Ohio State commit Marcus Johnson leads Garfield Heights to third consecutive district championship

Marcus Johnson, the No. 33 recruit in the Class of 2026 (according to On3's Industry Rankings) and the Ohio State commit, led his team Garfield Heights High School to their third consecutive district championship. Garfield grabbed a 59-46 win against Highland in the 2025 OHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships (Ohio) on Saturday.

Marcus Johnson scored 26 points on 47% shooting and 33.3% from the 3-point line, including eight free throws. Highlights of the game were posted by SportsCenter NEXT on Instagram.

"Ohio State commit Marcus Johnson (No. 21 ESPN 60) led Garfield Heights to their third consecutive district championship, defeating Highland 59-46. The Bulldogs advance to the regional semifinals in Ohio. 😤🔥 🎥 @t.k.productionz," the post was captioned.

Garfield will now face Padua Franciscan in the Regional Semifinals on Tuesday at Medina High School to grab a chance to play against Archbishop Hoban or Olmsted Falls on Thursday.

After the win against Highland, Garfield improved their record to 21-2 overall and 9-1 in the Ohio Section Lake Erie Basketball League, sitting above Warrensville Heights, Bedford and Lorain.

One of Marcus Johnson's best performances came against Avon Lake on February 26 when he scored 37 points to lead Garfield to an 87-43 win. His performance earned him praise from Avon Lake's Head Coach, Eric Smith.

"I’ve been a head coach for 26 years now, and that may be one of the best basketball players I have ever seen," Smith said after the game (via the Chronicle Telegram).

"He controls the game and does everything just so effortlessly. We had a plan to make life as hard as we could for him and DeVaughn Jackson, but they just started hitting 3s, and everything you wanted to do just went out the window."

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Why did Marcus Johnson choose Ohio State?

Ranked at the fifth spot in the point guard position and second in Ohio, Marcus Johnson attracted interest from 16 programs, including Oklahoma, Illinois, Jackson State, Penn State, Arizona State, West Virginia, Youngstown State and Ohio State, among others.

However, he committed to the Buckeyes on Apr. 10 last year. Johnson talked to On3 about his decision.

“I chose Ohio State due to Jake Diebler’s recruiting process with me, showing love, and going hard for me. Also, Ohio State has always been my dream school since [I was] a kid and I want to stay home,” he said.

Marcus Johnson will join Alex Smith at Jake Diebler's side next season.