Official visit season is starting to take shape for Ohio State’s 2027 men’s basketball board, and Jake Diebler’s staff is lining up a busy stretch of campus visits at the Schottenstein Center.
The Buckeyes do not have a verbal commitment in the 2027 class yet. LJ Smith was once part of that group, but he reclassified to 2026 and will join this year’s team as a freshman.
That leaves Ohio State with a chance to build out a class that could end up with three or four signees. Players in the 2027 cycle can begin signing Nov. 11 when the early signing period opens.
So far, Ohio State has scheduled official visits with seven 2027 prospects over the coming weeks:
- Pennsylvania center Jaydn Jenkins on Aug. 26
- Ohio guard Joshua Tyson on Aug. 28
- Canadian forward Deng Ngor on Sept. 5, during Ball State football weekend
- Massachusetts guard Antonio Pemberton on Sept. 19, during Kent State football weekend
- Indiana guard Jason Gardner Jr. on Oct. 3
- Georgia guard MJ Curry on Oct. 10, during Maryland football weekend
- North Carolina guard Geren Holmes on Nov. 7, during Oregon football weekend
The staff has also locked in a visit for one of the country’s top guards, Brady Pettigrew of Bolingbrook, Ill. The 6-3 guard, ranked No. 18 nationally, will be in Columbus on Nov. 7 for the Oregon football weekend. Pettigrew is also set to visit Michigan, Florida, Illinois and Arkansas in the months ahead.
Another major name on Ohio State’s board is Arizona small forward DeMarcus Henry, who has climbed to No. 4 in the 2027 rankings. The 6-7 Henry is the younger brother of current OSU football wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. and women’s basketball player Seini Henry.
Below is a look at 16 prospects in the 2027 class who hold Ohio State offers and either have visits scheduled or have included the Buckeyes in a recent cutdown of schools, according to 247Sports.com.
Antonio Pemberton, a 6-1 point guard from Stow (Mass.) Masters Academy International, is ranked 34th nationally and sixth among point guards. At the final two adidas 3SSB weekends with Mass Rivals, he put up 26.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game across 11 games.
Pemberton’s top eight schools are Tennessee, Kansas, Creighton, Michigan State, Ohio State, Boston College, UCLA and Marquette. He is set to visit Tennessee on Aug.
21, Kansas on Aug. 28, Creighton on Sept.
3, Michigan State on Sept. 11, Ohio State on Sept. 18, and UCLA on Oct.
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