Cleveland State’s latest transfer addition has enhanced its rebuilt backcourt with basketball royalty, in a sense, as former Indiana State guard Queen Ruffin will join the Vikings. The commitment was first reported by On3’s Talia Goodman.
With the Sycamores this past season, Ruffin averaged 15.9 minutes for an ISU team that went just 4-28 under first-year coach Marc Mitchell. She did make the most of that time on the court with 4.5 points per outing, including 15 in 17 minutes during a season-closing loss to Northern Iowa at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
The Moreno Valley, CA native’s calling card might be her three-point shot, as she clicked at a 36.8 percent rate from behind the arc in 2024-25. Her per-40 shot counts weren’t quite on the prodigious level of fellow incoming deep threat Ella Van Weelden, but were still very respectable: 1.7 makes and 4.5 attempts.
However, another strength, one with obvious appeal to a team that plays as the Vikings do, is her ability to get to the basket and, disproportionately, the free throw line, after finishing through contact. To that point, Ruffin ran up a 25.5 percent free throw rate at Indiana State, a number that sat among the top ten percent of all players nationally.
She most frequently plays as a primary ballhandler, but her skills translate seamlessly to either backcourt position. That adaptability should serve her well on a CSU team that frequently moves players to different spots on the floor.
“Queen is a hidden gem,” Mitchell said in ISU’s release announcing Ruffin’s arrival. “She is a young lady who is driven and determined to succeed. Queen will spend most of the time at point guard, but can also play off the ball. She is a player who plays both sides of the ball. Queen is a consistent perimeter shooter who can also get downhill on drives. She is an explosive player who thrives on competing.”
Ruffin spent her freshman season at Johnson C. Smith University, an NCAA Division II school in Charlotte, where she was voted on to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association’s All-Rookie Team.
That honor arrived thanks to a sturdy six points per game off the bench during the Golden Bulls’ regular season, though she was also exceptional in a pair of exhibition games against Division I competition. Those contests included five steals, seven rebounds, and three assists in a relatively close loss to High Point. A couple weeks before that, she had nine points and four rebounds versus Presbyterian.
With the sparkplug guard on board, Cleveland State’s roster is back up to ten players, of a maximum 15 (though the Vikings have more typically carried 13 or 14 in recent seasons). The list includes four student-athletes who will likely play the two backcourt positions in Ruffin, Colbi Maples, Hanna Medina Kajevic, and Jada Leonard. Laurel Rockwood and Izabella Zingaro represent CSU’s current post rotation, while Macey Fegan, Sarah Hurley, Ella Van Weelden, and Ayisse Magassa are versatile wings.
