Story by
Here's how Bruce Thornton was a unanimous pick as a four-time Ohio State team captain
- Story by
- Here's how Bruce Thornton was a unanimous pick as a four-time Ohio State team captain
It wasn't a great time for Ohio State men's basketball when Bruce Thornton was called into a meeting with coach Chris Holtmann. Then just a freshman dealing with a bone bruise to his right wrist, Thornton was an ailing part of a roster that had lost nine of 10 games as the early days of February 2023 passed.
For a week or so, Thornton had been invited into meetings with team captains Zed Key, Isaac Likekele and Justice Sueing but without the official title as captain. Yet as the season was spiraling, the Buckeyes held a re-vote and formalized what had been tacitly acknowledged for weeks: their freshman point guard and Day 1 starter was clearly among the team's leaders. They made him a captain .
Advertisement
The naming of Thornton as captain didn't turn the season around. Ohio State lost 14 of 15 games and stumbled to a 16-19 record, their worst since going 8-22 in 1997-98. What it did do, though, was put Thornton on an unprecedented path that was solidified during the first week of the 2025-26 season when the senior was officially named a captain for the fourth straight year.
In an era of unprecedented roster turnover, Thornton has bucked the trend to become the first four-time captain in Ohio State history. Nationally, he is believed to be the first four-time captain since Ryan Arcidiacono held the title from 2012-16 at Villanova.
Thornton wasn't just picked for a fourth straight year but, when the balloting was opened to coaches and players, was a unanimous pick.
"I felt surprised," Thornton said.
Advertisement
If true, he might be the only one who has spent time around the program for the past four years and did not view this as a foregone conclusion. In four years, Thornton has had 36 different teammates. He's shared the captaincy with five different players. Now, it's his team.
The voting helped coach Jake Diebler decide to launch a leadership team within the roster with a handful of other players who received consideration for captaincy in the balloting. There are other players who will also take on some leadership roles in concert with Thornton, but his name is the one going down in the record books.
Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) is introduced in the starting lineup prior to the NCAA preseason exhibition game \AB\ at Value City Arena in Columbus on Oct. 26, 2025. Ohio State won 103-74.
Ohio State does not list a solo captain for a season in its official records since Terence Dials in 2004-05.
Advertisement
"It speaks to his loyalty and his commitment to having a great career at one place," Diebler said. "That's certainly is a factor here. Also, from a guy who gets to work with him every single day, there's a consistency of excellence required to be respected at such a level by your peers to be able to be a captain and be a good one. The fact that he was able to establish himself in that manner for four years is really remarkable and speaks to just the type of person he is, the type of work ethic that he has."
Thornton said he first remembered being named a captain sometime in middle school but acknowledged that the title means something different at that age compared to being in college. When he was 10 or 11, Thornton said he received a leadership award at a postseason football awards banquet, the first time he'd been given such an honor.
"I didn't really understand it but it was probably for how I was leading by example every day in practice and games," he said.
Thornton credits his dad, former NFL player Bruce Thornton Sr., for teaching him what it takes to be a leader.
Advertisement
More: 'I'll be great': How a competitive upbringing molded Ohio State's Bruce Thornton
"He always said, 'You have the best heart,' " Thornton said of his dad. "He always said, 'You're a genuine person just by nature. You're always willing to help people when they need it and you're always trying to be there for them emotionally, spiritually, mentally, physically.' Any way I can help somebody, I always do my best."
At Ohio State, Thornton said, he learned such lessons from fellow captain Jamison Battle during the 2023-24 season. Battle's professional approach to the team, the game and his off-court preparation left an impression on Thornton as the Buckeyes navigated Holtmann's midseason firing and Diebler's promotion from associate to interim to head coach.
Diebler said Thornton's growth as a vocal leader has been significant.
Advertisement
"He's the best he's ever been at it right now and it's really cool to see someone go from where they started as a freshman to get to where they are now as a senior," the coach said. "He's come a long ways, but his foundation was always the consistency with which he worked and how he brought it every day and now you add the voice element behind it and I think it makes him a complete leader."
This year, Thornton is poised to imprint his name all over Ohio State's record book. In Ohio State's 94-68 win against Purdue Fort Wayne on Nov. 7, the second game of the season, Thornton scored a career-high 38 points to climb to No. 15 on the list of Ohio State's most prolific scorers.
More important for Thornton: winning. Ohio State is 57-48 in his tenure and 23-37 in Big Ten play and has not appeared in the NCAA Tournament . Throughout his Ohio State career, Thornton has repeated his belief that everything happens for a reason and that hard work, perseverance and patience will eventually pay off.
Now's his chance.
Advertisement
"It was a totally different time with all the losing and being thrown into the fire early (as a freshman)," he said. "It was a lot of losing at that time but I'm glad I had the experience because it's panning out now."
Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com , on Bluesky at @ cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @ AdamJardy .
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State four-time captain Bruce Thornton a unanimous pick this year
