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Ohio high school basketball is as strong as it has been in a long time, and the Buckeyes could look to take advantage with new roster rules from the NCAA.
Last month, the NCAA released an update on three antitrust lawsuits filed against it, addressing three issues that involve student-athlete benefits and well-being. One of the three things covered was scholarship limits and roster limits.
Scholarship limits will effectively be eliminated starting next year, the 2025-2026 season. Instead, the NCAA is instituting roster limits. Schools are not required to offer every player a scholarship, and can also offer partial scholarships to athletes.
Regardless, men’s college basketball will go from having 13 available scholarships to 15 roster spots. Teams like Ohio State will not be required to have 15 players on scholarship — they could also have 13 or 14 plus a walk-on or two. Diebler could also have 15 “scholarship” players, but the very last player off the bench may actually be a walk-on who was given a scholarship, like we see happen quite often in college basketball.
Coincidentally, this change in roster flexibility coincides with an exceptionally strong period for Ohio high school basketball in the 2025 and 2026 classes. The Buckeyes currently have one player committed in the 2025 class — four-star shooting guard Dorian Jones.
Jones is the No. 69 overall player in the 2025 class, per 247Sports, is the second-highest rated player in the state of Ohio in the class, and the No. 12 shooting guard in the class. He committed on July 1, and attends Richmond Heights High School just outside of Cleveland.
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The Buckeyes have one player committed in the 2026 class — five-star point guard Marcus Johnson. Johnson is the No. 19 player in the class, per 247Sports. He’s the top-rated player in Ohio in 2026 and is the fourth-highest rated point guard in the nation. He committed early back in April, becoming one of the first recruits in the 2026 class to pick a school. He is also the cousin of current Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson. He plays at Garfield Heights High School, which is also just outside of Cleveland.
Ohio State has a youthful roster heading into the fall — 11 of the team’s 13 scholarship players have eligibility for next season. When you add in Jones to the mix for fall 2025, the Buckeyes only would’ve had one more spot available for additional 2025 recruits and incoming transfers. With so many elite Ohio recruits still available and hoping to visit Ohio State, that gave Diebler and staff virtually no wiggle room.
That’s why this roster limit change comes at such a great time.
Now, Ohio State can have up to 15 scholarship players during the 2025-2026 season. That rule will (assumedly) continue for the foreseeable future, which means Diebler and staff can be more aggressive recruiting players from both the 2025 and 2026 classes moving forward. With a roster max of 15, Ohio State now has three empty spots for the 2025-26 season and five spots for the 2026-27 season.
With that newfound flexibility and additional roster space, here are some names to watch as Diebler continues to aggressively recruit these next two classes, focusing on Ohio kids and those with ties to the Buckeye state:
(Note: this is not an exhaustive list and does not include every player that has been offered by Ohio State or is considering Ohio State)
Easter will play his senior season at Link Academy in Missouri, but is from northwest Ohio and started his high school career at Emmanuel Christian High School in Toledo. The 6-foot-5 combo guard is the No. 30 player in the nation and will visit Ohio State the weekend of Oct. 4-6. He does not have a cut-down “list” at this point, but Ohio State’s recruitment of Easter has intensified since Diebler was named full-time head coach.
Bynum will also be playing at Link Academy this fall, alongside Easter. The 6-foot-8 power forward is the No. 106 player in the nation and is the No. 15 center. He will also visit Ohio State the weekend of Oct. 4-6 — the same weekend as Easter. Ohio State offered Bynum this summer and has not been recruiting him for as long as some other 2025 prospects.
McKenney is built like a linebacker at 6-foot-4 and nearly 230 pounds, and is the top player in the state of Michigan. He’s the No. 15 player in the country, is a five-star recruit, and is the third-highest rated shooting guard in the nation. McKenney plays for St. Mary’s Prep just outside of Detroit and has Ohio State in his final 10 schools. He will visit Ohio State the weekend of Oct. 25-27. Michigan and Michigan State also look to be major players for McKenney.
Hannah is yet another Link Academy guy Ohio State is pursuing, and has scheduled a visit for the weekend of Sept. 20-22. He has Ohio State in his final nine schools, and is also considering Michigan State, Alabama, and Wisconsin, among others. Hannah is a 6-foot-5 combo guard and is the No. 29 player in the country.
On Aug. 12, 247Sports’ Travis Branham placed a crystal ball prediction for Moreno, a Kentucky-native, to pick the Wildcats. He’s a four-star recruit, the second-highest rated center in the nation, and the top-rated player in the bluegrass state. The 6-foot-11, 230-pound center has Ohio State in his final eight schools and is scheduled to visit Ohio State the weekend of Sept. 6-8. It remains to be seen if that visit will still happen.
Peterson may be the most talented Ohio-born recruit since LeBron James. He will play his senior season at Prolific Prep in California, but is from Cleveland and started his high school career at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. He’s a 6-foot-5 combo guard who looks NBA-ready right now and would be a program-changing recruit for whichever team he commits to.
Peterson is the No. 3 player in the class of 2025 and the is the top guard in the nation. He recently put out a list of eight schools, which included Ohio State but also the Kansas Jayhawks, who appear to be the Buckeyes’ biggest threat in this recruitment. Peterson has already visited Kansas and will visit Ohio State the weekend of Aug. 30-31.
Anthony, the son of NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, has Ohio State in his final six schools along with Rutgers, USC, Florida State, Auburn, and his father’s alma mater, Syracuse. Anthony is a 6-foot-5 combo guard and the No. 31 player in the nation, per 247Sports. He plays for Long Island Lutheran High School, the same school former Buckeye Zed Key played at. Anthony has not scheduled a visit to Ohio State yet but is in the process of scheduling one.
At this point Jake Diebler should just offer the entire Link Academy team, right? Clark is the fourth player that Ohio State is targeting that will play for Link Academy this season in Missouri. Clark is the No. 44 player in the nation and the No. 5 center. He put Ohio State in his final six schools last month, along with Houston, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Kansas, and Texas. He does not have a visit scheduled.
Bundalo is another northeast Ohio kid who currently plays for Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. He’s the top-rated player in Ohio. the No. 23 player in the nation, and the 8th-ranked power forward in the country. The 6-foot-11 big man recently put Ohio State in his top eight schools and will visit Ohio State the weekend of Sept. 21-22. He wants to make a college decision before November. He is also considering North Carolina, Kentucky, and UConn, among others.
Smith is a quickly rising prospect in the 2026 class. He attends Upper Arlington High School, just up the road from Ohio State, and received an offer from Diebler in June. He has also been offered by Xavier, Nebraska, Indiana, and several other schools. He’s a 6-foot-8, 195-pound power forward and is not currently ranked by 247Sports.
After growing up in Lebanon, Ohio, Thompson will team up with Bundalo at Western Reserve Academy this season. The 6-foot-7 forward has skyrocketed up the recruiting rankings this year and is now the No. 22 player in the country, per 247Sports. He’s the second-highest rated player in the state of Ohio in 2026, behind Marcus Johnson. Thompson took an unofficial visit to Ohio State in June. At least 15 other schools have offered Thompson, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan State.
Crumble is currently teammates with Ohio State commit Dorian Jones at Richmond Heights as well as teammates in AAU, playing for All-Ohio Red. Current Ohio State sophomore Devin Royal also played for All-Ohio Red and is familiar with Crumble. A 6-foot-7 forward, Jake Diebler has been recruiting Crumble for multiple years, and the rising high school junior recently told 247Sports that the schools that have been in contact with him most are Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Cincinnati.
Crumble is currently the No. 42 player in the 2026 class and the third-highest rated player in Ohio, behind Johnson and Thompson. Current Buckeyes Sean Stewart and Colin White recently traveled to Cincinnati to watch Crumble play in an AAU tournament. Crumble visited Ohio State in an unofficial capacity in late June. The rising junior already has 17 scholarship offers.
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