Ohio State basketball's 2018 recruiting class grew from one to three Saturday as the Buckeyes added a pair of commits.
Four-star forward Darius Bazley and three-star wing Justin Ahrens each announced their decision to commit to Ohio State, according to AAU coach Steve Wright. Bazley and Ahrens are AAU teammates for the King James Shooting Stars.
Eleven Warriors' Zach Fleer has since confirmed the news.
Blessed to announce I will be attending The Ohio State University!! #GOBUCKS pic.twitter.com/Q8ipDA3ouU
— Justin Ahrens (@ahrensjustin12) August 27, 2016
Bazley, a versatile 6-foot-7 forward from Cincinnati Princeton, is rated as the No. 89 overall player in the 2018 class and No. 2 player in Ohio, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. ESPN had Bazley listed as the No. 47 overall player in its newly-released top-60.
Bazley chose the Buckeyes over offers from Cincinnati, Purdue, St. Louis, Florida and Toledo. He was offered by Ohio State back on June 20.
Hailing from Versailles, Ohio, Ahrens is the No. 128 overall prospect in the 2018 class and fourth-ranked player in the state, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He's the younger brother of Michigan State guard Kyle Ahrens and has a reputation as a knockdown shooter from the perimeter.
The 6-foot-5 Ahrens chose the Buckeyes just four days after earning his scholarship offer while on an unofficial visit. Ahrens had offers from Stony Brook, Toledo, Miami (Ohio) and St. Louis, but Ohio State was his first high-major offer.
Bazley and Ahrens give Ohio State three commits in the 2018 class as they join four-star guard Dane Goodwin. They are the No. 2, 3 and 4-ranked players in the state. The Buckeyes also have an offer out to the state's No. 1-ranked player in 2018, four-star guard Dwayne Cohill, as well as the fifth-ranked player in the state, Jerome Hunter.
