The Ohio State men’s basketball team added depth to the frontcourt and elevated the already urgent need for a team pronunciation guide on Friday, getting a commitment from 2026 center Vuk Lazarevic.
A 7-foot-1, 200-pound center, Lazarevic played his senior year of high school basketball at Wasatch Academy in Utah — the same school current Buckeye guard John Mobley Jr. and former Buckeye Roddy Gayle Jr. finished their high school careers. As a senior, Lazarevic averaged 8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2
blocks per game in just under 22 minutes per game. He shot 67% overall and was 75% (15-for-20) from the free throw line.
Lazarevic had a strong game against Long Island Lutheran High School on February 6, scoring a team-high 16 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting in a 64-52 victory.
Prior to his year at Wasatch, Lazarevic played for KK Crvena Zvezda 19U in the Adriatic Basketball League. In limited minutes, Lazarevic averaged six points per game on 75% shooting for KK Crvena in the 2024-25 season.
Lazarevic is not rated on 247Sports, but it was reported earlier this week that he was visiting UConn as a potential addition for the Huskies. Instead, he will come to Columbus, becoming the third member of Ohio State’s 2026 recruiting class, joining three-star forward Alex Smith and five-star forward and McDonald’s All-American Anthony Thompson.
He is also the fourth player on Ohio State’s 2026-27 roster that will be 6-foot-10 or taller, joining Ivan Njegovan (7-foot-2), Andrija Jelavic (6-foot-11), and Josh Ojianwuna (6-foot-10).
The freshman, who turns 19 in November, will be tasked with earning minutes at center over fellow Europeans Njegovan and Jelavic, as well as Ojianwuna, who was Baylor’s starting center two seasons ago before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Although they share the same name, Lazarevic should not be confused with the Serbian Prince Vuk Lazarevic, who we all know was executed for treason in 1410 by the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, Musa Celebi.
