DOUBLE BOOM
Ohio State lands two transfer commitments in Justin Pippen and Andrija Jelavić.
Ohio State’s frontcourt now features two Croatians.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported Friday that former Kentucky forward Andrija Jelavić has committed to the Buckeyes. He joins center Ivan Njegovan as Ohio State’s two players from The Land of a Thousand Islands.
NEWS: Kentucky transfer Andrija Jelavi has committed to Ohio State, per Miko Ranatovi.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 11, 2026
The 6'11 Croatian sophomore started 18 SEC games, averaging 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds in 16 minutes.
Plenty of shooting in Buckeyes' frontcourt, with Amare Bynum and Anthony Thompson. pic.twitter.com/mr6a2tuueT
Jelavić, a 6-foot-11, 225-pound forward, appeared in 32 games with 20 starts as a freshman for the Wildcats. He averaged 5.5 points and four rebounds in 16 minutes per game, doing most of his damage around the rim where he shot an efficient 67.5% from the field. Perimeter shooting remains an area for growth, as Jelavić connected on 21 of 76 attempts from three-point range (27.6%).
Before arriving at Kentucky, Jelavić spent two seasons playing professionally in the ABA League, a regional circuit that includes teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates.
He made an immediate impact in year one, averaging 10.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Jelavić followed that up with similar production in his second season, posting 11 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest while improving his field-goal percentage to 50.2%.
At Ohio State, Jelavić joins a frontcourt that includes forward Amare Bynum and centers Josh Ojianwuna and Njegovan.
Bynum emerged as a key contributor as a freshman, appearing in 34 games with 24 starts while averaging 9.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest and shooting 50.6% from the field. Njegovan has served in a reserve role through his first two seasons in Columbus, playing in 51 games and averaging 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
Ojianwuna transferred from Baylor ahead of the 2025-26 season but did not see game action this past year while recovering from a torn ACL. In his final season with the Bears, the 6-foot-10, 230-pound Nigerian averaged 7.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest.
Jelavić was the second of two players to commit to the Buckeyes on Friday, joining former California and Michigan guard Justin Pippen, the son of NBA great Scottie Pippen. Jelavić and Pippen are the first two transfer additions of the offseason for Ohio State, which is expected to add four or five total transfers.
