Photo via Indiana athletics
Ohio State has earned its first transfer commitment of the offseason, with former Indiana guard Gabe Cupps announcing on Wednesday that he has committed to the Buckeyes. Cupps will likely have three years of eligibility remaining after playing just four games this season.
Cupps, a Dayton native, joins Ohio State after spending two seasons at Indiana. Before the injury-riddled 2024-25 season, he averaged 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game as a freshman.
Cupps’ transfer is not a surprise, as the Buckeyes were reportedly viewed as the favorites to land him over Dayton after he entered the portal on March 18. He won Ohio’s Mr. Basketball in 2022 while playing at Dayton Centerville, and was seriously considering the Buckeyes in his high school recruitment, putting the Buckeyes in his top three alongside the Hoosiers and Stanford.
With Cupps now on the roster, the Buckeyes now have the last three Ohio Mr. Basketball award winners on their roster, including Cupps in 2022, sophomore forward Devin Royal in 2023 and freshman forward Colin White in 2024. Cupps now joins an OSU backcourt that — as of now — consists of Bruce Thornton, Juni Mobley Jr. and Taison Chatman.
Ohio State is expected to be active in the portal after a disappointing 17-15 season that caused it to miss the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season. The Buckeyes have already lost forward Evan Mahaffey and center Austin Parks to the portal and are expected to lose at least one more player.
