One of the top recruits for Ohio State in the class of 2019 was Alonzo Gaffney. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Gaffney picked the Buckeyes in April of his junior year, but his stay in Columbus will be a short one.

According to numerous sources close to the situation, Gaffney will not be returning to Ohio State for his sophomore season, and instead with the support of family and coaches, he will look at pursuing the professional options available to him.

Gaffney, who was the No. 63 ranked recruit in the 247Sports Top247, averaged 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game with the Buckeyes while competing in 17 contests.

At 6-foot-9 and around 200 pounds, Gaffney possesses the ideal combination of size, length and athleticism, but he was never able to put all of it together and become a consistent producer throughout his high school or college career.

Now, Gaffney will not return to Ohio State, and instead will almost assuredly go the route of pursuing professional opportunities, though in theory the option is open for him to transfer to another college program, though multiple sources indicate that is not in his current plans.

This is similar to what former Kentucky forward Kahlil Whitney decided to do upon leaving Lexington in the middle of the year. Whitney, who was a five-star recruit, also decided to simply leave college basketball, and despite not being a highly thought of NBA prospect, pursue professional opportunities.

Gaffney chose the Buckeyes over schools such as Louisville, Florida, Iowa, Georgetown, Michigan State and others.

The departure of Gaffney means the Buckeyes are now back down to the limit of 13 scholarships, though it is expected that junior big man Kaleb Wesson will also depart and pursue a future in the NBA.

Ohio State recently added Harvard transfer Seth Towns, who will be expected to play the same position as Gaffney, though the addition of Towns didn’t have anything to do with Gaffney’s decision to pursue professional basketball.

Look for Ohio State to potentially add one more player to get to the limit of 13, though it is likely they would focus on adding a guard, since the Buckeyes already have so many bodies up front at the forward position.