Senior guard Bruce Thornton was named the lone captain of the Ohio State men’s basketball squad for the 2025-26 season and he’s making history in the process.
Thornton was named a team captain on Tuesday following the Buckeyes’ 118-102 victory over IU Indy on Monday at Value City Arena. By earning the role again, Thornton became the first four-time captain in the men’s basketball program’s history.
Thornton wasn’t originally a captain when he arrived on campus as a four-star freshman ahead of the 2022-23 season. But after a revote midway through the season, he earned the honors for the remainder of the year.
The Fairburn, Ga., native was named a captain prior to the beginning of the season in each year following.
Thornton has steadily improved on both ends throughout his time at Ohio State. Offensively, Thornton averaged 10.6 points per game as a freshman and increased that average to 15.7 and 17.7 over his sophomore and junior seasons, respectively.
His last season with the Buckeyes in 2024-25 was particularly strong, Thornton set career-highs in scoring and field goal percentage (50.1), while averaging a solid 4.6 boards and 3.4 assists per game. Thornton also ranked ninth nationally with a 3.15 assist-to-turnover ratio, and averaged over a steal per game.
Thornton’s most impressive campaign to-date earned him second-team All-Big Ten honors, besting his third-team honors from the previous season.
In the win over IU Indy, Thornton finished with 26 points, five rebounds and four assists, as the Buckeyes dominated the Jaguars offensively with their second-highest scoring total in a single game in program history.
Thornton and Ohio State will take on Purdue Fort Wayne Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Value City Arena.
