October 15, 2025
Syla Swords and Jaloni Cambridge bring Dawg Class to Big Ten
A duo of standout freshmen attended Kelsey Plum's annual camp, and they already reap the benefits
Moving from high school and AAU basketball to college takes adjustment. After a long recruitment, completing high school and vying for that final piece of hardware before becoming an NCAA athlete is grueling. So, it only makes sense that at the end of the season, a lot of freshmen are going on vacation. Ohio State point guard Jaloni Cambridge and Michigan guard Syla Swords took a trip together — kind of.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
At the end of April, after the conclusion of their rookie seasons, Swords and Cambridge both landed in Phoenix, but it wasn’t for the scenic views and local cuisine. Rather, the two standout freshmen took part in Kelsey Plum’s third annual Dawg Class, a weekend of basketball, camaraderie and life skills, facilitated by WNBA star Plum for a select group of guards across the country.
The weekend included media training with ESPN’s Holly Rowe, showcases of new technology by Google employees, and new experiences for some.
“We did Pilates there, and I’d never done Pilates,” Cambridge told The IX Basketball. “And I was like, ‘wow, this is crazy.’”
Sponsored by Under Armour, the third annual Dawg Class gave its only two active Big Ten participants time to hone their skills on and off the court.
And on the court, the two had already showed their ability during the regular season. Swords, who was part of a trio of outstanding freshmen in Ann Arbor, was fifth in the Big Ten with 71 three-point shots made and averaged 16.0 points per game on her way to a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team and Second Team All-Big Ten.
Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?
Subscribe now to The IX Sports and receive our daily women’s sports newsletter covering soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers. That includes Basketball Wednesday from founder and editor Howard Megdal.
Readers of The IX Basketball now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.
Cambridge started at point guard from the jump of the 24-25 season and entered the Buckeyes’ program as the highest ranked recruit in team history. Under head coach Kevin McGuff’s havoc-inducing press, Cambridge averaged 2.0 steals per game on top of 15.4 points and 3.9 assists per game, all culminating in the media’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.
For one weekend, the two went from young Big Ten stars to sponges, absorbing all they could from the two-time WNBA champion. Recruited by McGuff herself at Washington before he headed to Ohio State, Plum’s impact stretched beyond simply being good at basketball.
“You can go up to her anytime and ask her a question,” Cambridge said. “You look at her on social media, she acts the same person. Literally, the same exact way. She’s so personable, like she is who she is, she’s who she says she is.”
From 7:00 AM wakeup through 8:00 PM bedtime, players had the opportunity to go up to Plum and chat about anything. From the day’s events to basketball strategy. It was not an empty “open door policy” style of transparency. No, Plum was with Swords and Cambridge every step of the way.
“I kind of started off the conversations joking with her a little bit, because we both had the Olympic shared experience,” Swords told The IX Basketball. The Michigan guard was the youngest player to suit up for the Canadian national team at 18 years old during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. “So I was like, ‘Oh, what did you think of this team? Would you think of that team?’ and she was just talking about how international basketball is crazy out there. It’s crazy the competition, the competitors. And then it just kind of broke the ice seeing that we had that shared experience.”
That turned into questions about Plum’s own experience. The San Diego, California native played for the Washington Huskies of the Pac-12 from 2013 to 2017. In that time, Plum took a program with a storied history out of a streak of underwhelming seasons.
By the time Plum’s college career was over, the guard was the leading scorer in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history. With that came the Player of the Year awards, conference accolades and the No. 1 pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft.
While college basketball is different from eight years ago, Swords is in a situation that mirrors parts of Plum’s journey. While the Wolverines are in one of the top conferences in the nation, Michigan is not UConn or South Carolina. The Canadian used Dawg Class as a way to pick Plum’s brain.
“‘How was it in college? You weren’t at the top school in the country. You weren’t playing the top players in the country. How did you stay true to your path and stay true to keeping your head down and trusting where you were, rather than being a little sidetracked by the glory and fame?’” Swords said.
In 2025, there are more eyes on women’s college basketball than ever before. After Swords’ breakout freshman season and Plum’s Dawg Class, Swords was back in Canadian U19 camp. That quickly turned into a call-up to the senior team where Swords led Canada with 18 points, a team-leading +17 plus/minus and the game-winning shot in overtime, in the bronze medal game against Argentina at the FIBA AmeriCup tournament.
“People know who she she is now,” Michigan head coach Kim Barnes-Arico told The IX Basketball. “She’s [Swords] circled on the scouting report.”
The program is called Dawg Class for a reason. It is about the dog mentality. Between the three weightlifting sets, brand meetings, classes and experiences, Swords, Cambridge, Plum and the other camp participants were on the basketball court three hours a day. In those moments, Plum saw firsthand the ability of the duo of future Big Ten superstars.
“She’s a pro,” Plum told The IX Basketball about Swords. “I think she’s someone that moves really well without the ball. She’s very smart. She’s a worker. She is a high motor.”
That is high praise from the head of the Dawg Class. After all, Plum and Swords both shoot from deep and use their motors to make life difficult for defenders inside the paint. For Swords, the Michigan sophomore has the added benefit of four more inches of height, making Swords nearly impossible to guard for a smaller player on screen switches.
Cambridge has a chance to be one of those defending guards and while Ohio State and Michigan are known for their robust rivalry on the football field, in the last few seasons its crept onto the women’s basketball court.
On Jan. 8, 2025, the two Big Ten Dawg Class participants met for the first time on an NCAA court. Cambridge is not a 6-foot hybrid guard like Swords. The Buckeye is a 5-foot-7 point guard with an unmatched motor, but at halftime it was Swords and the Wolverines up 44-31, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
In the second half, McGuff kept his starters out for the entire 20 minutes, putting it on them to get back into the game. Cambridge epitomized the dog mentality before stepping into the Dawg Class and scored 22 points, with 16 coming away from the free throw line on the way to an 84-77 Buckeyes comeback victory.
Want more women’s hockey content? Subscribe to The Ice Garden!
In case you missed it, The Ice Garden is now part of The IX Sports family!
The staff of The Ice Garden has paved the way for women’s hockey coverage from the college ranks to international competitions. Of course, that includes in-depth coverage of the PWHL too. For a limited time, free signups at The Ice Garden can sample all the work they do. Check it out, sign up now!
Compare the first season for both players and the experience for Cambridge was not as storybook as it was for the Wolverines. While Michigan came out of nowhere to surprise the NCAA, Cambridge stepped into the point guard role alongside Big Ten staples Taylor Thierry and Cotie McMahon. There were real expectations for the Buckeyes, who in the spring of 2024 lifted the Big Ten regular season trophy.
At times, the offense struggled between on-court competition between Cambridge and McMahon. At the end of the season, McMahon transferred to Ole Miss, leaving a program with high expectations in the hands of Cambridge.
“She’s [Cambridge] had a terrific offseason,” McGuff told The IX Basketball. “I think part of that was her experience at that camp. And one of the things that I think coming out of that, to me, she’s been more vocal and maybe just a little more confident in her voice.”
Watch Cambridge at media day and the growth is clear. The sophomore did not shy away from answering questions and, more importantly, lifting up her teammates. Questions surround Ohio State this season and how they will perform. Listen to Cambridge talk about the team, and there is not an ounce of doubt that the Buckeyes have the ability to surprise.
During the guard’s freshman season, the contemplative Cambridge had the tendency to get inside her own head. While that internalizing turned into moments that led her to a breakout freshman year, now Cambridge has the vocal leadership the Scarlet and Gray need if they want to stay near the top of the Big Ten.
Dawg Class showed Cambridge’s ability to grow, noticed by Plum herself.
“Jaloni [Cambridge] is super mature,” Plum said. “I was really impressed with her. She took things in and got better every rep.” Plum also compared Cambridge’s scoring to LSU Tiger and former National Champion South Carolina guard MiLaysia Fulwiley and her ability to score.
The experience was surreal for Cambridge and not only for the skills and confidence brought into the 25-26 season. Cambridge entered Dawg Class as a Las Vegas Aces fan, so working alongside the former Aces star Plum was life-changing. That feeling also stretched to the other participants in the camp, like former Virginia Tech and Kentucky guard Georgia Amoore.
Cambridge met Amoore and roomed with her at a Nike camp before the Ohio State guard entered the college ranks. With 11 players at the camp all vying for time to learn from Plum, Amoore and Cambridge went back to that relationship and Amoore motivated the young point guard.
“She [Amoore] just told me, ‘just keep being a leader,’” Cambridge said. “We scrimmaged them last year. And she was like ‘when I looked at that team, I saw you as the leader.’ And she was telling me no matter how young I am, just always be that leader, be that voice that people want to be around.”
Now, on the cusp of the second season of college basketball for Swords and Cambridge, they are ready to take their offseason lessons back to the court.
“I mean, it’s Dawg Class. The dog mentality of every possession matters,” Swords said. “Recognizing that everything you do plays into your end goal of success and your end goal of winning.”
The expectations of Swords and Cambridge’s teams are flipped from last season. Michigan is predicted to finish top-three in the Big Ten by the media and coaches, while Ohio State missed the AP Preseason top-25 for the first time since the 19-20 season.
But that Dawg mentality could impact the Big Ten in unexpected ways, with two new graduates of the camp in its ranks.
Howard Megdal contributed reporting to this story.
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
