Ohio’s top basketball recruit set to visit Columbus this month

February has been much kinder to Ohio State’s basketball team as opposed to January. The Buckeyes are now even in conference play, and have greatly increased their chances of making the NCAA tournament with just seven regular season games remaining.

In addition, Ohio State has been winning off the court. The Buckeyes currently hold the No. 2 class in the Big Ten and No. 3 overall in the 2021 recruiting class, but they aren’t done yet.

Four-star combo guard and the top-rated recruit in Ohio, Malaki Branham (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary), spoke with Jake Weingarten of stockrisers.com about his recruitment recently. In the conversation, Branham not only spoke on team’s he is interested in, but also confirmed he will remain in the 2021 recruiting class.

However, the bigger news for Buckeye Nation is that Branham is planning a return to Ohio State this month. A date still needs to be determined, but the more exposure Chris Holtmann and Ohio State gets with Branham, the better their odds.

Branham officially visited with the Buckeyes back in October of 2019 for the football’s team game versus Michigan State. The visit reportedly went well, and the Buckeyes have been heavily involved in his recruitment since.

The Buckeyes aren’t alone in his recruitment, however, and will need to continue to work diligently if they are going to add him to their already impressive haul. He will be visiting with Louisville this weekend for their matchup with North Carolina. He has also seen an uptick in interest from rival Michigan. Following his impressive 42-point showing last month at the Flyin’ To The Hoop Event in Kettering, OH, the Wolverines quickly increased their contact with him.

That being said, the fact that he will be making a second trip to Columbus means the Buckeyes are surely one of the teams to beat in his recruitment.

Branham is the No. 1 recruit in the state of Ohio, the No. 2 combo guard and No. 22 player overall in the 2021 class.

Quick Hits:

• Ohio State’s football team just brought in an impressive 2020 recruiting class. Rivals.com recently released lists of who they believe had the best haul at each position. The Buckeyes came in at No. 1 for the games most important position — quarterback.