Ohio State basketball's top 2026 recruit decommits

The Ohio State Buckeyes lost a major recruit today.

In the late evening hours of Monday, Oct. 27, news hit that the No. 36 prospect, No. 3 point guard and No. 3 player in Ohio in the 2026 class, Marcus Johnson, decommitted from the program. Johnson was head coach Jake Diebler's first prospect to commit after he took over the helm as the full-time man.

Johnson, at 6-foot-2, has been dominant throughout his time at Garfield Heights. In his junior campaign, he was named Ohio's Mr. Basketball after posting an incredible 29.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

His decommitment to the Buckeyes comes as a surprise, with the team recently coming off a strong exhibition showing this past weekend. It marks the first player to commit and then decide against playing for the Buckeyes since Diebler took over.

On Sunday, Ohio State took on the Ohio Bobcats, dominating them, 103-74. It was reported that Johnson was in attendance for the game alongside his father and coach, Sonny Johnson. Just like Marcus, Sonny was a standout in his high school days. He was also an Ohio Mr. Basketball award winner when playing at Garfield Heights in high school.

Marcus has yet to follow up on his decision and commit to a new school yet. However, in today's current college athletics climate, athletes rarely decommit without having a new school right on their doorstep.

The expectations are that rumors will start to swirl about where the highly talented guard will end up, especially with his senior season beginning in a few weeks.

Last season, he had many highlight worthy moments including leading Garfield Heights to a Division III state semi-final appearance and setting a school record in points-in-a-game with 55.

Although it is a major hit to lose a player like Johnson, the Buckeyes did get a player to fill his void in the 2026 class.

Five-star prospect Anthony Thompson committed to the program back on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Thompson is currently the No. 13-ranked prospect in the SC Next 100, choosing the Buckeyes over countless other programs across the nation.

"Their plan is to help me become the best player I can be and prepare me for the NBA. They see me as a versatile shooter and can defend different positions," Thompson said. "They showed me how I would fit on both ends of the floor."

Alongside Thompson, the program also has forward Alex Smith added to that year's recruiting class.

Both Thompson and Smith can sign with Ohio State officially in the early signing day period, which is set to begin in just a short few weeks on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

As the Buckeyes gear up for the start of the 2025-26 regular season, the program is trending in the right direction, not just for current day success but future as well.

Ohio State will play its first game of the new campaign on Monday, Nov. 3, against IU Indy with tip-off slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.