Buckeyes pick up guard for 2018 class

Torrence Watson, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound shooting guard from St. Louis, committed to Ohio State and new coach Chris Holtmann on Monday night for the class of 2018.

"This has been the hardest decision of my life," Watson wrote in a post on Twitter. "I've built so many great relationships with great coaches and programs. But I know I can't choose every one. Next fall I will be attending The Ohio State University."

Watson is a four-star prospect on 247Sports who also was considering staying in his home state and playing for Missouri. But he was recruited by Holtmann and assistant coach Mike Schrage before they joined Ohio State and were at Butler. That relationship swayed Watson.

“I talk to coach Schrage just about every day and coach Holtmann just about every other day, so we’ve built a pretty close relationship with them being at Butler and now at Ohio State,” Watson told The Dispatch late last month. “It didn’t matter what school they went to, I think that relationship would still have been there and the possibility of me playing for them someday.”

Watson took an official visit to Ohio State on June 27, and he becomes the first commitment to the class of 2018.

He now will be able to focus on his senior season at the Whitfield School, where he plays for coach Mike Potsou.

“Schrage and coach Holtmann have both seen him play last year when they were at Butler," Potsou told The Dispatch recently. "I think they have a good understanding of what he can do and I think that’s why they extended the offer at Ohio State because they definitely have a need, from what I understand, at the 2 (guard position).”

Holtmann now has five scholarships available.