The Ohio State basketball program has been struggling to find any success on the court in the last three years. They have missed the NCAA in each of those three seasons. Jake Diebler took over as the head coach for an entire year for the first time last season and oversaw an epic collapse.
Diebler has turned the page on last season and is looking to add some better talent for future seasons. He will have a rather light 2025 class after Dorian Jones suddenly seemed to lose eligibility to play for the Buckeyes. The 2026 class is where Diebler needs to make up for that.
The Ohio State Buckeyes got some good news on Thursday when five-star recruit Anthony Thompson put them in his final seven schools. Thompson is listed as the 8th overall recruit in the 2026 class and the best recruit in the state of Ohio.
Five-star recruit Anthony Thompson has the Ohio State basketball program in his final seven schools
Thompson is out of Hudson, Ohio. He attends Western Reserve Academy and stands at 6'7 and 185 pounds, so he is a little skinny. Still, he has a fantastic shot-making skill set. He can make threes and midrange jumpers at will, and has a 7'2 wingspan. His potential on both sides of the court is extraordinary.
If Ohio State wants to land this kid, they are going to have some serious competition. The other six schools that Thompson has on his list are Texas, North Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and Purdue. Of the last three years, the Buckeyes are clearly the worst team.
Adding Thompson would be Diebler's biggest recruit that he has landed to date, and the first five-star recruit the Buckeyes have added since D'Angelo Russell back in 2014. He would certainly help Ohio State turn things around and get back to the kind of program they once were.