Thanks to the huge matchup on Saturday, Ohio State football recruiting has been fairly quiet this week. With all of the Buckeyes’ focus being kept on Oregon and the trek to the Pacific Northwest, it makes sense to see less activity from the football staff on the recruiting trail.
However, with a road contest of this magnitude, Oregon will be welcoming in many high-profile prospects, many of whom Ohio State is also after, so the Buckeyes seem to be treating this weekend’s road game as another opportunity to impress some recruits that they would like to land, even if they are spending Saturday night on Oregon’s sideline.
Despite the football team’s attention on Eugene, the men’s basketball program is still making news on the recruiting trail.
Under new head coach Jake Diebler, Ohio State has continued to see its name in the mix for the nation’s top-ranked basketball prospects, but the Buckeyes are hoping that they can close the deal on more of those players than the previous staff did. While OSU may not land all — or even most — of these targets, when you see the program consistently making the cut, it obviously shows Diebler and his staff’s recruiting efforts are connecting with the best players. And truthfully, being in the mix more often simply increases the odds of landing even a couple of these top national players.
Yesterday, the Buckeyes continued their good fortunes in the recruiting realm as 2025 five-star, Niko Bundalo cut his recruitment down to just four schools as he makes his way to a final decision. The No. 26 player nationally and seventh-best power forward in the class per the 247Sports Composite rankings, Bundalo has nearly 40 offers to his name, so seeing him get down to just a handful shows the timing is getting closer for him to make the call.
Schools such as Alabama, Cincinnati, Creighton, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU, Syracuse, Texas, and several others are just some of his offers, but after the latest recruiting update, just Connecticut, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Ohio State remain.
The 6-foot-10, 215-pound athlete may play his prep basketball in California, but before heading to the West Coast, Bundalo called Ohio home. A Uniontown, Ohio native, most people would see his California status and believe Ohio State has little chance here, but having USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington now in the Big Ten would help him get back to see family thanks to road conference games.
All aspects to consider, what the Buckeyes will need down the stretch is to continue their relentless effort. Getting him back on campus would certainly bode well for the staff, but even though UConn and North Carolina have had more post-season success than Ohio State recently, the Buckeyes still have a real shot here and will keep swinging until they land these top national players they’re consistently in the fold for.
