Former Michigan State forward Taiyier Parks transfers to Ohio State
COLUMBUS — Taiyier Parks is returning to her home state. The Cleveland native announced Thursday night that she is transferring to Ohio State after spending four years at Michigan State.
Parks, a 6-foot-3 forward who averaged north of eight points and five rebounds per game each of the last two seasons with the Spartans, bolsters the Buckeyes’ frontcourt depth.
She is the second transfer Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff and his staff has added this offseason. Former Duke guard Celeste Taylor was the first. Taylor is the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year and averaged 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game last season.
Both Parks and Taylor have one year of eligibility remaining, which they will use at Ohio State.
Parks posted 8.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game in 2022-23 despite only playing an average of 18.6 minutes per contest. She also shot a career-high 57.5% from the field last year.
Parks starred for North Royalton High School, where she averaged 19.0 points, 16.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 3.0 blocks per game as a junior. One of her brothers, Omari Spellman, was part of the Villanova men’s team that won the national title in 2018. Spellman is now playing overseas, but he was originally drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks.
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Parks suffered a pair of ACL tears in high school one toward the end of her freshman season and the other that sidelined her for her senior year. But she has bounced back and proved durable at the college level. In four years at Michigan State, she has played in 113 games, making 24 starts along the way.
Parks excels on the glass and is an impressive rim protector. As a junior, she was second on the team and 12th in the Big Ten in rebounding with 6.5 boards per game. That included 2.8 offensive rebounds per contest. She also clocked out 17th in the conference in blocks per game (0.9) that season.
Last year, she was once again inside the top 25 in the Big Ten in rebounding. Parks paired double-digit scoring with at least six rebounds seven times in 2022-23. She scored in double figures in 11 games, piling up a season-high 20 points in a Feb. 8 win at Wisconsin, where she was 9-of-10 from the floor with five rebounds, three steals and a block.
Parks could be in the mix for Ohio State’s starting five and will compete with Rebeka Mikulasikova and Eboni Walker for minutes down low. She should give the Buckeyes a boost on the interior.
