Nation's No. 1 Player, Chet Holmgren, Lists Ohio State in Top Schools

Top overall basketball prospect in ESPN rankings includes the Buckeyes among top-seven schools.

One of the nation’s very best five-star basketball prospects in the class of 2021 has kept Ohio State alive in the pursuit for his talents, as seven-footer Chet Holmgren (Minneapolis, Minn.) included the Buckeyes on his list of top-seven schools Friday evening.

The 7-0, 200-pound center from Minnehaha Academy posted Ohio State alongside North Carolina, Memphis, Michigan, Georgetown, Gonzaga and his hometown Golden Gophers. Holmgren is currently ranked atop the ESPN 100, No. 2 in the 247Sports composite rankings and No. 3 nationally by Rivals.

Holmgren has more than 30 offers himself and now only sits behind forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Sussex, Wisc.) in the 247 industry-generated rankings. Former No. 1 player, Jonathan Kuminga, recently reclassified to the 2020 class. 

Holmgren averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks per game last season as a junior, earning first team All-American honors from MaxPreps and leading his Minnehaha squad to a 25-3 overall record. He has the ability to play down low or bring his game out to the perimeter and make shots.

Ohio State’s 2021 class currently has two in-state commits via combo guard Meechie Johnson (Garfield Heights) and forward Kalen Etzler (Convoy), while the Buckeyes have extended many other offers to a highly-touted group of targets. They recently offered big man Gabe Wiznitzer before, in a bit of a surprising move, he reclassified to the 2020 class and committed to Louisville on Tuesday.

Canadian Charles Bediako (now at Andrews Osborne Academy with Johnson in Willoughby, Ohio), Efton Reid (Richmond, Va.) and Franck Kepnang (Norristown, Pa.) are other centers ranked in the top-25 nationally to have received an offer from OSU, as did No. 53 Micawber Etienne in Suffield, Conn. All are rated top 10 at their position.

Ohio State is preparing to enter its fourth season under head coach Chris Holtmann, who led the program to a 21-10 record last season prior to the pandemic shutdown.

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