Ohio State’s Jake Diebler talks start of Buckeyes preseason, more
Ohio State coach Jake Diebler’s full press conference at Buckeyes media day Oct. 8, 2024.
The first year of the Jake Diebler era will feature the most scholarship players in Ohio State men’s basketball history.
Technically, the Buckeyes will feature a full complement of 13 scholarship players for the 2024-25 season. Yet as Ohio State has built its roster for the year and sustained a summer injury to a projected rotation player, first-year coach Jake Diebler was able to add one more piece to the puzzle as a walk-on whose NIL compensation will cover the costs of enrolling at Ohio State.
Projected to finish eighth in the annual unofficial media poll conducted jointly by The Dispatch and The Indianapolis Star, the Buckeyes aim to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out during each of the last two seasons. Ohio State went 22-14 last season as Diebler was named coach after having taking over midseason on an interim basis.
Sifting through a 16-man roster featuring nine new faces including two walk-ons requires effort, and The Dispatch has you covered. To get ready for the season, The Dispatch is once again rolling out its annual preseason power rankings. Each weekday leading into the Nov. 4 season opener against Texas in Las Vegas, we will count upward while projecting which players will have the biggest roles on the 2023-24 season. This isn’t just a measurement of who will lead the team in any particular statistical category, but a series of educated guesses on which players’ contributions will go the longest way toward where the Buckeyes finish.
The series continues today with freshman guard Braylen Nash.
No. 15 – Braylen Nash
Position: Guard
Eligibility: First year (three remaining)
Height/weight: 6 feet 4 / 180 pounds
Jersey number: 14
Major: Sport industry
Background
A New Albany, Ohio, product, Nash committed to Ohio State as a walk-on in early May. Xavier, Butler and DePaul, led by former Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann, showed interest in adding Nash as a walk-on.
As a senior, Nash averaged 17 points and three rebounds per game and was named player of the year in the Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division and a member of the Dispatch’s All-Metro first team. The Eagles won their first league championship since 2016 and advanced to the Division I district semifinals as Nash earned special mention all-state honors. He scored a team-high 18 points in a win against Pickerington North that clinched the league title.
Nash also played football at New Albany and was a wide receiver as a junior and quarterback as a senior. Had he not chosen to enroll at Ohio State to play basketball, Nash had some opportunities to continue his football career.
As a freshman, Nash averaged 6.3 points and 3.1 rebounds while playing in 15 of 20 games. He missed five games of that 2020-21 season due to COVID-19 contact tracing but went on to become only the second 1,000-point scorer in program history, topping that mark with a 26-point effort against Westlake on Feb. 2.
Need to know
As a Central Ohio native, Nash is a lifelong Ohio State fan who grew up cheering for the Buckeyes. He is close friends with Chase Boals whose father, Jeff, was an assistant and associate head coach at Ohio State and is now the head coach at Ohio University. Chase Boals is a walk-on with the Bobcats.
On his first day at Ohio State, Nash posed for a photo with a whiteboard that listed three things he loves: God, his family and basketball. When he grows up, Nash said he wants to be happy.
His sister, Micaylah, is married to Jason Preston, an Ohio graduate from Orlando on a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz.
2024-25 season outlook
Tim Casey was Nash’s coach for his senior year, moving to New Albany after he was not retained after a 22-year tenure at Upper Arlington. It was Casey who called new coach Jake Diebler during the spring to pitch his star senior as a walk-on candidate.
Casey described Nash as a solid shooter who will fit well into Ohio State’s practices and be able to make an impact on the scout team. On a roster with multiple experienced guards, Nash is unlikely to see any in-game role but figures to make his impact keeping Ohio State’s defense honest in practice.
His former coach also described him as a ‘great culture guy.’
Additional reading
New Albany’s Braylen Nash named Columbus area high school athlete of the week
Finally intact: One question for each Ohio State men’s basketball player
Previous power rankings
No. 16 – Taison Chatman
