Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton returning for senior season

COLUMBUS — Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton has led the program for three seasons, on the court as a point guard and off the court as a locker-room leader as the Buckeyes have went through coaching transitions.

He’s not done with his Ohio State journey yet. Thornton is returning for senior season with Buckeyes instead of declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft or entering the transfer portal, according to the team’s head coach Jake Diebler, who spoke with Adam Jardy of The Columbus Dispatch.

This past season, Thornton was Ohio State’s scoring leader for the second consecutive season. He averaged a career-best 17.7 points per game, shooting 50.1 percent from the floor, and 42.4 percent from three-point range. Additionally, he earned second-team all-Big Ten honors for his great season.

Of course, Thornton’s season ended on a low note as the Buckeyes lost to Indiana to close the regular season and to Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, ending their bubble NCAA Tournament bid that seemed to be locked up for most of the season. Ohio State hasn’t made the tournament in any of Thornton’s three seasons, something he certainly wants to change with one more year in Columbus.

Ohio State has been active this offseason already, working to bring in transfer portal additions during this offseason portal window. The Buckeyes are factors in multiple recruitments of transfer portal players they think will upgrade the roster around the core three of Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr. and Devin Royal — all expected back for next season.

They already landed former Indiana guard Gabe Cupps from the transfer portal last week, bolstering their guard depth for next season as Jake Diebler tries to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022 in his second season as head coach. Cupps is a former Ohio Mr. Basketball and was good for the Hoosiers when healthy.

The Buckeyes lost guards Ques Glover and Micah Parrish to graduation.

Four players, meanwhile, have left through the transfer portal so far this offseason: guard Meechie Johnson, center Austin Parks, center Aaron Bradshaw and guard Evan Mahaffey.

The upgrading of the roster will continue in the coming weeks. For now, Ohio State has its leader returning for his final season of college basketball. Bruce Thornton is returning with clear goals in mind.