Photo courtesy of Santa Clara athletics
Ohio State garnered its second transfer portal pledge of the offseason on Thursday when Santa Clara junior center Christoph Tilly announced his commitment to the Buckeyes.
Tilly, a native of Berlin who stands at 7-0 and weighs 240 pounds, joins Ohio State with one year of eligibility remaining after a strong junior season with the Broncos in which he started 31 of 31 games and averaged 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 55.4 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from three (17 of 54). These stats allowed him to earn second-team All-West Coast Conference honors and help lead Santa Clara to a 21-13 season and fourth-place finish in the WCC (12-6 record).
The Broncos also ranked 36th in the country in rebounding margin last season with Tilly as the team’s starting center, hauling in 37.9 per game while giving up 32.9 (10.3-rebound difference).
Tilly, who averaged 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game across his three-year career with the Broncos, will now bring his interior presence to an Ohio State team that was severely lacking in the frontcourt last season. The Buckeyes finished the year 13th out of 18 Big Ten teams (230th nationally) in rebounding margin, bringing in 34.0 and giving up 34.4.
He will likely lead a frontcourt that also includes rising junior forwards Devin Royal and Sean Stewart as well as rising sophomore center Ivan Njegovan. Ohio State is likely to bring in another interior player and another perimeter player through the portal, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Ohio State already garnered a transfer portal commitment from former Indiana guard Gabe Cupps on March 26.
