The offseason may have come too soon for Ohio State basketball fans as the Buckeyes will not accept any postseason tournament invitations to The Crown and were not contractually allowed to play in the NIT since they declined The Crown. Although the Buckeyes won’t be on the court the rest of March, that doesn’t mean they won’t be on the phone getting involved with players in the transfer portal.
And the good news about the portal is that according to one anonymous coach from the Big East, Ohio State plans to be a big spender this offseason. Jamie Shaw of On3 met with various coaches in college basketball to forecast the 2025 Transfer Portal’s biggest spenders.
One coach from a Big East school started by raving about the SEC and how much money they would spend, only to follow that up by saying, “Texas Tech, Ohio State, and Kansas State come to mind. I’ve heard they’ll all be between $8 and $10 million overall.”
These numbers are insane. Ohio State was rumored to have spent $20 million on its football roster last year, which was a major talking point amongst fans and rivals. However, the scholarship limit of a college basketball team next season will only be roughly 14% of the football team's scholarship limit, and the cap of that estimate is 50% of what Ohio State spent last year on the football team.
With a university where football is king, this screams a considerable endorsement by those behind the scenes of Ohio State coach Jake Diebler. Although many fans are frustrated with Diebler and how his team ended the season, those who know the most seem willing to spend even more.
Of course, the most significant difference from last year to this year is the revenue sharing that schools will use for their athletic programs. Ohio State has not announced how much the estimated $20.5 million revenue share will go to men's basketball, but Ross Bjork said the Buckeyes would pay the maximum total to athletes.
Some speculate that that could be anywhere from $3 to $4 million for basketball around the country. Still, even if it is over that, an overall estimate of $8 to $10 million has to be funded from NIL in addition to the revenue sharing.
Of course, On3's Pete Nakos ranked Ohio State’s NIL collectives, The 1800 Society, and The Foundation as the best collectives in college athletics before the last football season. Although Ohio State doesn’t always flaunt this, it certainly has the resources to compensate payers at the highest level. Ohio State is a program that plans to compete by paying the best players in the country in football and basketball.
On his most recent podcast, Ohio State men's basketball beat writer for The Columbus Dispatch Adam Jardy said Ohio State is "in the mix" for transfer big man Owen Freeman. According to On3, Freeman is currently the highest-ranked player in the transfer portal. They have also given him an NIL value of $995k.
"I do believe Ohio State is in the mix there. I've seen some reporting that he entered the transfer portal with a do not contact tag. But a name to keep an eye on."Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch
A player who enters the transfer portal with a “do not contact” tag is typically thought to have a good idea of where they will go, as the tag in the NCAA transfer portal means a player doesn't want to be contacted by schools unless they initiate contact first, effectively limiting unsolicited outreach from coaches. That does not mean Ohio State cannot be in contact with a player. In this scenario, Freeman will need to initiate contact first.
In today’s game, one of the most important priorities for resources is not just adding players but retaining them by keeping them out of the transfer portal. Unfortunately, Jake Diebler could not do that last year with key contributors like Felix Okpara, Roddy Gayle, Scotty Middleton, and Zed Key. With Micah Parrish graduating, Ohio State must invest resources to keep its three best building blocks in the program: Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal, and John Mobley.
The story of Ohio State basketball’s offseason won’t be whether or not they will have enough to build a roster for next year. It will be if Diebler and his staff can decide who to bring in and recruit players to join the roster. Diebler's struggles this year can be understood by a first-year head coach.
But it cannot become the norm. Ohio State stands armed with the resources to dominate this offseason—now, the spotlight burns on whether their coaching staff can orchestrate the masterpiece or fumble the crescendo.