It’s been a pretty good weekend on the recruiting front for a couple of Ohio State programs. On Saturday, the football team received a big boost with the commitment of 4-star linebacker Arvell Reese, and that was followed on Sunday with the basketball program also getting into the act.
And it’s a big one.
Most recruiting services have Scotty Middleton as a high 4-star prospect in the 2023 class, but the ESPN 100 has him as a 5-star talent. According to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Middleton is the No. 24 overall prospect and sixth best small forward in the 2023 class. That means the Buckeyes have just landed their highest-rated basketball recruit in the Chris Holtmann era, and top in the last nine years.
Middleton loved the family atmosphere of Ohio State — a selling feature another recent commit, Devin Royal — also extolled, and it was enough to vault OSU over his other final two schools, UConn and Seton Hall.
Breaking: Scotty Middleton tells @PaulBiancardi he has committed to Ohio State.
Middleton is the No. 18 overall prospect in the ESPN 100 for the Class of 2023. @SCNext pic.twitter.com/LE5D2ISrh6
— ESPN (@espn) August 8, 2022
With the commitment, Ohio State now has four in the 2023 cycle, a class that is quickly shaping up to be one of the elite in the nation. Yes, Chris Holtmann is starting to set the program up with some good, sustainable momentum as long as key pieces stick together.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on Twitter.
Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.