About an hour before the Buckeyes tip-off against No. 1 Connecticut, head coach Kevin McGuff received some huge news.
Five-star 2016 forward Tori McCoy committed to Ohio State over South Carolina during a ceremony in her high school's cafeteria: McCoy is the No. 10 ranked recruit in the 2016 class, according to ESPN's rankings, and is the No. 4 ranked forward.
The 6'4" forward out of Champaign, Illinois was planning to make her decision in December, but Thursday govolsxtra.com reported McCoy would make her decision and sign with her school Monday. This news came the week following her weekend visit to Ohio State.
The Tori McCoy File
- Class: 2016
- Height: 6-4
- Pos: Forward
- School: Saint Thomas More (Champaign, IL)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★★
- Composite Rank: #10 (#4 F)
What kind of player are the Buckeyes getting in McCoy? ESPN's Dan Olson offers his evaluation:
Explosively athletic interior prospect with off-the-charts potential; attacks rim in mid-post game, elevates with soft touch in key; superb in uptempo; shot blocker, defends out of area; among the elite prospects in the 2016 class.
McCoy was sidelined her junior season with a torn ACL, but she says she's recovered and ready for her senior season.
From Mike Goebel of news-gazette.com:
"I feel 100 percent," said the All-Area Player of the Year. "I kind of feel a lot stronger than I used to because working out over that year I sat out actually helped me out a lot."
After receiving McCoy's National Letter of Intent, Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said "I'm extremely excited today to add Tori McCoy to our program. She's certainly one of the top players in the country but more importantly, she's a great kid who will be an unbelievable addition to our program."
This is McGuff's third commitment of the 2016 class, and his third five-star. McCoy joins No. 22 (#6 PG) Kiara Lewis and No. 31 (#6 SG) Jensen Caretti, who committed Friday.
"The three players we signed this year are all phenomenal kids and I think add to what is becoming one of the best rosters in college basketball," said McGuff. "I couldn't be more excited about the future of this program."
In addition to the incoming three freshmen, the Buckeyes will be joined by two former McDonald's All-Americans in 2016. Transfers Sierra Calhoun (Duke) and Stephanie Mavunga (North Carolina) are sitting out this season due to NCAA transfer regulations, but will be eligible to play in 2016 along with the freshman trio.
The future keeps getting brighter for this Buckeye basketball team.
You can get to know Tori McCoy more as well as see a few of her highlights in this video documentary:
