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Ohio State commit Marcus Johnson is on an award-winning spree. After continuing his father, Sonny Johnson's legacy and winning Mr. Ohio Basketball, the Garfield Heights junior won the Gatorade 2024-2025 Player of the Year Boys Basketball - Ohio.
This also marks the second time Marcus, the No. 33 recruit in the Class of 2026 (as per On3 Industry Rankings), has received the award.
On Sunday, the 6-foot-1 point guard shared the news on his Instagram.
"2x Gatorade player of the year✝️," he captioned the post.
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This season, Marcus Johnson scored 29.2 points, grabbed 4.9 rebounds, dished out 3.2 assists and stole the ball 1.9 times per contest in 24 games. Furthermore, he has also maintained a 3.52 GPA as he enters his senior year of high school.
Furthermore, Johnson led his school to a 23-3 overall and a 9-1 record in the Ohio Section Lake Erie Basketball League, where it sits above Warrensville Heights, Bedford, Lorain and Maple Heights.
In the 2025 OHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships (Ohio), Garfield Heights defeated Avon Lake 87-43 in the District Semifinals on Feb. 26. The Bulldogs sealed a 59-46 win against Highland in the District Finals to enter the Regional Finals, where they faced Padua Franciscan and defeated them 64-41 on March 5.
In the regional final, the Bulldogs secured a 58-45 win over Archbishop Hoban. However, they were knocked out in the state semifinals by the eventual champions, Louisville, after a tough 49-48 loss on March 16.
The Class of 2026 player is ranked fifth in the point guard position and second in Ohio. He received interest from 16 programs across the nation. These included offers from Cincinnati, Youngstown State, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Arizona State and more.
Marcus Johnson creates history after winning Mr. Ohio Basketball
Marcus and his father and Garfield Heights coach, Sonny Johnson, became the first father-son duo to win the prestigious Mr. Ohio Basketball Award, presented by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association.
The younger Johnson also posted the trophy he received on his Instagram story, writing:
"Blessings," he captioned the post with two emojis.
Johnson faced competition from Steubenville senior Aiden Davis, Brunswick junior Trey Drexler and Kettering Archbishop Alter senior RJ Greer for the award.
Marcus Johnson is not the only player who committed to the Buckeyes from the Class of 2026. Three-star power forward Alex Smith also made his commitment to Jake Diebler's team on Sept. 2.
