Marcus Johnson, a four-star guard from Cleveland who committed to Ohio State In April of 2024, announced on Monday evening that he intends to re-open his recruitment. His de-commitment comes just two weeks before the fall signing period, when Johnson assumedly would have signed his national letter of intent to play for Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes.
Johnson, the No. 47 player in the 2026 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, is a 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard out of Garfield Heights High School, just south of Cleveland. He committed to Ohio State less than a month after Diebler had the “interim” tag removed from his title, becoming one of the first players in the 2026 class to commit to a program. At the time, Johnson was a five-star recruit and
the fifth-highest rated player to commit to Ohio State in program history.
At the time of his commitment, Johnson told James Madden of ZagsBlog that Ohio State was his dream school and once Diebler got the job, his mind was made up.
“It was my dream school. Coach Diebler is a very good guy. He’s been recruiting me since I was in 9th grade. So when he got the head job, there was really no other choice for me. I really want to play for him.”
Last week, Ohio State earned a commitment from Anthony Thompson, the No. 8 player in the 2026 class (per the 247Sports Composite Rankings). Thompson is a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward from Lebanon, Ohio, and is currently playing for Western Reserve Academy in Hudson. He is the highest-rated Ohio recruit to commit to Ohio State since Jared Sullinger in the 2010 class.
With Johnson’s decommitment, Ohio State now has a two-man class in 2026 – Thompson and four-star forward Alex Smith. Smith is a 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward from Upper Arlington, Ohio, who is playing his senior season at Prolific Prep in Florida. Smith is currently listed as the No. 145 recruit in the 2026 class.
Thompson’s commitment last week boosted Ohio State’s 2026 class to No. 3 in the nation. Removing Johnson from the equation will drop the Buckeyes’ ranking to No. 28.
