COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State freshman forward Anthony Thompson has been named to the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List, Ohio State announced Wednesday, Oct. 28.
The award, presented by the Basketball Hall of Fame and named for Hall of Famer Julius Erving, is in its 13th year recognizing the top small forward in NCAA Division I men’s basketball. Fan voting in the first of three rounds opens Friday, Oct. 30, according to Ohio State. The watch list will be narrowed to 10 players in February and to five finalists in March, with the winner selected in late March.
Thompson arrives in Columbus as one of the highest-rated signees in program history. Ohio State said he is a consensus five-star prospect and a McDonald’s All-American, ranked No. 7 overall and No. 1 in Ohio in the 2026 class by 247Sports. The university said he is the first McDonald’s All-American to sign with Ohio State out of high school since D’Angelo Russell in 2014, and the highest-rated Big Ten signee in the 2026 class.
The 6-foot-9, left-handed forward from Lebanon, Ohio, played at Western Reserve Academy, where he averaged 24.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as a senior, according to Ohio State. The school said his 7-foot-3 wingspan lets him shoot over defenders, and that he has been one of the team’s best shooters during the preseason.
The recognition gives the Buckeyes a nationally watched freshman before a game has been played that counts. Preseason watch lists do not decide awards, but they set the expectations a young player carries into a demanding Big Ten schedule, and Thompson will be measured against the other 19 small forwards on the list all winter.
Ohio State opens the regular season Monday, Nov. 2, against No. 25 BYU in Salt Lake City, according to the university. It will be the first real test for Thompson and a first look for Buckeye fans at how quickly the freshman fits into the rotation against ranked competition on the road.
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