Ohio State Men’s Basketball Has First McDonald’s All-American in More Than a Decade

“Ba Da Ba Ba Ba, I’m lovin’ it, “ – Jake Diebler (probably).

If Diebler, Ohio State’s men’s basketball coach, isn’t humming that tune, he’s at least breathing a very audible sigh of relief after Buckeye recruit Anthony Thompson was selected to play in the 2026 McDonald’s All-American game.

Thompson, a top-10 recruit nationally, will become the first Buckeye to play in the highly regarded high school All-Star game since 2014 when current Dallas Mavericks guard, D’Angelo Russell played in the exhibition.

The Ohio State signee committed to the Buckeyes in October after mauling offers from North Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Indiana, and others. Johnson, a 6-foot-8 forward, plays for Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio and is the highest-rated prospect signed by Diebler since he’s been in Columbus. Last summer, Thompson competed on the Adidas 3SSB circuit and averaged nearly 23 points per game.

In a mid-December game against Andrews Osborne Academy, Thompson displayed his five-star skills by scoring 43 points in a 15-point Western Reserve Academy win.

At Ohio State Thompson will join four-star forward Alex Smith who choose the Buckeyes over Cincinnati, Indiana, and Nebraska, among others.

Future Looks Bright For Ohio State Signee Anthony Thompson

This year’s McDonald’s All-American game will be played on March 31st in Glendale, Arizona at the Desert Diamond Arena and broadcast on ESPN. Among Thompson’s teammates on the East roster are Jordan Smith Jr., a top-three recruit in the 2026 who has not yet signed with a college, and Jaxon Richardson, the son of former NBA player Jason Richardson and brother of current Orlando Magic guard Jace Richardson.

Jasiah Jervis, a guard committed to Michigan State, 7-foot twin brothers Adonis and Darius Ratliff (their father is former NBA big man Theo Ratliff), both USC commits, and center Quinn Costello, are among the McDonald’s All-Americans joining Thompson from the Big Ten.

When OSU last had a signee in the game, Russell, the game featured a number of future NBA players such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Grayson Allen and a handful of others.

After playing in the McDonald’s game, Russell fried the Big Ten on his way to earning All-American, All-Big Ten, and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. He averaged 19.3 points, five assists and 5.7 rebounds in his lone season in Columbus. He declared for the NBA Draft after this freshman season and was drafted second overall by the Lakers.

Surely Diebler would love Thompson to follow a similar path, though he’d probably opt to super-size it and keep Thompson in the 614 for more than a year.