Bobcat Attack - Ohio Basketball - 2026 Transfer Portal Prospects

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Topic: 2026 Transfer Portal Prospects

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FJC31

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Posted: 3/27/2026 3:14 PM

Fish is going to lose it again. We’ve contacted West Virginia State’s (D2) Trey Harris. 6’7 and averaged 17ppg and 6rpg, while shooing 38% from 3.

https://x.com/nextuprecruits/status/2037580432829485407?s...

FishBates

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Posted: 3/27/2026 4:59 PM

Northwestern and Xavier are interested?

Snowball's chance in hades we actually get him.

Butler with a couple more guys into the portal today. One shoots 43% from three and the other 36% from three. Why are we not interested in those kind of lateral move guys?

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/azavier-robi...

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/evan-haywood...

FishBates

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Posted: 3/27/2026 5:04 PM

Or a lateral move 6-9 mid-major post player who is in the portal....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEzeLt3DEwY&t=4s

13 rebounds and blocked 4 shots vs Miss. State (of the SEC) this season.

Last Edited: 3/27/2026 5:25:17 PM by FishBates

OhioCatFan

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Posted: 3/27/2026 5:15 PM

FishBates wrote:expand_more

Or a lateral move 6-9 mid-major post player who is in the portal....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEzeLt3DEwY&t=4s

Maybe he beats his girlfriend or shoplifts from the local Walmart. Could be many reasons.

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GoCats105

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Posted: 3/27/2026 5:26 PM

FishBates wrote:expand_more

What on Earth makes you think Butler to Ohio is a lateral move? If anything, these guys are looking for more PT at a power conference school; Robinson averaged 18 mpg and Haywood averaged 19. Going somewhere like DePaul, Cincinnati, or hell even Dayton is more of a lateral move. Going from the Big East to the MAC is not.

I don't disagree that Ohio "should" be targeting guys like this, but I think we need to be more clear about what definitions we toss around here.

Last Edited: 3/27/2026 5:26:57 PM by GoCats105

FishBates

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Posted: 3/27/2026 5:27 PM

OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more

FishBates wrote:expand_more

Or a lateral move 6-9 mid-major post player who is in the portal....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEzeLt3DEwY&t=4s

Maybe he beats his girlfriend or shoplifts from the local Walmart. Could be many reasons.

Source? He's been at the same school 2 years without a hint of a scandal...so...

Tell us what you heard....we'll wait....

Last Edited: 3/27/2026 5:33:56 PM by FishBates

OhioCatFan

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Posted: 3/27/2026 5:58 PM

FishBates wrote:expand_more

OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more

FishBates wrote:expand_more

Or a lateral move 6-9 mid-major post player who is in the portal....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEzeLt3DEwY&t=4s

Maybe he beats his girlfriend or shoplifts from the local Walmart. Could be many reasons.

Source? He's been at the same school 2 years without a hint of a scandal...so...

Tell us what you heard....we'll wait....

Why are you asking for a source for something that was obviously speculation about hypothetical possibilities? I was just saying that there could be many reasons that we are not going after him, and that not all of them would necessarily be matters of public record. How many here locally, and on this board, knew the real reason a "nation was waiting" for two years for a certain player, now better known as John Doe, to actually get on the court for the Bobcats?

FishBates

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Posted: 3/27/2026 6:06 PM

OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more

FishBates wrote:expand_more

OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more

FishBates wrote:expand_more

Or a lateral move 6-9 mid-major post player who is in the portal....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEzeLt3DEwY&t=4s

Maybe he beats his girlfriend or shoplifts from the local Walmart. Could be many reasons.

Source? He's been at the same school 2 years without a hint of a scandal...so...

Tell us what you heard....we'll wait....

Or we could go "glass half full" and speculate that maybe we ARE interested in the kid and are trying to get him to visit? Maybe trying to have an NIL offer ready even? (wishful thinking department)

One thing is certain...he would slam dunk right in the face of any skinny white frat boy that dresses out for that school to the west.

M.D.W.S.T

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Posted: 3/29/2026 4:39 PM

Devin Royal into the portal. Now following Boals and Lamar. They follow him as well.

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Posted: 3/29/2026 9:17 PM

M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more

Devin Royal into the portal. Now following Boals and Lamar. They follow him as well.

His first offer was from Boals out of HS

Bobcat Tattoo

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Posted: 3/29/2026 9:57 PM

M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more

Devin Royal into the portal. Now following Boals and Lamar. They follow him as well.

Highly skeptical he would come to Ohio/we can afford him, but this would be a huge get. Immediate impact player alongside Simmons and Kelly.

FJC31

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Posted: 3/30/2026 8:34 AM

Bobcat Tattoo wrote:expand_more

M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more

Devin Royal into the portal. Now following Boals and Lamar. They follow him as well.

Highly skeptical he would come to Ohio/we can afford him, but this would be a huge get. Immediate impact player alongside Simmons and Kelly.

Yea, Royal put up 14ppg at the P5 level this last season. Touch to see him dropping down to mid-major.

FishBates

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Posted: 3/30/2026 8:50 AM

FJC31 wrote:expand_more

Bobcat Tattoo wrote:expand_more

M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more

Devin Royal into the portal. Now following Boals and Lamar. They follow him as well.

Highly skeptical he would come to Ohio/we can afford him, but this would be a huge get. Immediate impact player alongside Simmons and Kelly.

Yea, Royal put up 14ppg at the P5 level this last season. Touch to see him dropping down to mid-major.

We may not have a great chance money-wise vs Texas Tech and LSU and them but to take a shot at least shows some huevos on the part of this staff. A good sign.

We got Simmons, there are other D-1 transfers out there who can make a difference here. It doesn't have to be settling for Andy Schmelgetsky from Mid-Wyoming Lutheran Bible College.

Bobcat1998

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Posted: 3/30/2026 9:25 AM

FJC31 wrote:expand_more

Lee Martin is now following Tampa’s (D2) Ryan Blount. 6’6 CG who averaged 21ppg and 7rpg. Also shot 41% from 3 while averaging 7 3PA’s a game. Clearly looking for proven shooters this cycle.

https://x.com/jonchep/status/2031005662885371978?s=46&t=h...

Color me unimpressed with half these guys. In order to keep up with the rest of the league we need 3-and-D Dawgs. I see none of that in most of these dude. We need Gillespie type guys. We have none. Hopefully Javan is doing some recruiting too.

FJC31

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Posted: 3/30/2026 10:01 AM

Bobcat1998 wrote:expand_more

FJC31 wrote:expand_more

I guess I'm still puzzled over the disdain if we added a D2 transfer. Most schools at our level are there days. Tameron Ferguson, one the first players I posted, signed with Arkansas State. A school that's beaten us twice in the last three seasons.

The most recent D2 player we reached out to above, Trey Harris (seems like a pretty athletic wing), has a contact list that includes Xavier, Nevada, Illinois State, Northwestern, UCSB, and Dayton. All of the D2 players we've contacted have long lists of interest from schools better than or equal to us.

I think we're playing in one of the right sandboxes trying to fill 6 spots that includes bench minutes. I don't think we'll see 6 D1 transfers.

M.D.W.S.T

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Posted: 3/30/2026 10:16 AM

FJC31 wrote:expand_more

Bobcat Tattoo wrote:expand_more

M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more

Devin Royal into the portal. Now following Boals and Lamar. They follow him as well.

Highly skeptical he would come to Ohio/we can afford him, but this would be a huge get. Immediate impact player alongside Simmons and Kelly.

Yea, Royal put up 14ppg at the P5 level this last season. Touch to see him dropping down to mid-major.

I'm not sure I see a Big 10 starter deciding to come here, BUT one thing I think some of these really GOOD contributors at the P5 might come to weigh is do I drop down in competition and potentially put up big numbers - does that look better to my future prospects vs maybe going to Michigan or something and having your production drop? Or is the glitz and glamour of the Big 10, etc too good to leave behind?

Three years of solid production, but nothing crazy. His ppg actually held from last season, and rebounds came down even though minutes increased. His 2pt % decreased. His free-throw rate, which KenPom computes as a player’s ability to get to the line, dropped to a career-low 41.3.

I don't see him dropping into the MAC, but he should consider it. And if his relationship with Boals is strong enough... come be P1 or P2 here. Build the offense around you and Simmons. Show off your skills. There is some upside to stepping down. Especially if your overall efficiency also stepped down. And you basically had to enter the portal because you would be squeezed for minutes next season.

Last Edited: 3/30/2026 10:17:05 AM by M.D.W.S.T

FJC31

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Posted: 3/30/2026 12:08 PM

M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more

FJC31 wrote:expand_more

Bobcat Tattoo wrote:expand_more

M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more

Devin Royal into the portal. Now following Boals and Lamar. They follow him as well.

Highly skeptical he would come to Ohio/we can afford him, but this would be a huge get. Immediate impact player alongside Simmons and Kelly.

Yea, Royal put up 14ppg at the P5 level this last season. Touch to see him dropping down to mid-major.

Contributors, yes, I agree there's a better shot. KJ Windham is an example of that.

GoCats105

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Posted: 3/30/2026 2:08 PM

Sounds like he was on his way out no matter what. Could just be looking for a place to land some PT if he was going to be sitting a lot in Columbus next year. He's undersized for his natural PF position and played out of position this year, so downgrading to a mid-major isn't completely out of the realm of possibility.

https://www.landgrantholyland.com/ohio-state-mens-basketb...

FishBates

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Posted: 3/30/2026 2:28 PM

FJC31 wrote:expand_more

D2 transfer

I picked a fellow mid-major on the last schedule at random. George Mason.

According to ESPN, Mason won by a score of 92-69. Score was 52-33 at the half.

80-39 midway through the second half. This is per ESPN's box score.

Looking at their official roster they had lots of transfers from places like:
Northeastern
UMass
Maryland
Presbyterian
Ball State
Murray St.
Texas
Samford

Number of players they had from D-2 = 0
Number of players they had from D-3 = 0
Number of players they had from NAIA = 0

We had a couple of good role players from D-2 once in Searles and Schmock. We also had one named Carter Reese that never got off the bench. He was previously Honorable Mention All-OAC. Certain people swore that because Searles and Schmock were decent role players, all transfers from small schools are assumed to be good role players on the D-1 level. Including Reese. That's a leap of faith that doesn't look very promising in the "holds water" department.

I'll even include the links in question.

https://gomason.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/playbyplay/_...

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/carter-reese...

FJC31

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Posted: 3/30/2026 2:55 PM

FishBates wrote:expand_more

FJC31 wrote:expand_more

D2 transfer

Sweet. This is like me cherry picking Sienna (tourney team) having success with D2/NAIA transfer Antonio Chandler who contributed 7ppg and 6rpg while shooting 64% playing 22mpg.

It can go either way with any player regardless if it's D1, D2, D3, NAIA, or HS.

Also, not one person on here thought Carter Reese was getting any meaningful minutes.

Last Edited: 3/30/2026 2:56:24 PM by FJC31

bobcatsquared

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Posted: 3/30/2026 3:11 PM

FishBates wrote:expand_more

I picked a fellow mid-major on the last schedule at random. George Mason.

First, Greencat confuses "exile" from the BA with posting under a different name.

Now, he's confusing picking something at "random" with cherry-picking an example.

FishBates

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Posted: 3/30/2026 3:34 PM

bobcatsquared wrote:expand_more

FishBates wrote:expand_more

I picked a fellow mid-major on the last schedule at random. George Mason.

First, Greencat confuses "exile" from the BA with posting under a different name.

Now, he's confusing picking something at "random" with cherry-picking an example.

Wow. What a rebuttal to my post that even includes links to the info.

NOT. Unless an epic-fail attempt at a rebuttal counts. (doesn't)

Last Edited: 3/30/2026 3:35:57 PM by FishBates

FishBates

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Posted: 3/30/2026 3:43 PM

FJC31 wrote:expand_more

Also, not one person on here thought Carter Reese was getting any meaningful minutes.

Really? You sound pretty certain on that.

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Bobcat1998
Posted: 5/9/2025 11:05:17 AM

quote:

This dude is going to play. Mark it down.

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame

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Posted: 3/30/2026 3:50 PM

FishBates wrote:expand_more

FJC31 wrote:expand_more

Also, not one person on here thought Carter Reese was getting any meaningful minutes.

Really? You sound pretty certain on that.

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Bobcat1998
Posted: 5/9/2025 11:05:17 AM

quote:

This dude is going to play. Mark it down.

One person. In your post you referred to "people" -- and you've posted about this D2 thing 35 times in the last week as if 1) Ohio Basketball's entire strategy is to fill the roster with D2 transfers and 2) Everybody who isn't you is insisting that's a good thing.

Take your meds, man.

FishBates

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Posted: 3/30/2026 3:54 PM

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:expand_more

FishBates wrote:expand_more

FJC31 wrote:expand_more

Also, not one person on here thought Carter Reese was getting any meaningful minutes.

Really? You sound pretty certain on that.

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Bobcat1998
Posted: 5/9/2025 11:05:17 AM

quote:

This dude is going to play. Mark it down.

I called BS on a person who said and I quote...

"not one person"

Their words. Maybe you can share meds with him.

This is as polite as I can be towards you.

Last Edited: 3/30/2026 4:00:26 PM by FishBates