2023 Kansas Forward Scotty Middleton Commits To Ohio State

Middleton is the highest-rated prospect to pick the Buckeyes since former guard D.J. Carton in the class of 2019.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Aug 7, 2022 8:06 PM EDT

In this story:

The Ohio State men’s basketball program landed its second commitment in the last five days when Wichita (Kan.) Sunrise Christian Academy four-star forward Scotty Middleton pledged his services to the Buckeyes on Sunday evening.

The 6-foot-6 and 180-pound Middleton, who is considered the sixth-best small forward and No. 34 prospect overall in the class of 2023, chose Ohio State over finalists Kansas, Seton Hall, Texas A&M and UConn.

Middleton picked up an offer from head coach Chris Holtmann and top assistant Jake Diebler back in January and made his way to campus for the first and only time on an official visit for the Michigan game in early March.

He also took official visits with the Pirates and Huskies in June, which is why most expected his decision to come down to those three schools. He comfort level with the coaching staff ultimately helped the Buckeyes win out.

Middleton now becomes the fourth member of Ohio State’s 2023 recruiting class, joining Dayton (Ohio) Chaminade Julienne four-star guard George Washington III, Pickerington (Ohio) Central four-star forward Devin Royal and St. Marys (Ohio) Memorial four-star center Austin Parks.

The Buckeyes now have the third-best class in the 247Sports composite team rankings behind only Duke and Kentucky, whose four- and three-man hauls consist of nothing but five-star prospects.

The staff will now look to finish out the class with a commitment from Columbus Africentric four-star forward Dailyn Swain, who included Ohio State in his top five on Friday night alongside Arizona State, Arkansas, Clemson and Xavier.

As for Middleton, he’s a South Carolina native who also spent time in Miami and New Jersey before transferring to Sunrise Christian ahead of his junior season.

There, he faced a national schedule that included the likes of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, Montverde (Fla.) Academy, Mount Pleasant (Utah) Wasatch Academy and Branson (Mo.) Link Academy.

The last two, of course, saw him go head to head with freshman guard Roddy Gayle and freshman center Felix Okpara last season, with Middleton getting the best of his future teammates in both games.

Middleton most recently spent the summer with the Brad Beal Elite AAU team and notably averaged 10.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists across seven games at Nike’s Peach Jam tournament on July 17-24.

He is tied with former guard D.J. Carton, who was considered the No. 34 prospect overall in the class of 2019, for the highest-rated commit of Holtmann's tenure.

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