Update: Ohio State filled one of its two remaining roster openings on Saturday with the addition of former San Diego State wing Micah Parrish.
There’s been a lot of movement among Ohio State’s transfer portal targets over the past few weeks.
A glut of former targets have come off the board. Perhaps most notable is former Princeton guard Matt Allocco, who pledged his services to Notre Dame on Wednesday despite taking an official visit to Ohio State and being a priority target for the Buckeyes.
Go Irish pic.twitter.com/QPXb1dvl3t
— Mush (@MattAllocco) April 17, 2024
Others who have eliminated the Buckeyes from contention via either a top schools list or a commitment elsewhere include former USF guard Selton Miguel, former Kentucky wing Adou Thiero, former Oklahoma wing Otega Oweh, former Indiana State guard Ryan Conwell, former Iowa guard Tony Perkins, former Utah State wing Great Osobor and former TCU wing JaKobe Coles.
The two transfer portal needs that remain for Ohio State after adding former Kentucky center Aaron Bradshaw on Monday are a scoring threat on the wing and depth at guard.
Jake Diebler’s sights have narrowed on a handful of targets, two of which have made their way to Columbus this week. Former Oakland wing Trey Townsend visited Ohio State on Thursday and Friday while Central Arkansas wing Tucker Anderson is on campus this weekend.
| NAME | POS | HT | WT | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TREY TOWNSEND | F | 6-6 | 228 | OAKLAND |
| TUCKER ANDERSON | F | 6-9 | 190 | CENTRAL ARKANSAS |
| SAM WALTERS | F | 6-10 | 198 | ALABAMA |
| MICAH PARRISH | G | 6-6 | 195 | SAN DIEGO STATE |
| ROWAN BRUMBAUGH | G | 6-4 | 183 | GEORGETOWN |
| KOBY BREA | G | 6-6 | 205 | DAYTON |
| RA'HEIM MOSS | G | 6-4 | 205 | TOLEDO |
| JALEN SULLINGER | G | 5-10 | 172 | KENT STATE |
| BRONNY JAMES | G | 6-4 | 210 | USC |
Trey Townsend, Oakland wing
Townsend has emerged as arguably Ohio State’s top target on the wing, and he’s a proven scoring threat the Buckeyes witnessed firsthand in their 2023-24 season-opener against the Golden Grizzlies.
Not only did Townsend put up 17 points against OSU that day, he dropped 30 points in two of Oakland’s final three games en route to averaging 17.3 points per contest on the campaign. Despite standing just 6-6, he also posted 8.1 rebounds per game for the Grizzlies.
He visited Ohio State, one of three schools he’s taking official visits to as he weighs his decision, on Thursday and Friday. He also visited Arizona and will be at Louisville this weekend.
Oakland transfer forward Trey Townsend (@treyt430), the Horizon League POY, has scheduled the following official visits, his agent @georgelangberg of GSL Sports Group confirms to @On3Sports:
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 16, 2024
Arizona - April 16-17
Ohio State - April 18-19
Louisville - April 20-21 pic.twitter.com/bLTb23KXqY
The one drawback of Townsend as a potential lone addition on the wing is that he doesn’t offer a huge perimeter threat. He took just 32 3-point attempts as a fourth-year player this past season. He did convert 37.5% of those looks, however.
None of Ohio State’s current frontcourt options are clear candidates to replace some of the stretch that Jamison Battle offered in 2023-24 as one of the nation’s top sharpshooters.
Regardless, a proven scorer of Townsend’s caliber would be a great addition for OSU. The Buckeyes need a scorer first and foremost on the wing, and Townsend adds some defensive prowess, too, with 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks per game on his career.
Tucker Anderson, Central Arkansas wing
Anderson, on the other hand, has already proven himself as a shooter in just one season at Central Arkansas.
Firing up 6.4 3-point attempts per game as a freshman, Anderson knocked down 38.1% of those shots for the Bears. Taking more attempts from outside the arc than inside, those makes accounted for a bulk of his point production. He also hit 81.3% of his free-throw attempts in 2023-24.
Anderson isn’t as well-rounded a scorer as Townsend but still put up a strong 14.5 points per game this year. His rebounding numbers could use an uptick as he only pulled in 3.7 per contest in 30.8 minutes, though some bulk in Ohio State’s strength and conditioning program could serve him there as he stretches 190 pounds across a 6-9 frame currently.
Ohio State is receiving Anderson’s lone visit to date this weekend. With two scholarships available and a need at both guard and wing, it’s unlikely that OSU would take both Townsend and Anderson unless there’s more attrition from the Buckeyes’ current roster.
Sam Walters, Alabama Wing
Walters just entered the transfer portal on Monday but there’s already been reported contact between him and Ohio State. He posted 5.4 points per game as a freshman and shot 39.4% from downtown, taking 2.7 3-pointers per game against 1.4 shots from two. He offers great length as well at 6-10.
Walters was a top-100 prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings for the class of 2023.
Update: Walters concluded a visit to Ohio State on Saturday, placing him alongside Anderson and Townsend as top frontcourt targets.
Micah Parrish, San Diego State wing
Parrish completes an even split of polarized experience between Ohio State’s transfer targets on the wing, entering his final year of eligibility alongside Townsend while Anderson and Walters are both coming off their freshman seasons.
Parrish matched his career scoring average in 2023-24, posting 9.3 points per game for the Aztecs. His shooting numbers did dip a touch, though, as he went 29.2% from distance after hovering right around 35% in each of his first three campaigns.
Parrish added 4.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game to his shooting and scoring numbers this past season.
Rowan Brumbaugh, Georgetown guard
There’s not much more to report on the Brumbaugh front since Ohio State was among the schools reported to be in contact with him. The redshirt freshman hasn’t had any reported visits. He posted 8.3 points per game and shot 37% from three for the Hoyas in 2023-24 after transferring in from Texas.
Koby Brea, Dayton guard
With Allocco and other guard targets opting to go elsewhere, Brea emerged as a possibility recently for Ohio State in the backcourt, though at 6-foot-6 he has the length to play on the wing if needed.
Brea is the sharpest of the shooters on this list. At volume with 6.1 3-point attempts per game, he cashed in a gaudy 49.8% of his distance shots – the No. 1 3-point percentage in all of college basketball in 2023-24. Cade Tyson of Belmont finished more than 3% behind him in second place.
Entering his final year of eligibility, Brea posted 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game this past season to go with his otherworldly shooting numbers.
Ra’Heim Moss, Toledo guard
Moss made waves in the MAC this year, going off for 15.5 points per game and tacking on a team-high three assists per contest. Most of that scoring was done on the interior, though he shot a respectable 30.8% from outside.
Ohio State made the cut for Moss’ top four schools on Tuesday, joining Oregon, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
Toledo transfer guard Ra'Heim Moss has cut his list to four schools, source tells @On3sports:
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 16, 2024
Oregon
Ole Miss
Texas A&M
Ohio State
The 6-4 junior averaged 15.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game this season. https://t.co/6xBMCmHlAY pic.twitter.com/ElZCCterJL
Jalen Sullinger, Kent State guard
It’s been a month since the first reports of Ohio State’s interest in the Buckeye legacy Sullinger. There hasn’t been much movement since from either party.
Sullinger is the son of former Ohio State guard JJ Sullinger and the nephew of two-time All-American Ohio State center Jared Sullinger. The 5-foot-10 Jalen posted 15.4 points per game and shot 39.2% from three for the Golden Flashes in 2023-24.
Bronny James, USC guard
The future for James is still unclear as he weighs whether or not to go pro or transfer from USC to another school. The son of future NBA Hall of Famer LeBron James posted 4.8 points and 2.1 assists per game as a freshman, and Ohio State was involved in his recruitment out of high school.
