Ohio State men’s basketball offers in-state five-star prospect; Aaron Scott updates summer plans

Now that basketball season and spring football season are both officially over, and the transfer portal period is nearly done (the MBB team could still add a player if/when Brice Sensabaugh confirms that he will stay in the NBA Draft) it is time for both teams to focus on the recruiting trail.

Today, we’ve got some offers and updates from both squads about some big-time players, including many from the state of Ohio.

MBB Getting in Early on In-State Star

It is a fairly regular occurrence for the Buckeyes to offer a five-star prospect from the state of Ohio a scholarship; it is regular for that offer to come from the OSU men’s basketball team instead of the football team. Earlier this week, Chris Holtmann’s squad extended an offer to 6-foot-1 point guard Marcus Johnson.

Johnson is a freshman at Garfield Heights High School in Cleveland, meaning that he is a member of the 2026 recruiting class. 247 Sports don’t yet have rankings for the ‘26 cycle, but Johnson is the No. 16 player in the class according to ESPN’s rankings.

Marcus Johnson comes from a deep basketball family that includes his cousin, former Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson Jr. Meechie transferred from OSU to South Carolina before this past season. Marcus’ father told Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch that the plan is for his son to commit before the start of his junior year, so ideally sometime in the next 15 months.

Johnson’s high school squad is expected to be in Columbus next month to attend the Ohio State team camp, so Holtmann and company will have the opportunity to see him in person and for Marcus to get a better idea about what working with the coaching staff would be like.

According to 247’s Steve Welwagen, the Buckeyes might be close to making an offer to another top-20 in-state player in ESPN’s rankings. Lutheran East’s T.J. Crumble is currently rated as the No. 18 player in the country and could be the second offer to a Cleveland area plyer in the 2026 cycle.

Aaron Scott Details Summer Visit Plans

Despite the fact that he currently has three crystal balls in favor of Ohio State, there has been a lot of smoke around four-star 2024 cornerback Aaron Scott and That Team Up North. The Springfield, Ohio native who is currently the No. 36 player in the country, No. 4 corner, and No. 1 Ohioan according to 247 Sports spoke with recruiting site yesterday and revealed some details about what the next few months will look like when it comes to his recruitment.

Scott told 247 that while he is still working to narrow down the schools that he is going to focus on, both the Buckeyes and Wolverines will be getting official visits this summer. In addition to the rivals, Oregon is reportedly high on Scott’s list while Penn State, Tennessee, Notre Dame, and USC are also heavily in contention.

Quick Hits

• Last month, four-star 2025 wide receiver Taz Williams Jr. earned an offer from Ohio State and he recently spoke to Eleven Warriors about it.

“It felt great because Ohio State has always been one of my favorite schools since I was younger, so it felt great to achieve my goal of receiving an offer from Ohio State,” he said.

Williams plans on taking an official visit to Columbus later this year, but has not yet decided whether it will be during the summer or the fall.

• Four-star, top-100 guard Jonathan Powell has cut down his offers to six finalists. The Centerville Elk is the No. 98 player in the 2024 recruiting cycle, No. 18 shooting guard, and No. 2 player in Ohio.

In addition to OSU, he is currently considering Michigan State, Indiana, Xavier, Clemson, and Virginia Tech. The announcement comes 354 days after the Buckeyes initially offered Powell. There is no timetable available for the SG’s decision, but — for what it’s worth — Ohio State is the only team currently listed as “Warm” according to 247.