The Ohio State women’s basketball program has strengthened its coaching staff, adding veteran coach Todd Schaefer as an assistant under head coach Kevin McGuff, the program announced Monday.
McGuff had high praise for the seasoned coach, stating that Schaefer’s experience, reputation and ability to develop players made him an ideal addition to the Buckeyes’ coaching staff.
“Todd Schaefer brings tremendous credibility, experience and character to our program,” McGuff said. “He is highly respected in women’s basketball and what stood out most to us is his ability to teach. Todd has earned a strong reputation for development and we believe he is the right person to help our student-athletes grow both on and off the court.”
A Cincinnati native, Schaefer began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Western Illinois from 1995-97 before serving as head coach at Allen County Community College from 1997-99. He then spent five seasons as head coach at Christian Brothers University, leading the program to its first NCAA South Regional Tournament appearance in school history in 2004.
After two seasons as head coach at Arkansas Tech — including two as a head coach from 2005-07, Schaefer then spent two years as an assistant at Cincinnati. He then coached Greenbrier (Ark.) High School from 2009-11, before returning to the college ranks at Arkansas State.
Schaefer was an assistant coach at Washington from 2012-13, where he helped coach the then-NCAA all-time leading scorer Kelsey Plum, before spending three seasons at Ole Miss from 2013-16.
He then spent eight seasons at Arkansas, serving as an assistant coach from 2017-19, before being promoted to associate head coach from 2019-24. During his tenure, the Razorbacks earned five consecutive postseason appearances, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths in 2021 and 2022.
Schaefer most recently spent one season as an assistant coach at Missouri in 2025-26, as the Tigers finished 17-17 and advanced to the second round of the WBIT.
Schaefer expressed his excitement to contribute to the program’s continued success.
“I want to thank Coach McGuff for the opportunity to be a part of Ohio State women’s basketball,” Schaefer said. “I’m looking forward to working alongside the staff and with our players in an effort to continue to grow the success of the program.”
