With Marcus Johnson’s commitment to Ohio State, Jake Diebler is officially off and running

Johnson is the fifth-highest rated recruit in Ohio State men’s basketball program history.

When Jake Diebler was hired as the head coach of the Ohio State men’s basketball team last month, some wondered if the first-year head coach would be able to recruit at the same level as the CEO, as he had as an assistant.

Rest assured, your fears have been allayed. Diebler and the Buckeyes received a commitment on Wednesday afternoon from 2026 five-star player Marcus Johnson, the younger cousin of Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson and a longtime Ohio State target.
Diebler has been Johnson’s primary recruiter for years, and that friendship was the most important factor in his decision to attend Ohio State. In an interview with On3, he described OSU as his “dream school,” but added that his friendship with Diebler was important. Johnson and his father, Sonny, watched Ohio State defeat rival Michigan on March 3, as well as the Buckeyes’ NIT victory against Cornell on March 19 and their NIT loss to Georgia the following week.

Sonny Johnson stated that he and Marcus attended the Michigan game “in support of Coach Diebler.” Diebler was still the temporary head coach at the moment, but the Johnson family was very much Diebler’s corner. Now that he is the head coach of the program, the decision came quickly. Johnson is the first recruit in the 2026 class to commit.

“It’s easy to make a decision like this when a coach has been the one coming to your practices, coming to all your games, who has been the one communicating with you and built that relationship and now he becomes the head coach,” his father told the Columbus Dispatch. “My son wants to always feel loved and wanted. You want to go somewhere where you’re liked and valued, and someone has a plan for you, and we believe Coach Diebler is that person.”

Johnson is the fifth-highest rated prospect in Ohio State history, according to 247Sports recruiting rankings, trailing only Greg Oden, B.J. Mullens, Jared Sullinger, and William Buford. He is the highest-rated commitment to Ohio State since Sullinger, who signed in 2009 and played from 2010 to 2012. Johnson is ranked higher than any commitment during the Chris Holtmann era, so Diebler only needed three weeks to land a bigger recruit than Holtmann did in seven years.

When Diebler was originally hired, incoming athletic director Ross Bjork stated that the men’s basketball program’s standards needed to be raised. That applies to all aspects of the game, including regular season triumphs, tournament victories, and recruiting success. Getting a commitment from a five-star guard within the first three weeks is a good place to start.

One of the anticipated advantages of appointing Diebler was that he already has contacts with numerous high-level candidates in the 2025 classes and beyond, particularly here in Ohio. Johnson was a major pick, proving that Ohio State’s head coach is currently on top of the Ohio prep circuit. With players like Darryn Peterson, Jerry Easter Jr., and Niko Bundalo still uncommitted, it’s difficult to believe that this will be Diebler’s sole recruiting push in the coming months.