Ohio State basketball has received a commitment from the program’s first five-star prospect since 2014.
Five-star forward Anthony Thompson has committed to the Buckeyes ahead of his final high school season, he told ESPN’s Paul Biancardi on Tuesday.
The 17-year-old, who will turn 18 next August, chose the Buckeyes over five other finalists including Indiana, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan and UNC.
Thompson is listed at 6-foot-8 and 205 pounds out of Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. He is listed as the No. 8 overall prospect and No. 2 small forward prospect in 247Sports composite rankings.
Ohio State had previously received 2026 commitments from two four-star prospects in guard Marcus Johnson and forward Alex Smith.
Adding Thompson to that group of Ohio natives was enough to bump the Buckeyes up to the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation as ranked by 247Sports.
Thompson is coming off of a 3Stripes Select Basketball season during which he averaged 22 points per game on 53 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent from deep, per 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein. He also contributed 1.9 blocks and 1.6 steals per game.
Finkelstein described Thompson in July as “a potent shot-maker who leans back into a high release that is virtually unblockable, allowing him to make threes and pull-ups with very little separation.”
“Physically, he’s grown to 6-foot-8 with shoes on, and has a massive 7-foot-3 wingspan, which allows him to play both the three and the four. That overlap of length and shot-making is rare, especially at this early stage,” Finkelstein wrote.
Thompson is Ohio State’s first five-star recruit since D’Angelo Russell came to Columbus in 2014, per ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi. He is also the program’s highest-rated prospect since Jared Sullinger in 2010, per Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch.
His commitment marks a major recruiting win for Jake Diebler, who is looking to rebuild his program into an NCAA Tournament contender after finishing his first full season as head coach with a 17-15 record.
Thompson told Borzello and Biancardi that he wasn’t “focused on being one-and-done,” but there’s a chance he’ll only be in Columbus for a single season. Whether or not Thompson ultimately enters the 2027 NBA draft, Diebler will hope his decision to choose the Buckeyes over other marquee programs will help convince other top 2026 recruits to come to Ohio State.
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