After spending two seasons with the Buckeyes, former Ohio Mr. Basketball award winner Colin White has opted to enter the transfer portal, according to Travis Branham of 247Sports.
White, a 2024 graduate of Ottawa-Glandorf High School as well as the school’s all-time leading scorer, committed to Ohio State in August
2023 ahead of his senior season. White was the No. 157 player in the 2024 recruiting class, per 247Sports, and was the sixth-highest rated player in the state of Ohio that year. He was classified as a three-star recruit according to 247Sports.
A 6-foot-6, 220-pound small forward, White was recruited heavily by current head coach Jake Diebler, who at the time was the associate head coach under Chris Holtmann. White described getting offered a scholarship from Ohio State as “a dream” and only took about three weeks to commit to the Buckeyes after getting the offer from the team he’d followed since he was a little kid.
White was pegged as a hard-nosed, versatile defender when he joined the program in 2024, with an offensive toolbox that may need time to develop. After appearing in 19 games and scoring a total of 21 points as a freshman during the 2024-25 season, White appeared in 29 of Ohio State’s 34 games this past season, but only attempted 28 shots and scored 25 points, which equated to 0.9 points per game. White did not appear in Ohio State’s final two games of the season against Michigan or TCU, and played a total of 16 minutes during the month of March.
Ultimately, White’s most memorable moment at Ohio State may be something that happened after the final whistle was blown.
Following Ohio State’s 82-74 overtime victory over Minnesota on January 20, the in-arena host had White — who had a crucial steal and score during overtime — do the on-court interview. White was asked about Ohio State’s upcoming game against Michigan, to which he replied, “We hate Michigan, so we’re coming out for blood, we’re going up there to win, and we’re going to have fun doing it.”
The quote stirred up a good amount of ruckus among Wolverine fans, and the Wolverines, who were ranked No. 3 nationally at the time, also noticed. Every time White checked into or out of the game in Ann Arbor, he was loudly booed by the home fans. After the Wolverines knocked off Ohio State 74-62 three days later, Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg told FOX broadcaster Gus Johnson that his motivation for that game was to “stick it to Mr. Colin White.”
White reaffirmed how much he loves Ohio State immediately after the Buckeyes’ loss to TCU in the NCAA Tournament, but stopped short of confirming that he would be back, telling the Columbus Dispatch, “I need to have those conversations with coaches and those end of year meetings. That’ll decide everything. I like it here. I’m an Ohio kid and I love Ohio State.”
White’s career-high in scoring happened during his second career game, back on November 19, 2024 against Evansville. He scored six point on a perfect 2-for-2 shooting from long range, and also grabbed four rebounds and blocked a shot in 12 minutes in a game Ohio State won, 80-30.
Aside from Ohio State, White was also recruited heavily in high school by fellow Big Ten teams Nebraska and Northwestern. He also had offers from in-state programs Toledo, Cincinnati, Akron, Ohio, and Miami (OH). White has two years of eligibility remaining.
Good luck to Colin wherever he winds up!
