After two years of playing in front of Ohio State fans for his home state school, rising senior forward Evan Mahaffey announced today that he plans on entering the transfer portal, ending his career in Columbus after two seasons. Mahaffey previously played for Penn State for one season before transferring to Ohio State ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Mahaffey appeared in all 32 games last season, averaging 3.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while playing 18 minutes per contest. He started three games this past season after starting 35 games his sophomore year. Mahaffey also tied for the team lead in blocks (28) and was third on the team in offensive rebounds (41).
He scored a season-high 15 points against Valparaiso on Dec. 17, 2024, making it his third double-digit scoring game through Ohio State’s first 11 games. However, he did not reach double-digits for the remainder of the season, averaging 2.6 points per game over the final 21 games of the season.
After Ohio State’s 82-65 win over Iowa on January 27, Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler said that Mahaffey “played big time” and “completely flipped the script” for Ohio State. The junior from Cincinnati scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting and also grabbed five offensive rebounds in a much-needed win for the Buckeyes.
The phrase “a jack of all trades but a master of none” describes Mahaffey well. The 6-foot-6 guard/forward has done most things for Ohio State at some point during his career. He’s guarded Zach Edey against Purdue. He’s brought the ball up for Ohio State when its guard depth was tested. He knocked down a buzzer-beating three against Indiana this season as the shot clock was dwindling.
However, Mahaffey’s role shrunk as the season wore on. His confidence to shoot the ball, even when put in great situations to do so, disappeared by March. His free throw shooting plummeted from 62% last season to 39% this season, making him a liability to leave on the floor late in close games — which is tough, considering half of Ohio State’s games were decided by 10 points or fewer. Mahaffey played fewer than 20 minutes in 11 of Ohio State’s final 14 games.
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