Buckeyes basketball gets its first commitment of 2026 class
Ohio State has landed its first high school commit in the Jake Diebler era, and he’s a highly rated one.
Marcus Johnson, a five-star guard from Garfield Heights, Ohio, announced he is joining the Buckeyes’ class of 2026. The 6-2, 170-pound Johnson picked Ohio State after taking multiple visits to OSU and developing a close relationship with Diebler.
“It’s easy to make a decision like this when a coach has been the one coming to your practices, coming to all your games, who has been the one communicating with you and built that relationship and now he becomes the head coach,” Johnson’s father, Sonny Johnson, said. “One thing my son wanted was to always feel loved and wanted. You want to go where you’re loved and wanted and somebody has a plan for you, and we think coach Diebler is that guy.”
ESPN ranks Johnson as a five-star prospect and the No. 12 overall player in the class while 247Sports has him as a four-star prospect and the No. 24 overall player. Both list him as the top player in Ohio.
He is Ohio State’s first commitment in either the 2025 or 2026 classes.
“Why not take it?” Sonny Johnson said. “Now they have you in their plans: We can’t take this (other) guy here because we’ve got Marcus here. We’re going to develop them. We’re trying to bring pride to Ohio State basketball and bring national recognition to our state.”
The Johnson family has been right behind the OSU bench for several games with Diebler coaching.
“I think he runs a pro-style offense,” Sonny Johnson said. “I saw how he encouraged his players to play with confidence, to be aggressive. We like the way the team’s camaraderie was.”
Diebler previously signed South Carolina transfer Meechie Johnson out of the portal. He is also a Garfield Heights product and is Marcus Johnson’s cousin.
“We have enough players in this state of Ohio to win the national championship,” Sonny Johnson said. “That’s got to be the goal. There can be nothing more pleasurable than winning and being great in your state.”
Two more assistants hired
Ohio State is hiring Grand Canyon assistant Jamall Walker and Baylor director of basketball operations Luke Simons to join Diebler’s coaching staff.
Walker, 46, has spent the last four seasons at Grand Canyon, where the Antelopes reached the NCAA Tournament three times and, as a No. 12 seed this year, beat Saint Mary’s in the first round before losing to Alabama.
“Jamall’s recruiting success, his experience in the Big Ten as well as working with a coach like Bryce Drew were all really important intangibles that I was looking for when filling out a staff,” Diebler said in a statement. “He’s got a great defensive mind and a tremendous ability to connect with players.”
After a four-year playing career at St. Louis, where Walker recorded 350 career assists for the Billikens from 1995-99, he was hired for his first Division I job at Ball State in 2004.
Following subsequent assistant coaching jobs at St. Louis (2006-07), Murray State (2007-08) and Ohio (200809), Murray went to Arizona as director of basketball operations for coach Sean Miller for one year before returning to the Bobcats ahead of the 2010-11 season.
Walker remained at Ohio for two years with coach John Groce, and when Groce was hired at Illinois following the 2011-12 season, Walker followed him to the Big Ten. Walker was on staff for all five years of Groce’s tenure and remained with the Fighting Illini when Groce was fired after the 2016-17 season and replaced with Brad Underwood.
Under Underwood, Walker served as an assistant to the head coach and defensive coordinator for the 2019-20 season. He then joined Bryce Drew’s staff at Grand Canyon.
Simons is a Purdue graduate and Shelbyville, Indiana, native.
Due to NCAA limits, he will be one of two Ohio State assistants without offcampus recruiting responsibilities. He joins Dave Dickerson in that regard.
Simons and Diebler have previously worked together. With Bryce Drew as head coach at Vanderbilt from 2016-19, Diebler was an assistant coach and Simons was director of scouting. Simons went on to spend two years as director of basketball operations for the College of Charleston and one for Boston College before being hired by Baylor before the 2022-23 season.
He has also been an assistant coach and director of player development for the Mongolian National Team from 2012-15, helping guide the team to the final round of the 2015 Asian Games.
Diebler had previously announced the additions of Dickerson and Joel Justus, leaving one assistant coaching position available.
ajardy@dispatch.com