COLUMBUS — Ohio State basketball is going to look very different this season.

At the center of it all will be Anthony Thompson.

The 6-foot-9 freshman from Lebanon arrives as a consensus five-star prospect, a McDonald’s All-American, and the No. 7 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class according to 247Sports. He is also the No. 1 prospect in Ohio and the highest-rated Ohio State recruit since Jared Sullinger in 2010.

That alone makes Thompson one of the most interesting Buckeyes to watch this winter.

He averaged 24.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists last season at Western Reserve Academy while shooting 47 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three. At 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, Thompson gives Ohio State the kind of length and offensive versatility that should allow Jake Diebler to use him in several different ways.

And he is joining one of the more unusual frontcourts Ohio State has assembled in quite some time.

The Buckeyes have 7-foot-2 Croatian center Ivan Njegovan returning after appearing in 30 games last season, along with 6-foot-11 Croatian forward Andrija Jelavic, 7-foot-1 Serbian freshman Vuk Lazarevic, 6-foot-9 Argentine forward Lee Aaliya, and 6-foot-10 Nigerian forward Josh Ojianwuna.

That is a lot of size. It is also a lot of basketball experience gathered from very different places.

Aaliya may be the most intriguing of the international additions. He spent three years training with the Argentinian National Team and competed in the 2026 AmeriCup and World Cup Qualifiers. He also played professionally for UCAM Murcia in Spain and averaged 18.4 points and 9.6 rebounds last season while shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor.

Lazarevic came through Red Star Belgrade before playing last season at Wasatch Academy, where the 7-footer averaged 8.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks. Ojianwuna, meanwhile, brings major-college experience after playing 87 games over three seasons at Baylor, although he missed last season while recovering from knee surgery.

Ohio State also added another highly regarded in-state freshman in Alex Smith, a 6-foot-9 four-star prospect ranked among the top 150 players nationally. Along with Thompson, he gives the Buckeyes another young forward with size and long-term upside.

There are familiar pieces, too.

John Mobley Jr. returns for his junior season in the backcourt, while Amare Bynum is back for his sophomore season. Ohio State also added guards Curtis Givens III, Justin Pippen, and Jimmie Williams, giving Diebler another roster that will have to establish roles quickly.

But Thompson is clearly the headliner.

Ohio State has not brought in a freshman with this kind of recruiting profile in years, and unlike some highly rated prospects who need time to physically develop, Thompson looks ready-made to compete immediately.

That does not mean the Buckeyes should expect him to walk into the Big Ten and dominate from opening night. Freshmen are freshmen, and the league has a way of exposing young players quickly.

Still, Thompson gives Ohio State something it has lacked for a while: a true blue-chip freshman with legitimate star potential.

Yet the rest of the roster may be just as interesting.

Between Thompson, the returning pieces, and a frontcourt that stretches from Ohio to Croatia, Serbia, Argentina, and Nigeria, this will be one of the most unfamiliar-looking Buckeye teams in recent memory.

If Diebler can get all of those pieces to fit together, it could also be one of the most interesting.