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Colby Baumann is No. 14 in our Ohio State men's basketball preseason power rankings
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- Colby Baumann is No. 14 in our Ohio State men's basketball preseason power rankings
The first year of the Jake Diebler era will feature the most scholarship players in Ohio State men's basketball history .
Technically, the Buckeyes will feature a full complement of 13 scholarship players for the 2024-25 season. Yet as Ohio State has built its roster for the year and sustained a summer injury to a projected rotation player, first-year coach Jake Diebler was able to add one more piece to the puzzle as a walk-on whose NIL compensation will cover the costs of enrolling at Ohio State.
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Projected to finish eighth in the annual unofficial media poll conducted jointly by The Dispatch and The Indianapolis Star , the Buckeyes aim to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out during each of the last two seasons. Ohio State went 22-14 last season as Diebler was named coach after having taking over midseason on an interim basis.
Sifting through a 16-man roster featuring nine new faces including two walk-ons requires effort, and The Dispatch has you covered. To get ready for the season, The Dispatch is once again rolling out its annual preseason power rankings. Each weekday leading into the Nov. 4 season opener against Texas in Las Vegas , we will count upward while projecting which players will have the biggest roles on the 2023-24 season. This isn't just a measurement of who will lead the team in any particular statistical category, but a series of educated guesses on which players' contributions will go the longest way toward where the Buckeyes finish.
The series continues today with junior guard Colby Baumann.
No. 14 – Colby Baumann
Position: Guard
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Eligibility: Third year (one remaining)
Height/weight: 6 feet 3 / 185 pounds
Jersey number: 10
Major: Sport industry
Background
Baumann played for Atascocita High School in Humble, Texas, but transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, for his senior season. With hopes of drawing some recruiting interest, Baumann suffered a shattered wrist that cost him the season and led to a post-graduate year. It was then he was contacted by Ohio State assistant coach Mike Netti, who expressed interest in bringing Baumann in as a walk-on to help fill out the depth chart in practice.
Baumann announced his commitment to Ohio State on June 13, 2022, with a graphic he posted to his Twitter account.
Baumann's first season of college basketball did not amount to much playing time. The final player off the bench, he made his debut with 2:33 left in a season-opening win against Robert Morris on Nov. 7, replacing Roddy Gayle Jr. with Ohio State ahead 89-51 . He grabbed an offensive rebound with 18 seconds left for his first official statistic, and he would appear in two more games to total 5:58 of playing time for the year.
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Baumann was the lone player not to score for the Buckeyes, but he did not record a "Trillion," either. He missed two field goals, one from inside the 3-point arc and one from beyond, and had three rebounds, one assist and one turnover.
Nov 1, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State University guard Colby Baumann (42) looks to shoot the ball during the second half of the division I basketball game against Chaminade University at Value City Arena on Tuesday night. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Scheller-The Columbus Dispatch
2023-24 recap
In his second year with the program, Baumann appeared in four games totaling 6:31 of playing time. He posted a "Trillion" in two of those four games, not recording a stat in 46 seconds of playing time in a Nov. 29 win against Central Michigan or in 1:04 at Rutgers on March 10.
Baumann scored his first career points during Ohio State's 78-36 win against New Orleans on Dec. 21 . In 2:44, Baumann went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line. He also made a free throw while playing 1:57 of an 84-61 win against Michigan on March 3 in the final home game of the regular season.
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He did not attempt a shot as a sophomore after missing his two attempts as a freshman, one of which was a 3-pointer. In two years, Baumann has appeared in seven games totaling 12 minutes of playing time. He has scored five points, grabbed three rebounds and had one assist and one turnover.
Baumann earned academic all-Big Ten honors in 2024.
Need to know
Baumann switched his jersey number from 42 to 10 this season.
While back home in Texas during the summer of 2023, Baumann and a friend made the decision to sign up and run a Spartan Race . He finished seventh overall and has plans to do more in the future. Baumann has a clothing line that raises funds to support cancer research after his father battled brain cancer for six months before passing away in 2017. It's named after his dad and called LLP Clothing, which stands for "Live Like Phil."
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"Creating the clothing line, my main message was really to figure out a way for everybody to remember my dad," Baumann said.
Ohio State men's basketball player Colby Baumann competes in a Spartan Race.
During the summer of 2023, he also attended a flying school for one day and got to help fly a plane.
Prior to his arrival at Ohio State, Baumann said he was already familiar with Brice Sensabaugh after hearing about his senior season at Orlando Lake Highland Prep. He's a fan of Kobe Bryant. Baumann can surf and play the ukulele. He played in the Kingdom Summer League during the summer of 2022 and was teammates with Kalen Etzler.
2024-25 season outlook
A longshot once again to see any real playing time during the season, Baumann's preseason has been slowed after he had to have his gall bladder removed Oct. 4. The procedure will sideline him for a bit, keeping him out of the mix in a deep, veteran backcourt.
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When healthy, Baumann is a gritty, tough player, as evidenced by his Spartan Race participation. He figures to impact the scout team once again and provide physicality to Ohio State's practices.
Previous power rankings
No. 15 – Braylen Nash
No. 16 – Taison Chatman
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State basketball: Preseason rankings sit Colby Baumann at No. 14
