Ohio State has landed a player to fill its final roster spot. Despite that, the Buckeyes might not be done.
Lee Aaliya, an Argentine men’s basketball player with five years of professional experience along with national team experience, has cleared admissions and will join the Buckeyes for the 2026-27 season.
Listed at 6-foot-9, 225 pounds, Aaliya is expected to bring an experienced, physical presence to Ohio State’s frontcourt. It’s unclear how many years of eligibility Aaliya, who is 21, will have.
“Lee is an energetic big who I am excited to have join our Buckeye family,” coach Jake Diebler said in a statement. “His experience, athleticism, and physicality make him a valuable addition to our program.”
He is scheduled to arrive on Ohio State’s
campus by the end of Aug. 23, when the other 14 players currently on the roster are also required to return for the start of the fall semester. Although he has been committed to the program for weeks, this will be his first time on campus as he awaited the end of the eligibility process.
During the evening of Aug. 20, Aaliya hinted at the imminent end of his time in limbo. On Instagram, he posted an advertisement for Ohio State's official team store with the caption, "Let's go buckeyes!!!" On Twitter, he wrote, "Al fin...", which translates to "at last," and followed it with scarlet and gray emojis.
Most recently, Aaliya averaged 16.5 points and 9.1 rebounds in 10 games for team Murica U22 in Spain’s Under-22 league. A true post player, Aaliya did not attempt a 3-pointer in any of those games.
This is Aaliya’s second attempt to play college basketball in the United States, with his first attempt coming in 2023. By that summer, Aaliya had entertained interest from roughly 50 teams, which had taken note of his breakout appearance with Argentina at the FIBA U19 World Cup. There, he averaged 17.1 points, 9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.
He then committed to Michigan coach Juwan Howard in August 2023 but announced a decommitment six months later “due to circumstances beyond my control involving the NCAA,” Aaliya said in a now-deleted statement posted to social media. Also in that statement, Aaliya said he had a new deal to play for Spanish club UCAM Murcia Club Baloncesto, which was loaning him to Palmer Basket Mallorca, a club in Spain’s second division.
Providence and Miami (Florida) were also heavily involved during his first recruitment.
Aaliya joins an Ohio State frontcourt that features returning role player Ivan Njegovan (7-2, 260), Kentucky transfer Andrija Jelavic (6-11, 240), medical redshirt and Baylor transfer Josh Ojianwuna (6-10, 270) and freshman Vuk Lazarevic (7-1, 230). In addition, the Buckeyes' roster includes forwards Anthony Thompson (6-9, 215), Alex Smith (6-9, 215) and Amare Bynum (6-8, 245).
The Buckeyes have also been in contact with Christoph Tilly, last year’s starting center who played his fourth season of college basketball before signing with Oklahoma City in the NBA's Summer League. With legislation pending that would allow all players who were part of the 2022 class to receive a fifth year of eligibility, Tilly has remained in contact with Ohio State, and he could still potentially rejoin the Buckeyes for 2026-27. As of the morning of Aug. 21, however, Tilly would need to file for an injunction or temporary restraining order at the state level to have hopes of playing after the NCAA was granted a nationwide stay on a federal court case that had allowed all players from the 2022 class to be awarded a fifth year.
Adding Aaliya and Tilly would put Ohio State at 16 players, one more than the NCAA limit. In that scenario, Buckeyes coach Jake Diebler would need to free up a roster spot – unless the NCAA were to rule that fifth-year players from the class of 2022 do not count against the limit.
Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State lands commitment from Argentine pro Lee Aaliya for 2026-27
