'loyal Guy' Bruce Thornton To Run It Back With Ohio State Basketball For Senior Season

This wasn’t the first time Bruce Thornton had to make this decision.

A little more than a year ago, coming off a sophomore season that saw Ohio State fire the coach who had recruited and signed him to be a Buckeye, Thornton turned down significant outside interest to remain with the program and play for first-year coach Jake Diebler. As a junior, Thornton put forth the best individual year of his career only to again come up short in the standings and found himself watching the NCAA Tournament from home for a third straight year.

After three years as a captain and starter, if anyone could be excused for wanting to transfer elsewhere for a fresh experience for his senior year, it would be Thornton. And in today’s climate, such moves are seemingly more the norm in high-major college basketball.

Yet, Thornton stayed. If he'd have gone anywhere, it would've been the NBA. This year, he’ll suit up for a fourth year with the Buckeyes, still aiming to navigate a path to March Madness while also poised to cement his name among the all-time statistical contributors in program history.

Given the journey to this point, why stay?

“I’ve always been a loyal guy,” Thornton said June 23 in his first public comments since announcing his return to Ohio State. “Me being here, sticking it out and showing love back to Ohio State, because they’ve been nothing but great to me this whole time, throughout this whole process, through the good, bad and the ugly. I felt like, let’s just do it one more time.”

After his sophomore season, Thornton saw friends and fellow classmates Roddy Gayle and Felix Okpara transfer to Michigan and Tennessee, respectively. Thornton was a prized commodity from the moment coach Chris Holtmann was fired on Feb. 14, 2023, and his family received overtures from dozens of programs across the country.

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When he returned to Ohio State, Thornton described it as a “big-time” business decision. In the same breath, Thornton used the word loyalty in 2024, just like he did in 2025.

“I just stand by my morals,” he said. “I just believe in staying true to people that are true to you. I’ve always been like that since I was young. Stay with the same teams, stay with the same people, my same friends from back home. Just stay the course. I will reap the benefits from just staying loyal and then putting it in God’s hands.”

Through three seasons, Thornton has scored 1,487 points, moving him to No. 21 in Ohio State history. He’s increased his scoring each year, going from 10.6 as a freshman to 15.7 as a sophomore to 17.7 last year, when he earned second-team all-Big Ten honors.

If his scoring remains where it was last season, and the Buckeyes enjoy a deep postseason run, he could threaten Dennis Hopson for the program’s all-time scoring mark. If Thornton leads Ohio State in scoring for a third straight season, he’d be the first Buckeye to do so since Michael Redd did so from 1998-2000.

Thornton’s 408 assists are good for 10th-most in program history. He’s started 102 of the 103 games the Buckeyes have played since his arrival, also potentially putting William Buford’s all-time program record of 137 starts in jeopardy this year.

There’s just one thing missing: an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Buckeyes have not gone dancing since 2021-22, Thornton’s senior prep season at Milton, Georgia, and the senior was asked if that was a factor in his decision to return.

“Most definitely, but I’m here for my last year just to have fun,” he said. “I really want to win, but I’m not going to put that whole amount of pressure on myself just to force myself. I’ll do what I do best each and every day, be a great teammate for my guys and great to my coaching staff and Ohio State and I feel like God will take care of everything else.”

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.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's Bruce Thornton cites loyalty for return for senior year