Ohio State Men’s Basketball Adds 1st Commitment For 2021 In Kalen Etzler

Third-year head coach Chris Holtmann has the Ohio State men’s basketball team on the board with its first commitment for the 2021 recruiting class.

The Buckeyes received their initial junior pledge Sunday when they added Convoy (Ohio) Crestview’s Kalen Etzler.

The 6-8, 195-pounder picked up an offer Thursday from OSU and jumped on the opportunity to stay home over the weekend.

According to 247Sports, Etzler is a four-star recruit as the No. 51 overall prospect, No. 14 power forward and No. 2 player in Ohio for 2021.

Etzler’s other early scholarships included Duquesne (June 19, 2017), Bowling Green (Dec. 15, 2017) and Miami of Ohio (March 15). Beyond his trips to Columbus in the fall (Oct. 6 and Nov. 24), he drew interest from Purdue (Oct. 20 visit) and Louisville (Feb. 23 visit).

Kalen Etzler is the nephew of former Ohio State point guard Doug Etzler (1991-95), who was a team captain as a senior in 1994-95 when he broke out with his 16.3 points and 3.9 assists per game. On May 8, Crestview named Doug Etzler its new head boys basketball coach, meaning he will mentor his nephew on the hardwood for the next two seasons before Kalen Etzler joins the Buckeyes.

OSU has yet to secure its first commitment for the 2020 class, but Etzler puts Holtmann ahead of the game for the 2021 cycle. Etzler is Ohio State’s second pledge in three days, following its Friday addition of California junior transfer forward Justice Sueing (6-7, 215).

Beyond those gets, the Buckeyes boast the 247sports composite’s No. 12 class of 2019. OSU welcomes  Bettendorf, Iowa, four-star point guard DJ Carton (6-1, 190), Belleville (Ill.) West four-star power forward EJ Liddell, Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy four-star small forward Alonzo Gaffney (6-9, 190) and Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep three-star center Ibrahima Diallo (7-0, 200) for the 2019-20 campaign.

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