Former Ohio State forward Devin Royal announces Villanova commitment

Former Ohio State and Pickerington Central forward Devin Royal will play his final season of college basketball at Villanova.

Royal, a three-year contributor and two-year starter for the Buckeyes, announced his commitment to the Wildcats with posts to social media on April 13. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Ohio State's second-leading rebounder in each of the past two seasons, Royal averaged 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds while playing in 96 games at Ohio State. In his last two years as a starter, Royal averaged 13.7 points both seasons while moving from power forward to small forward in 2025-26.

Ohio State Buckeyes forward Devin Royal (21) shoots the ball against the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half of the NCAA game at Value City Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.

He was the first of five players from the 2025-26 Ohio State roster to enter the transfer portal but the only starter. Reserves Taison Chatman, Gabe Cupps, Colin White and Mathieu Grujicic are all also in the portal.

The Buckeyes have added California guard Justin Pippen and Kentucky center Andrija Jelavic so far.

The transfer portal opened April 7. You can keep tabs on Ohio State's roster with our tracker by clicking here.

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.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Ohio State forward Devin Royal announces Villanova commitment