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Etzler to redshirt 2021-22 season

Kalen Etzler was the No. 148-rated prospect in the class of 2021.
Kalen Etzler was the No. 148-rated prospect in the class of 2021. (© Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

COLUMBUS, Ohio –– One of the Buckeyes' two incoming freshmen in the class of 2021 will take a redshirt this season.

Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann announced Tuesday at a press conference that Kalen Etzler, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound power forward from Van Wert, Ohio, will redshirt his true freshman campaign. Etzler was a three-star recruit and Rivals.com's No. 148 prospect in the class of 2021.

"We're gonna redshirt Kalen Etzler this year. Had a great conversation, I think it's something he's looking forward to, as is his family," Holtmann said. "Looking forward to his development moving forward."

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Holtmann said the decision was not related to any injury issues, and that the topic was not a new one between he and his young forward.

"He's not injured," Holtmann said. "When we recruited him we had that conversation."

Etzler was the first player to commit to Ohio State in its 2021 class, having decided to join the Columbus program back on May 12, 2019. Etzler is one of just two players in the class, with four-star forward Malaki Branham –– Rivals' No. 40 overall prospect and Ohio Mr. Basketball this past year –– being the other.

Branham, listed at 6-foot-5, 180 pounds on the official Ohio State roster, hails from the St. Vincent-St. Mary program in Akron, Ohio. Holtmann said he's "really excited" about Branham's growth and future moving forward.

"I think he'll look like a freshman at times and then he'll look like a guy who has a tremendous future at times," Holtmann said. "That's the natural development for young players."

Both freshmen have plenty of work to do in order to properly cut their teeth in the Buckeye program, but Holtmann's Tuesday comments make it clear that fans can expect to see Branham on the court considerably earlier than his fellow 2021 recruiting classmate.

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