AKRON, Ohio — Former Ohio State University guard Bowen Hardman, a 2022 Princeton High School graduate, announced Saturday morning his commitment to play basketball at the University of Akron.
Hardman visited Akron's campus on Friday. He has two years of eligibility remaining plus a graduate year.
The Zips, who were the Mid-American Conference champions this past season, made their sixth NCAA Division I tournament appearance.
Hardman announced in a social media in late March that he entered the NCAA transfer portal. He received interest from programs that included the Big East and MAC shortly after the announcement.
He averaged 1.8 points for the Buckeyes this past season in an average of 3.8 minutes per game. He played in 25 games overall in two seasons for Ohio State. He appeared in 18 games this season and seven games for Ohio State as a freshman.
Hardman was one of five Ohio State men's basketball players to be an Academic All-Big Ten honoree this season.
Before OSU, Hardman was a three-star recruit by 247 Sports from Princeton High School. He averaged more than 15 points and three rebounds as a junior when he earned Division I honorable mention all-state honors.
Hardman verbally committed to Ohio State in May 2020, becoming the first player to verbally commit to the Buckeyes' 2022 recruiting class. The Buckeyes offered a scholarship in October 2019. He also had scholarship offers that also included the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University at the time.
