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 John Mobley File
Name: John Mobley
Position: Guard
Class: Sophomore
High School/Former School: Bishop Gorman/Wasatch Academy
Hometown: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Weight: 185 pounds
Height: 6-foot-2
Breakdown
Mobley was expected to play a role for the Buckeyes last season as a freshman, but he put into a much larger role when starting shooting guard Meechie Johnson left the team and Mobley was thrust into the starting lineup.
Mobley played well in general, averaging 13.0 points, 2.2 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game. He shot 39 percent from the field, 38 percent from three-point range and 88 percent from the free-throw line.
The guard played in all 32 games and started the final 22 games, playing 27.8 minutes per game. Mobley also ranked second in the Big Ten for three-pointers made and three-pointers per game.
He made at least one three-pointer in every game but one, and three or more in 15 games, and his 77 three-pointers were the second-most in a season by an OSU freshman and tied for 10th most by any Buckeye
In his first career game, Mobley went 4-for-4 from three-point range and finished with 14 points in just 13 minutes against Texas. He was the first Buckeye freshman to make four three-pointers in his collegiate debut.
Before he got to Columbus, Mobley was a four-star recruit who was ranked No. 43 in the class by the 247 composite rating and was nicknamed “The Sniper” in the 2024 Class Superlatives by 247Sports.
Mobley grew up in Reynoldsburg, Ohio and moved to Las Vegas to attend Bishop Gorman for high school, and then transferred to Wasatch Academy prior to his senior season. He was a standout, averaging 21.5 points, 5.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game as a senior at Wasatch.
According to Ohio State Athletics, Mobley also led the Tigers to a 17-7 record and the No. 8 national ranking. He was the second-leading scorer in Nike EYBL Scholastic league in 2024 after averaging 19.9 points per game.
Mobley was named Utah’s Max Preps High School Basketball Player of the Year and was selected to compete in the 2024 High School 3-Point contest. As a junior at Bishop Gorman, he averaged 20.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
As a sophomore, Mobley led Bishop Gorman to a 30-1 record and a state runner-up after averaging 15.5 points, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
Expected Role
Mobley is one of the “Big 3” on the Oho State team this season (Mobley, Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal) and is going to be one of the main contributors on the team. He will have to take a significant sophomore leap if the Buckeyes want to be a tournament team or better.
Mobley will play over 30 minutes per game next to Bruce Thornton, and will look to jump into the conversation of the top guards in the Big Ten in his second season. The Buckeyes do not need him to make a huge jump statistically, but they do need him to mature when it comes to handling the basketball and on defense.
My prediction is Mobley will become a top-10 guard in the conference, and challenge Thornton as the top player on the team.
