Rivals.com 24/7Sports O3n POINT GUARD •6'1" | 170 LBS CLASS OF 2026 @ GARFIELD HEIGHTS | GARFIELD HEIGHTS, OH Ohio State has offered.
Ohio State Buckeyes offer five-star 2026 Ohioan Marcus Johnson https://t.co/3FcFm6pNsy— BuckeyeXtra.com (@BuckeyeXtra) May 2, 2023
Ohio State men's basketball offers 2026 prospect Marcus Johnson of Garfield Heights, interview herehttps://t.co/JSNZ7ieXpN pic.twitter.com/Vt8go4pItT— Steve Helwagen (@SteveHelwagen) May 2, 2023
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.
OSU EXTENDS EARLY OFFER TO FIVE-STAR 2026 GUARD The Buckeyes’ first known scholarship offer in the 2026 class went to a Garfield Heights product who is still just a freshman in high school. Marcus Johnson, the cousin of former Buckeye guard Meechie Johnson, impressed the Ohio State coaching staff enough to earn an offer on May 1 as the heralded Ohio native continued to impress on the AAU circuit. Ohio State is far from the first school to offer the 6-foot-1, 175-pound guard, though. Ranked as a five-star prospect and the No. 16 overall player in the 2026 class by ESPN, Johnson had previously earned offers from Alabama, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Arizona State and Georgia Tech, with LSU extending an offer just two days after the Buckeyes. But as an in-state prospect with familial ties to the program, Ohio State could have an early advantage in what figures to be a national recruiting battle for one of the best players in the country.
2026 Garfield Heights (OH) G Marcus Johnson has received an offer from Oklahoma. @Marcus_J32 https://t.co/0NZgCKB4XB https://t.co/kDMejx25Yt— Verbal Commits (@VerbalCommits) June 2, 2023
Happy Monday, #Buckeyes fans. First recruiting story from the weekend is live. Caught up with Marcus Johnson, 5* PG in the 2026 class, and his dad @sonnyjohnson32 about his visit to his "dream school," #OhioState. Here's how it went:https://t.co/vRiCYSmcmn— Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) September 11, 2023