not sit out a season, with exceptions and Henderson falls into one of them. Players who are graduate level or receive a waiver are eligible to play without missing a season and Henderson is reportedly entering the portal as a graduate transfer.
Despite the 2024-25 season being Henderson’s third season in the program, the guard graduated high school early to enroll early at Ohio State in the 2022 Spring semester. Over three years, Henderson earned enough credits to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication degree this spring, making her eligible to transfer as a graduate.
In addition, Henderson reportedly added a “do not contact” tag to her move to the portal, which likely means that her landing spot is already determined.
Henderson never made it into the starting lineup for Ohio State in two seasons before head coach Kevin McGuff sat the Utica, New York native for the entire 24-25 season. In 26 appearances over two seasons, Henderson averaged .9 points per game. Henderson’s most productive appearance came in the 23-24 season when the then-sophomore scored six points against the Ohio Bobcats. It was one of only four appearances where Henderson played at least 10 minutes in a game.
The 5-foot-6 guard faced stiff competition from the moment she joined the program, with current WNBA pro Jacy Sheldon and recent graduate Madison Greene occupy nearly all the minutes at the point guard position. Then, this season, No. 2 overall 2024 prospect Jaloni Cambridge joined the Buckeyes and started every game she was healthy.
This season, McGuff put Henderson in a group of four players who all received redshirt seasons. Of that group. Henderson is the second player to join the portal, following center Faith Carson who entered on March 24. Then, on March 26, three-year Buckeye forward Cotie McMahon joined the portal and no one on the roster joined since reports of Henderson’s move came Wednesday.
Carson and McMahon both found new homes in Grand Canyon University and Ole Miss, respectively.
Time will tell where Henderson ends up after three years in Columbus. Despite not making an impact in games for Ohio State, Henderson positioned herself well with NIL opportunities, business networking and representing the women’s basketball program in university events. On Wednesday, Henderson took part in a college athlete panel during the Memorial golf tournament week in Dublin, Ohio.
With Henderson potentially on her way out of the program, the Buckeyes have 11 spots filled of 15 available scholarships. The Buckeyes added two names from the portal in the offseason with Boston College’s T’Yana Todd and Kylee Kitts out of Florida. Ohio State also flipped the commitment of incoming 2025 freshman Bryn Martin, out of Springboro, Ohio. Plus longtime 2025 commit Daria Biriuk out of the Webb School in Tennessee.