COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — An Ohio State Buckeyes guard who came to Columbus as a five-star recruit has entered the transfer portal.

Scotty Middleton has announced he will enter the NBA Draft process and should he decide to return to play college basketball, he won’t come back to Ohio State. The 6’7″ Miami native was ranked as one of the 40 best recruits in the 2023 class, according to ESPN’s rankings.

Middleton played 30 games for the Scarlet & Grey in the 2023-24 season where he averaged four points a game along with 1.4 rebounds. He shot just under 40% from the floor and shot 45% from three-point range.

Ohio State missed the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season after the midseason firing of head coach Chris Holtmann. Interim head coach Jake Diebler received the full-time position before the Buckeyes run to the NIT quarterfinals, where they lost to Georgia at the Schottenstein Center.