Jake Diebler believes Ohio State has the roster needed to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament in 2026-27.
Ohio State men’s basketball took a step forward last season, Diebler’s second year as head coach, by making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. The Buckeyes’ trip to the Big Dance lasted only one game, however, as they were defeated in the first round by No. 9 seed TCU.
A lack of depth played a big role in the Buckeyes’ demise last season, as none of their bench players made a consistent impact. Diebler doesn’t expect that to be an issue in 2026-27.
“I think this is the deepest team we've had, and I don't know that it's even close,” Diebler said Monday. “So I'm excited about that.”
Ohio State added four players through the transfer portal this offseason: Former Kentucky big man Andrija Jelavic, former Cal guard Justin Pippen, former Duquesne guard Jimmie Williams and former Memphis guard Curtis Givens III. The Buckeyes also added a three-man freshman class headlined by five-star small forward Anthony Thompson, the No. 8 overall prospect in the 2026 class. John Mobley Jr. and Amare Bynum return from last year’s starting lineup, while Josh Ojianwuna and Ivan Njegovan return as veteran centers.
The first and most important task of the offseason was retaining Mobley and Bynum, who Diebler expects to be two of the Big Ten’s best players in 2026-27.
“If John Mobley or Amare Bynum would have been in the transfer portal, like maybe some of the best players in the country, right? And there were plenty of teams that tried to push them into the transfer portal,” Diebler said. “John was an all-league player last year. Amare's trending in that direction.”
In the transfer portal, Diebler wanted to add more size and versatility in both the frontcourt and backcourt. He’s excited about Jelavic’s ability to play both center and power forward, allowing the Buckeyes to use a variety of lineups down low with Ojianwuna, Njegovan, Jelavic and Bynum. He believes Williams (who’s 6-foot-5) and Pippen and Givens (who are both 6-3) will make the Buckeyes better defensively on the perimeter as they join a backcourt led by Mobley, who averaged 15.7 points per game last season.
“I love where our roster is. This roster is big, it's versatile, it's skilled, it's smart,” Diebler said.
All of that said, there’s still a lot that needs to come together for Ohio State to be a contender this upcoming season. First and foremost, the Buckeyes have to replace their leader and best player, Bruce Thornton, who ended his Ohio State career last season as the Buckeyes’ all-time leading scorer. Diebler knows Thornton leaves big shoes to fill, but he believes the Buckeyes’ retooled roster will allow them to play a different style of basketball this season.
“Certainly Bruce was one of the most efficient players in the country. And when you consider his efficiency and usage rate, it made a lot of sense and helped us be successful playing through him. What we wanted to do this offseason is have more versatility and play faster,” Diebler said. “We needed more positional size at every spot; positional size in the front court, in the backcourt. And I feel like we did that. … We wanted to be able to play faster, shift positionally around a little bit more. And I think we accomplished that.”
“I think this is the deepest team we’ve had, and I don’t know that it’s even close.”– Jake Diebler on Ohio State’s 2026-27 roster
Ohio State’s ceiling is heavily contingent on Thompson, who’s expected to be an immediate starter alongside Mobley, Bynum, Pippen and Ojianwuna or Jelavic. There’s always some risk in leaning heavily on a freshman, but Diebler is excited about what Thompson brings to the program as Ohio State’s highest-ranked signee since Jared Sullinger in 2010.
| Pos | Starter | Backup | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | JOSH OJIANWUNA | IVAN NJEGOVAN | VUK LAZAREVIC |
| PF | AMARE BYNUM | ANDRIJA JELAVIC | |
| SF | ANTHONY THOMPSON | ALEX SMITH | |
| SG | JOHN MOBLEY JR. | JIMMIE WILLIAMS | BRAYLEN NASH |
| PG | JUSTIN PIPPEN | CURTIS GIVENS III | MYLES HERRO |
“Winning matters to him and player development matters to him. I think he's got a really bright future,” Diebler said of Thompson. “This summer and offseason is going to be really important for him because we're expecting him to play a major role for us. But he's got the personality and characteristics and work ethic to do that.
“As we've seen, you can look specifically in this program, but I think when you look just across the country, there's a transition period that high-level freshmen go through. I don't think he's going to be any different. But I do think our job as a staff is to help speed that up as best as we can to get him ready for November and then really, kind of January and beyond.
“Why he's had the rise he's had the last few years is because he's a great young man who works extremely hard. And he's just got to continue to do that. Now that he's here in this building every day, I think we'll see that sped up in a big way.”
Ohio State is also counting on Ojianwuna to be a difference-maker at center after missing last season with a torn ACL. Diebler said Ohio State has been “really conservative” with Ojianwuna’s return to the court to ensure it doesn’t rush him back too quickly, but Diebler said the Buckeyes are “fully anticipating him being available this summer” as they begin ramping up toward the season.
“He's moving well, working extremely hard, just been really impressed with the progress he's made, even as much as in the last month,” Diebler said of Ojianwuna. “So I wouldn't say all the way back yet, no, but getting closer and closer. And it's been great to see.”
The pressure for Diebler and Ohio State to perform in 2026-27 is heightened after the Buckeyes’ rival, Michigan, won the national championship last year in Dusty May’s second season as head coach. Diebler said the Buckeyes are less focused on their rival than they are on themselves, though they are looking forward to their two regular-season matchups with the Wolverines. But Diebler knows just making the NCAA Tournament won’t be enough for 2026-27 to be a successful season.
“I don't know necessarily that there is a way anybody can put more pressure on me than I do on myself. And the bulk of that comes just from the competitive nature that I have, but also just the love and respect for this program that I have,” Diebler said. “Certainly we're trying to win a championship here. And we've gained some significant ground from year one to now. And everybody's not operating under the same speed. But we're trying to get there now. Like, that's our goal. That's how we're operating. There was a process to get to this point. But we're excited to take off.
“That game (against Michigan) for us is an important one. I said that this past season, like it didn't minimize The Game, whether we won or lost. It's an important game every year, and it's going to be an important game this upcoming season. We're going to be playing twice, and we'll be ready and looking forward to those matchups. But right now we're focused on Ohio State, and making sure we're doing everything we can every single day to push this program up. It's a fight in the toughest league in the country. But we're fighting hard.
“And certainly aware of not just them, but the surroundings of our conference, right? Because I think you can look at a handful of teams in our conference over the last five to seven years who have operated at a high level. And that's what we're pushing to become.”
