Photo courtesy of Mick Walker/Lettermen Row
A future Buckeye took home some serious hardware on Thursday when Cleveland Garfield Heights four-star point guard and Ohio State 2026 commit Marcus Johnson was named 2025 Ohio Mr. Basketball, Ohio’s top individual honor for high school hoops.
Johnson, the cousin of former Buckeye Meechie Johnson Jr. who was a finalist for the award last season, earns the distinction after a sensational junior season in which he led his team to their first OHSAA Division III, Region 9 title since 2016 and an appearance in the Division III semifinals by averaging 29.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He scored 25 points through three quarters of Garfield Heights’ 49-48 semifinal loss to Louisville, Ohio, on March 16 before having to sit out for a portion of the fourth quarter after taking a hard fall and hitting his head on the floor.
Johnson earned these feats while being coached by his father, Sonny Johnson, who also was named Ohio Mr. Basketball at the same school in 1998. They are now the first-ever father-son duo to take home the award. Garfield Heights has gone 72-9 in the three seasons with Sonny Johnson leading the team and his son playing point guard.
“It’s history, this will last forever, me winning Mr. Basketball” Johnson told WKYC Channel 3 on Thursday. “I used to go places with my dad when I was younger and they would always say ‘1998 Mr. Basketball.’ “So now for myself, winning in 2025, I’m just really happy.”
Johnson is also the 14th Buckeye to win the award and the third straight Ohio Mr. Basketball to be committed to Ohio State, joining sophomore forward Devin Royal, formerly of Pickerington Central, in 2022 and freshman forward Colin White (Ottawa-Glandorf) in 2023.
Johnson, the nation’s 29th-best player, sixth-best point guard and No. 2 player out of Ohio in his class, committed to Ohio State on April 10, 2024, and is currently slated to join the program for the 2026-27 season. He has expressed interest in reclassifying to the 2025 class, however, which would allow him to suit up for the Buckeyes this season alongside 2025 commits Branson (Mo.) Link Academy four-star power forward A’Mare Bynum (6-8, 225) and Cleveland Richmond Heights four-star shooting guard Dorian Jones (6-4, 160).
“(Jake Diebler) is a really good coach, a really good guy,” Johnson told Eleven Warriors on March 16. “Definitely locked in with Ohio State.”
