Ohio State has spent more than a year waiting on Josh Ojianwuna, and the wait is finally nearing its end.
The 6-foot-10, 270-pound redshirt senior is expected back for the 2026-27 season after missing all of 2025-26 while recovering from the knee injury that ended his junior year at Baylor. The latest reporting has him aiming for full clearance for basketball activities around the end of July, which makes the next several weeks a critical stretch in his comeback.
That timetable puts his health at the center of Ohio State’s frontcourt picture, but it is only the first part of the equation. Once he is cleared, the Buckeyes still have to figure out how much they can ask of him right away, how much conditioning he needs to regain after roughly a year and a half away from a college game, and whether he can still grow into the starting center role many expected when he transferred from Baylor.
The case for Ojianwuna is easy to understand if you look at what he already was before the injury. He arrived in Columbus with real high-major experience, not as a long-term project. Across three seasons at Baylor, he played in 87 games and made 24 starts, averaging 5.3 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting better than 70 percent from the field.
His junior season in 2024-25 showed the direction he was heading. He posted career bests of 7.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and shot better than 77 percent from the floor. Over his Baylor career, he had four double-doubles and scored in double figures 17 times.
That kind of production says plenty about his game. Ojianwuna is not the type of center who needs a steady diet of shots to matter. His value comes from the work that wins possessions: hard screens, rim runs, offensive rebounds, finishes through contact and physical defense around the basket.
That matters for Ohio State because the roster has options in the frontcourt, but not many players who bring his exact kind of size and interior force. Amare Bynum, at 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, emerged as an important piece last season.
Kentucky transfer Andrija Jelavic offers more versatility and perimeter skill at 6-foot-11. Ivan Njegovan is back after averaging 2.6 points and three rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game as a backup center.
Ojianwuna is built differently. He gives Jake Diebler a true physical presence in the paint, and that kind of body can change how a team looks on both ends, especially in the Big Ten.
The real issue is the layoff. Ojianwuna has not played a competitive college game since February 2025, when the knee injury ended his Baylor season and knocked him out for the final 12 games. He then missed the entire 2025-26 campaign at Ohio State while recovering from surgery.
For a big man whose game depends on strength, balance, explosiveness and comfort through contact, that is a long time away. So the goal cannot be to rush him into heavy minutes just because the Buckeyes need size. The smarter path is to let the healthy version of Ojianwuna come back gradually.
That could mean a controlled workload early in the season. It could mean Jelavic or Njegovan handling certain minutes while Ojianwuna rebuilds his conditioning and timing. It could even mean he opens the year behind one of them before eventually taking over a larger role.
That is what makes the center battle so interesting. The spot is still unsettled, and Ojianwuna and Jelavic are viewed as the leading candidates. If Ojianwuna is fully healthy, there is a strong argument that he should eventually win the job.
And the upside goes beyond the box score. Ohio State does not need him to put up flashy numbers.
It needs him to change possessions. It needs rebounds that end trips, rim protection without foul trouble, screens that free shooters, lobs finished at the rim and a body that can absorb contact against bigger frontcourts.
That is where his efficiency becomes so valuable. He has already shown he can do the dirty work around the basket at a high level.
There is also a version of the frontcourt where Ojianwuna and Bynum fit together nicely. Bynum can stay in a more mobile forward role while Ojianwuna handles the bruising center duties. That would let Ohio State play bigger without forcing Bynum into a job that does not suit him.
It would also give Diebler more lineup options. Against bigger opponents, Ojianwuna can anchor the middle.
Against smaller teams, he can punish switches, set screens for guards and create second-chance chances. If Jelavic can share the floor with him, Ohio State could even look at two-big lineups in certain matchups.
Still, none of that matters until Ojianwuna is healthy. That is why the most important development between now and the start of the season is simply seeing No. 17 back on the floor.
If he gets through the summer, regains his movement and explosiveness, and starts looking like the Baylor player Ohio State originally targeted in the portal, his role could grow quickly. He may begin the season with his minutes managed and a real fight for the starting job, but by the time Big Ten play arrives, he could be one of the most important players on the roster.
Ohio State has been waiting a long time to find out what it truly has in Josh Ojianwuna. The answer is finally getting close.
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