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Ohio State Buckeyes handed the news they didn’t need with one of their only basketball commitments

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Brandon Little | Last updated May 31, 2025 2:46 PM ET

After a disappointing 2024–2025 season and missing the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year, the Ohio State Buckeyes were always going to be forced to make some roster changes.

Ohio State will return a core group of Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr., and Devin Royal next season. However, the Buckeyes lost Aaron Bradshaw, Austin Parks, Evan Mahaffey, Meechie Johnson Jr., and Sean Stewart to the transfer portal.

To bolster the roster, the Buckeyes have added Gabe Cupps, Christoph Tilly, Brandon Noel, and Josh Ojianwuna via the portal. However, they’re now taking a loss they didn’t necessarily expect heading into the 2025–2026 season.

Ohio State Won’t Have One of Its Top 2025 Signees on Campus Next Season

In unfortunate news, four-star guard Dorian Jones will not be joining the Buckeyes next season and will instead spend a year at junior college. According to multiple reports, Jones is dealing with academic issues that need to be addressed at the junior college level. The current plan is for him to join Ohio State in the future once those issues are resolved.

Sources indicate academic issues keeping bkb commit Dorian Jones from enrolling at Ohio State for the summer term ... our story herehttps://t.co/aQODc9Ox42 pic.twitter.com/fwbknsYuQc
— Steve Helwagen (@SteveHelwagen) May 30, 2025

Jones was ranked the No. 114 overall player and the No. 19 shooting guard in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Ohio State had just two freshmen committed in the class, with the other being four-star power forward A’Mare Bynum, who could see immediate playing time as a freshman.

Playing time was expected to be limited for Jones in his first year, but the hope is that he can use the time in junior college to grow both on and off the court. With Jones out, Taison Chatman—returning from injury—will be another guard option the Buckeyes can rely on.

Ohio State is likely to have 13 scholarship players on the roster for the 2025–2026 season following this latest development with the four-star recruit from Richmond Heights (OH).

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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