Top Ohio State basketball target set to announce today

Ohio State has had three recruits commit to its 2018 recruiting class. However, following a chaotic off-season, all three have since left the program, and the Buckeyes find themselves again looking for their first commitment.

Following Thad Matta’s departure from the program, three-star SF Justin Ahrens decided to reopen his recruitment and is now favored to commit to Buckeye arch-rival Michigan. Ohio State then quickly replaced Matta with Chris Holtmann, and soon after his arrival, four-star SG Dane Goodwin left the program and has since committed to Notre Dame. Holtmann and the coaching staff were then able to acquire three-star SG Torrence Watson, but due to personal reasons, Watson left the program last month to play closer to home and committed to Missouri.

Fortunately for the Buckeyes, it appears the program could finally earn that coveted commitment later today as four-star SF target Jaedon LeDee (Houston, TX/The Kinkaid School) is set to announce his collegiate decision.

LeDee would be a big win for Holtmann and the Buckeyes’ coaching staff as he is seen as the No. 31 SF in the country and is the No. 115 overall recruit in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The blue-chip prospect has acquired a reported 23 scholarship offers from some of the top programs in the country but has trimmed his list down to eight finalists. Along with Ohio State, Texas A&M, LSU, UCLA, Houston, Cal, Iowa State, and Oklahoma all made the cut for LeDee.

LeDee took an official visit to Columbus earlier this month, following an unofficial visit to Oklahoma. However, the timing of his announcement may spell bad news for the Buckeyes, as he officially visited Texas A&M this past weekend. The Aggies are the presumed favorite to land LeDee’s services, with 50-percent of the 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions favoring the program. However, things appear to be trending in Ohio State’s favor, as four experts chose the Buckeyes as the predicted outcome yesterday.

It appears to be a two dog race for LeDee’s commitment and the Buckeyes are in the thick of it. With Holtmann and co. looking for their first commitment, LeDee is priority recruit number one for the Ohio State basketball program.

Ohio State makes the cut for 2019 CB

Ohio State learned that it has moved one step closer to acquiring a blue-chip cornerback prospect in next year's class - and the name will be familiar for Ohio State fans.

Four-star CB John Dixon (Tampa, FL/Wharton) took to Twitter yesterday to announce his current top schools. Ohio State, Auburn, Alabama, South Florida, Oregon, South Carolina, Florida, Florida State, and Tennessee were listed as Dixon’s top nine schools.

Dixon is just a junior in high school but is already garnering attention from the top college football programs in the country. He is currently listed as the No. 24 CB in next year’s class and is the No. 276 overall recruit in the country.

However, Dixon is off to a fast start this year, already picking off one pass to go along with five pass breakups and four tackles, according to MaxPreps.com. If he continues to play at this level, expect his rankings to see a hefty increase.

Because it is still extremely early in his recruitment, home-state schools Florida and Florida State have to be seen as the favorites to land Dixon; however, South Carolina will likely remain a contender, as the school offered him in the spring of his freshman season, giving them a great head start at building a relationship with him.

Ohio State, though, is still jumping into Dixon’s recruitment early in the game and if the program continues to recruit him, it will likely remain a legitimate contender to earn his commitment.

Ohio State offers elite 2019 DE

With limited space in Ohio State’s top ranked 2018 recruiting class, Urban Meyer and the Buckeye coaching staff are beginning to focus on next year's class. The Buckeyes have just one commitment for 2019 in four-star OT Doug Nester (Huntington, WV/Spring Valley) and the staff is hoping to add to that after offering an elite talent yesterday.

Four-star defensive end Savion Jackson (Clayton, NC/Clayton) took to Twitter late Monday night to announce that he had received a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes.

Jackson is one of the top recruits in the country, ranked as the No. 5 SDE in his class and the No. 50 overall prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

With the accolades comes competition for the Buckeyes. Jackson has already earned a reported 15 scholarship offers from the likes of Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Penn State, and more.

It is early in Jackson’s recruitment and he has only taken two unofficial visits to date. He visited South Carolina for its Junior Day and was in attendance for Penn State’s spring game.

Ohio State will likely look to get Jackson on campus multiple times in the next two years if they are truly interested in him. With the team's recent success at producing NFL picks at the position, they will likely have a real shot in his recruitment.