Ohio State could lose one of its top men’s basketball players this offseason.
According to The Columbus Dispatch‘s Adam Jardy and multiple other reports, Roddy Gayle Jr. is entering the transfer portal after completing his second season with the Buckeyes. He has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining.
After spending most of his freshman year on the bench, Gayle started 35 of 36 games this season. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 13.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game with a 44.9 field-goal percentage.
Gayle finished third in scoring and minutes played behind sophomore Bruce Thornton and senior Jamison Battle. The former four-star recruit ended his season, and potentially his Buckeyes tenure, with 11 points in last week’s NIT quarterfinal loss to Georgia.
Gayle’s transfer comes a day after guard Meechie Johnson Jr. announced his transfer to Ohio State. The Cleveland native scored 14.1 points for South Carolina this season before declaring Tuesday that he’s “coming home” to play for the team he grew up supporting.
However, Jardy claimed Johnson’s arrival “had little or nothing to do” with Gayle’s pending exit.
Ohio State went 22-14 during a tumultuous season that led to Chris Holtmann’s firing. The school hired Jake Diebler as its next head coach after he went 6-2 as the interim coach.
Diebler could face a busy offseason reshaping Ohio State’s roster. Gayle joined guards Bowen Hardman and Scotty Middleton as the third Buckeyes player to enter the transfer portal.