Junior forward Devin Royal has announced his intentions to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal after three seasons with the Ohio State Buckeyes. 

COLUMBUS – Devin Royal, from Pickerington, Ohio, has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, per ON3 and ESPN. The junior forward was a key contributor to an Ohio State basketball team that made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2021-22.

NEW: Ohio State forward Devin Royal plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @JoeTipton reports.

Royal averaged 13.7 points per game this season. https://t.co/31xCUNirjS pic.twitter.com/v57HgdnFO1

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) March 29, 2026

Royal was a former top 50 player in the country when he committed to the Buckeyes from local Pickerington Central High School. He averaged only eleven minutes per game his freshman season, but showed the potential to be a major player in the past two Buckeye seasons, where he would average over ten points during his Sophomore and Junior seasons.

With Royal entering the transfer portal, it seems very likely that true Freshman Amare Bynum will be returning to the Buckeyes next season to pair up with 5-star Anthony Thompson. Royal seemed like the odd man out with his most likely role coming off the bench as the Sixth-Man, similar to what Brandon Noel had before his foot injury he suffered early. With the new additions to the front court in Thompson and Alex Smith, who is also a Columbus, Ohio native, it seemed unlikely that Royal would have been guaranteed the same workload that he has had the past two seasons.

Some key moments in Royal’s Buckeye career will be his career-high 31 points against Valparaiso in 2024, both wins against Purdue, and, finally, cracking the 1,000-point club during the Big Ten Tournament. He achieved this by playing in just under 100 total games, as he played in 96, hardly missing any time due to injury. Royal also moved positions this season from Power Forward to Small Forward, which led to a shift in his shot selection and style of play.

Devin Royal had been money from deep!
pic.twitter.com/YRvzAzQj9S

— The Ohio State Hoops Insider (@OSUHoopsInsider) February 16, 2025

Royal’s career as a Buckeye seemed to be getting to the end when Amare Bynum had his breakout through the middle of the Big Ten schedule, and with Anthony Thompson committing. It would have been hard to convince Royal, an incoming senior, to come off the bench.

The 6-7 Forward now gets to test the Transfer Portal waters in search of a chance to start in his final season of college basketball. Royal is the first Buckeye to announce his departure, and most likely will not be the last.

MORE: Follow along with The Silver Bulletin’s Offseason Tracker for Ohio State Basketball to stay up to date on all Buckeye basketball transfer portal news during the offseason.