West Virginia transfer guard Sean McNeil commits to Ohio State

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is adding to its roster for next season: Sean McNeil committed to the Buckeyes on Sunday evening.

McNeil, a former West Virginia 3-point specialist and double-digit scorer, picked the Buckeyes over Louisville, Indiana and Virginia. He will have multiple years of eligibility for the Buckeyes if he chooses to use it all.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound McNeil averaged 12.2 points per game for the Mountaineers last season, and he also averaged 12.2 points per game the year before at West Virginia. He has 55 career starts under his belt for a Big XII contender, adding a proven veteran to the Ohio State roster that is losing plenty of them this offseason.

The Buckeyes certainly have some much-needed leadership in house now with McNeil, Seth Towns, Zed Key and transfer guard Tanner Holden to take the place of Kyle Young, Justin Ahrens, Liddell, Branham, Jimmy Sotos, Joey Brunk and Jamari Wheeler, who are all no longer with the program due to pro decisions or graduation.

Ohio State hasn’t been out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2013. The Buckeyes lost this year in the second round in a loss to Villanova. Even with the first-round wins, Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes know they need to get deeper into March.

“Listen, it’s hard to win in this tournament,” Holtmann said. “We’ve had four opportunities. We haven’t had — I’ve been here five years, and we have had four opportunities. We performed pretty well in this tournament in three of them. We just haven’t been able to push through to that [second weekend]. I believe in what we’re doing and I’m more than confident it’s going to happen. It’s hard to win in this tournament.”

Sean McNeil can help the Buckeyes get over their NCAA Tournament hump. He will be on the roster next season as a huge transfer piece.