The Buckeyes made the cut for local 2023 prospect Devin Royal. As expected, the Pickerington Central product placed Ohio State among his top nine schools Monday.

Final 9 pic.twitter.com/pQcPwaTI2b

— Devin Royal (@DevinRoyal7) July 18, 2022

Royal, the No. 76 overall prospect and second-ranked player in Ohio, also listed Michigan State, Michigan, Penn State, Miami, Marquette, Ole Miss, Alabama and Clemson on his top schools list.

I caught up with Royal recently at the ongoing Kingdom League summer basketball tournament at Ohio Dominican on July 3, and the rising high school senior discussed his recruitment and relationship with the Buckeye coaching staff.