In addition to watching Ohio State play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years, Buckeye fans will see a few other familiar faces in March Madness.
Four former Buckeyes who transferred out to Ohio State to continue their college basketball careers elsewhere will also be playing in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. As Bruce Thornton plays in his first NCAA Tournament, three other members of his 2022 recruiting class – Roddy Gayle Jr., Felix Okpara and Bowen Hardman – will also play in the Big Dance, as will fellow senior Evan Mahaffey, who transferred from Ohio State last offseason to join Hardman at Akron.
Coincidentally, all of their teams were placed in the Midwest Region, setting up the possibility of former Buckeyes going head-to-head in the Big Dance – though it would require multiple upsets by either Tennessee or Akron to make that happen.
THE BRACKET
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 15, 2026
Fill out yours: https://t.co/Jt9eXr7f5T pic.twitter.com/9g8ciMYUhv
As we count down the days to the start of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, we’ve put together a look at the former Buckeyes who made the Big Dance with their current teams and the roles they’ve played in getting their current teams into the 68-team field – as well as a quick look at the seasons of the five Ohio State transfers whose teams won’t be dancing.
Michigan G Roddy Gayle Jr.
It’s unlikely many Ohio State fans have forgotten about Gayle, considering where he transferred. They won’t be rooting for Gayle for the same reason, but the former Buckeye has a real chance to win a national championship in his final season of college basketball.
Gayle’s role has decreased a bit in his second season at Michigan, as he’s started just one game this year, but he’s still been a key player in the backcourt rotation for the Wolverines, who earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region with a 31-3 record. They enter the NCAA Tournament with the second-best odds (+370) to win the national championship.
A senior who played two years at Ohio State before transferring up north, Gayle is averaging seven points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.8 steals per game on 45.1% shooting.
The Wolverines will open NCAA Tournament play at 7:10 p.m. Thursday (CBS) in Buffalo, New York, vs. the winner of the First Four game between No. 16 seeds UMBC and Howard.
Tennessee C Felix Okpara
Another member of Thornton’s Ohio State recruiting class who left the Buckeyes in 2024 after Chris Holtmann’s firing, Okpara helped lead Tennessee to a 22-11 record this season and the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region.
In his second year at Tennessee after two years at Ohio State, Okpara has averaged a career-high 7.7 points per game with 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest. Among all of Ohio State’s transfers in the NCAA Tournament, he’s the one the Buckeyes would most like to still have on their roster, as his size (6-foot-11 and 242 pounds) and defensive presence inside would provide a big boost to an Ohio State frontcourt that faces a daunting potential second-round matchup with No. 1 seed Duke and its superstar power forward, Cameron Boozer.
Instead, Okpara will play in his second straight NCAA Tournament with Tennessee, who’s made each of the last two Elite Eights. The Volunteers will be challenged right out of the gates in this year’s tournament, however, as they’ll play the winner of Wednesday’s First Four game between No. 11 seeds Miami (Ohio) and SMU at 4:25 p.m. Friday (TBS) in Philadelphia.
Felix Okpara will play in a second NCAA Tournament with Tennessee to conclude his college career. (Photo: Randy Sartin – Imagn Images)
Akron F Evan Mahaffey and G Bowen Hardman
The only team in college basketball with two former Buckeyes on its roster is also going dancing after winning the MAC Tournament.
Former Ohio State forward Evan Mahaffey has had a career year in his senior season after transferring to Akron last offseason. He’s started all 34 of the Zips’ games and tallied 10.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game, all career-highs. He earned MAC All-Defensive Team and All-MAC honorable mention status for his regular-season play, and scored 34 points with 21 rebounds, nine assists and six blocks in their three-game run to a conference tournament title.
Bowen Hardman – who, like Gayle and Okpara, transferred from Ohio State in 2024 after two years with the Buckeyes – has also had his best season of college basketball as a senior, averaging career-highs of 7.9 points and 1.6 rebounds on 18.3 minutes per game, including 11 starts. The sharpshooter enters the NCAA Tournament with momentum, having made 18 of his 33 3-point shot attempts for an average of 12.2 points in Akron’s last five games.
Mahaffey and Hardman are among 39 total players from the state of Ohio in the NCAA Tournament, a total that also includes six Ohio State players (John Mobley Jr., Devin Royal, Gabe Cupps, Brandon Noel, Colin White and Braylen Nash).
39 Ohio guys in the NCAA Tournament this year! pic.twitter.com/VDoIC9uEJG
— Martin RPI (@MartinRPI) March 16, 2026
A No. 12 seed, the Zips will gun for an upset on Friday at 12:40 p.m. (TruTV), when they’ll face No. 5 seed Texas Tech in first-round action in Tampa, Florida.
Buckeye transfers who didn’t make the tournament
- South Carolina G Meechie Johnson Jr.: After transferring from Ohio State to South Carolina for the second time, Johnson led the Gamecocks with career-highs of 17.2 points and 4.3 assists per game this season, but South Carolina went just 13-19 for the season.
- Memphis C Aaron Bradshaw: Bradshaw, who transferred to his third school in three years after one year at Kentucky and one year at Ohio State, averaged career-highs of 8.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for Memphis, but the Tigers also went just 13-19 on the season to fall well short of the NCAA Tournament.
- Oregon F Sean Stewart: Stewart, who also transferred to his third school in three years after one year at Duke and one year at Ohio State, saw a slight increase in production with a career-high 6.5 points per game for the Ducks to go along with 5.2 rebounds per game. His team went just 12-20, however, and tied for 15th in the Big Ten.
- Toledo C Austin Parks: Akron’s MAC Tournament win came at Parks’ expense, as Toledo suffered a heartbreaking 79-76 loss to the Zips in the conference championship game. That loss kept the Rockets out of the NCAA Tournament, but it was still a career year for Parks, who started all 34 of Toledo’s games and averaged 10.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.
- Tulane F Scotty Middleton: Middleton, another former Buckeye who played for his third school in three years this season after one year at Ohio State and one year at Seton Hall, had his most productive season of college basketball to date with 6.9 points, four rebounds and 1.2 assists per game for Tulane. The Green Wave ended the season with an 18-15 record and a second-round loss in the American Athletic Conference tournament.
