Ohio State basketball program lands second recruit for the 2026 class

The Ohio State basketball program is trying to rebuild itself. It cratered in the last two years under Chris Holtmann and he was finally canned halfway through last season. This is Jake Diebler's program now and he showed that he is a good coach during his interim period.

Now, Diebler is tasked with adding high-level recruits to the program to get the Buckeyes back on top of the Big Ten. He already has landed his first five-star recruit. That was a great start to the 2026 recruiting class. Now, he has gotten his second recruit for that recruiting class.

In-state power forward Alex Smith has committed to the Buckeyes. Smith plays at Upper Arlington High School so he's a Columbus native. He stands at 6'8 and 195 pounds, so he's got some good size to him. He's now the second member of the 2026 class.

Ohio State basketball program gets second member of the 2026 recruiting class

Right now, Smith is not a ranked prospect. He certainly has time to get into that range since he's still two full years away from playing college basketball. Diebler must think that he's got some potential, otherwise he wouldn't have offered him a scholarship in the first place.

I think Smith will likely rise to a three-star prospect by the time next season rolls around. I don't see him being a blue-chip guy by any means. With the dynamics of the transfer portal in college basketball, it's impossible to forecast what the roster is going to look like in 2026.

With that being said, Smith is a Columbus guy who has always loved the Ohio State Buckeyes. It's important to have players like that in your program. He's someone who knows what the Buckeyes were like when they were at the peak of their powers.

Diebler will certainly add more recruits for both 2025 and 2026 before the calendar year ends.