Even though it is football season, college basketball season is just around the corner with the Buckeyes tipping off on Nov. 3. There were a lot of roster changes for the Buckeyes heading into the 2025-26 season, and over the next couple of months, we will be dropping one player preview a week to get you caught up on the current roster.
The Taison Chatman File
Name: Taison Chatman Position: Guard Class: Sophomore High School/Former School: Totino-Grace High School Hometown: Minneapolis, Minn. Weight:
175 pounds Height: 6-foot-4
Breakdown
Unfortunately for Taison Chatman, his Ohio State career has slowed down to a halt due to injuries. As a freshman, he underwent knee surgery in October that slowed his early progress as he only appeared in 17 games. He scored a total of 17 points and made four three-pointers on the season, with assists and eight rebounds.
Last season, he tore his ACL during summer workouts and missed the full season.
Before arriving in Columbus, Chatman enjoyed an illustrious career at Totino-Grace High School in Minneapolis, Minn.
According to 247Sports, he was ranked as the No. 36th prospect overall and the No. 8 combo guard in the 2023 recruiting class. He was also the top-ranked player in the state of Minnesota.
He led Totino-Grace to back-to-back Minnesota 3A state titles in 2022 and 2023, and even though he was hampered by an injury at the start of his senior season, he averaged over 12 points per game.
He scored 13.5 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists per game as a junior and was one of the top guards on the AAU Adidas Circuit, playing for D1 Minnesota.
Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler had this to say about Chatman back in June about his progress from injury this summer.
“There will be an adjustment to get used to the speed of the game and the physicality, that stuff you can’t simulate right when you’re out and injured,” Diebler said. “But I’ve been really impressed with his commitment to working and getting better and getting ready for our summer training sessions. He’s not behind, he’s not apprehensive. He’s out there, he’s in the mix. He’s playing hard. He’s being aggressive. So, if you walked into the gym and you watched, you wouldn’t see a guy out there and say, ‘Man, he looks like a guy coming off an injury.’ And I think that’s a really good thing.”
Expected Role
Chatman is coming into a season that will be his first full offseason in Columbus. After his knee surgery entering his freshman season and the torn ACL entering his sophomore season, he is ready to get unlocked this year as the top guard and likely the sixth man off the bench.
Bruce Thornton and John Mobley will play 30-35 minutes a game as the starting guards, but Chatman will be the guard off the bench to substitute for them, and also, with his length and athleticism, if Jake Diebler wants to run a three-guard lineup to play fast and with tempo, Chatman gives him the versatility to do that.
I think Chatman will play 12-18 minutes a game and will be a key part of the Buckeyes’ success this season. Last season, with the loss of Chatman in the preseason and Meechie Johnson midseason, the Buckeyes struggled with depth at the guard position at times. Chatman will help with that this season as he looks to be a valuable contributor off the bench.
