How Ohio State Buckeyes Could Land Bryce James in NCAA Transfer Portal This Offseason

Bryce James is an Arizona Wildcat.

For now.

Arizona will spend next weekend in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. James, a freshman, won’t participate outside of practices — he’s currently redshirting in his first season with the ’Cats.

That’s part of the reason why there’s at least a chance James could end up in Columbus playing for Ohio State next season, should he enter the transfer portal.

To be clear, James has not expressed (at least publicly) an intention to enter the portal. But the portal is not yet open. For men’s basketball, the portal opens April 7 and closes two weeks later, April 21.

As we’ve seen in the era of NIL and the portal, players that don’t see the court or field are generally eager to take their talents elsewhere.

James could potentially do just that. And if he does, Ohio State would seem to be a very likely destination.

Bryce James was a three-star recruit before committing to Arizona

For starters, Ohio State was in on recruiting James out of high school, reportedly finishing as the second choice to Arizona.

Duquesne was also said to be in the mix for the 6-foot-4 wing, though recruiting sites would leave you to believe they were a distant third in the running only because their coach, Dru Joyce III, is a good friend of Bryce’s dad, LeBron James. Ultimately, in December 2024 James officially committed to the Wildcats. He joined one of the country’s best class of recruits that included five-stars Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, among others.

Playing time on coach Jake Diebler’s Buckeyes should be more of a sure thing than at Arizona, even with Burries expected to enter the NBA Draft opening a guard spot for minutes.

Ohio State loses a pair of senior guards in starter Bruce Thornton and reserve Puff Johnson. And there’s always the possibility of some non-seniors leaving for pay days or playing time elsewhere too.

NIL money will be there at OSU, Arizona, or just about anywhere else. But let’s be real, if Bryce opts to leave the Wildcats, it’s not going to be because of money. For those who have spent the last two decades in a Wi-Fi-less world, Bryce’s old man is worth a billion dollars.

Speaking of his famous father, that’s one more reason why Bryce James to Ohio State makes sense. Just about everyone in and around NBA circles expects LeBron, who’ll be a free agent after this season, to return to Ohio next season to again play for the Cavaliers.

Cleveland’s roughly two hours from Columbus and the James family still owns a home in the Akron area. Bronny James attended nearby USC for his lone college season while LeBron was playing for the Lakers and Bryce was playing high school basketball in the LA area.

A similar setup makes sense logistically should Bryce enter the portal and LeBron sign up for a third go-round with the Cavaliers.

This is all speculation for now, but (another) James family decision looms next month …