Ohio's top 2024 prospect lands scholarship offer from Ohio State Buckeyes
Wednesday, Ohio State men's basketball became the ninth program to offer Ohio’s top 2024 recruit, Tyler McKinley, a scholarship.
The Buckeyes were the first school to start recruiting him, but the first coach to actually extend McKinley a scholarship offer was Jack Owens of the Miami Redhawks.
With Owens now settling in as an assistant on Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann’s staff, OSU has been there, in one form or another, throughout McKinley's recruitment. That made Wednesday feel like things were falling into place for the 6-9, 210-pound power forward from Cincinnati Walnut Hills.
Tyler McKinley: Walnut Hills sophomore is next big Cincinnati basketball recruit
Blessed to receive a scholarship from The Ohio State University @OhioStateHoops #GoBucks 🌰❤️@LindarInsights @CoachRicardoHil @TuffyJunior @JFRAZE pic.twitter.com/NTwaxuyH2X
— TXM35 (@txm35) May 4, 2022
“My expectation (for the unofficial visit) was just keep building a relationship with the staff, with all the coaches one by one,” McKinley said. “I wasn’t expecting (the offer) at first, but I had a feeling when I got there. I sat down with coach and we were talking about basketball and life in general, and it just happened.
“I think already having that connection with all the coaches and then adding coach Owens was the cherry on top. It all came together, full circle.”
Ohio State started recruiting him roughly a year ago, McKinley said. From there, he began building a relationship with Holtmann.
“It’s been a good experience,” said McKinley. “When I first met him, he was a good guy. He was open arms. He’s always been there at games. He always sends assistants to see me play. There’s always been a good connection from the beginning.”
After Miami offered, Cincinnati, South Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia and Xavier followed in September. Kansas State offered McKinley last October, and both Dayton and Ohio State joined the list within the last week.
“I was always just an Ohio fan in general,” he said. “Buckeyes, Musketeers, Bearcats, I loved it all. I love sports in general. Whatever was on the TV, I’d watch. (Being recruited) is pretty stress-free because I’m still open to all recruitment and all schools.”
McKinley is rated a four-star recruit and the No. 60 national prospect in the 247Sports.com composite database. Rivals.com ranks him No. 61 nationally. His next few months will be busy with AAU basketball and campus visits, he said, but no trips are on the calendar at the moment.
He is the second Ohioan in the 2024 class to land an Ohio State offer, joining Centerville guard Jonathan Powell, who was offered Tuesday.
McKinley said he’s in no rush to pick a school and said he has an idea what he’s looking for.
“A school that is going to help me with my player development, but also a school that’s going to feel like home for me and my family and make me a better person on and off the court,” he said.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Tyler McKinley, Ohio's top 2024 basketball recruit, gets OSU offer
